-Session 5-Switching to my standard random encounter rules-
Q: Did Edwin learn anything about Broken Spire? NO Q: Did Edwin learn anything about Gorm? YES Q: Inhabitants? YES Q: Is it a Necropolis? YES Q: Will the elves forbid us from entering? YES
Great Harvest 10
-Immersion-Sense of Deja Vu-
-Warm, clear skies, steady breeze-
Scene #36:
In the morning, we pack our gear, and swap a few coins to refresh our supplies, and are guided out of the village by Ebonleaf. “Give Shirra my regards when you see her next.”
“I will do so,” Edwin agrees as we part ways with the elf, and cut a path back east towards Firth.
We come to the Wynberry bushes where Sylvia was first tempted to try the fruit, and she smiles, “Not poisonous!” she declares as she grabs a handful and shoves them in her mouth. Starting to chew, her eyes widen and she spews them out on the ground, and starts spitting.
“You should listen closer next time. Not poisonous, but sour,” I laugh.
Q: Does she laugh at herself? YES
After a few more moments, she looks up at me, her mouth and chin stained red from the juice, “Yeah, maybe you’re right,” she laughs.
-Morning-Minor Event-
Suddenly, Edwin glances up, then turns his eyes quickly back down drawing his hood up over his face, “Take cover,” he warns.
Then Sylvia and I see it too, a large winged beast soars overhead, and circles back over our position, just visible through gaps in the canopy.
-Nature roll 18-
“A griffon,” I warn as we take cover next to tree trunks to better conceal ourselves and ensure the creature has no easy way to dive at us. After a few minutes, it stops circling and moves off.
Edwin, still looking down, his eyes watering, pulls out the map that Elbroth gave him, “Garrick, you know where we are, right? We need to go here,” he points to a tower marked as the “the broken spire”.
“The goblins are the other way, west past Silvernar, Firth is east. Do you not intend to return with what we have learned?” I ask Edwin.
“To what end? The king believes the situation well in hand, so let’s explore,” he smiles.
Sylvia’s eyes light up, “Treasure hunting? I want a magic ring!”
“We’ve got to find it first, and go through whatever lives in the ruin,” warns Ronan.
“Or unlives,” adds Edwin, “Gorm is a necropolis according the Elbrath, and he forbids his people to go there, and warned me not to. He doesn’t know anything about Broken Spire. Which is curious, as it is closer.”
“Very curious indeed,” I agree, “Why the interest in Gorm?”
“The elf was rather evasive, but warned every land has its ghosts, and they are best undisturbed,” Edwin muses.
Ronan looks towards me, “Bones can break, flesh can bleed, but we face something with no physical body, we’ll need to retreat.” I nod in agreement, as does Edwin. Sylvia’s face goes white, but she agrees as well.
“Alright then, follow me!” I suggest as I take one last look for landmarks, then hand the map back to Edwin as I start our journey north.
-Afternoon Encounter-Wolves 7 playing-
We travel a few hours, then hear the yip and bark of wolf pups. Peering through the woods, I see a pack of animals lounging near a kill. The younger ones are playing at each other, stalking and lunging, then racing around chasing each other. Sylvia grins, “Would you look at that”
-Wolves Perception 19-
The wolves suddenly turn our way, the adults springing to their feet. I step forward into clear view, eyes on the pack and arrow nocked. Ronan stands up tall next to me. The other two join me and the wolves growl as they circle their kill and the young fall behind, yipping. Eyes on the pack, I lead my companions past.
Q: Do the wolves attack? EXCEPTIONAL NO
-Evening check-Ogre (male)-Grooming-
Scene #37:
As the afternoon light begins to fade, we hear the sound of water ahead. At the edge if a stream, I spot an ogre seemingly trying to catch fish with its hands, then I realize it is simply splashing water on itself, weapons laying on the bank beside him.
Q: Is the ogre alone? NO Q: goblins? YES (3)
-Stealth 17, they don’t see us-
I signal for my companions to hold up, and point out the ogre and three goblins nearby. Two seem to be at watch, the ogre may be bathing, and the other goblin seems to be bow fishing.
“Hit’em” advises Ronan. I nod for Sylvia to get into position and Ronan and I move up.
-Ronan’s stealth of 10, beats the goblins passive perception, we move up 30 ft-
I signal for everyone to take aim, Sylvia at the nearest goblin, and I at the ogre. Drawing back, we cut loose. Sylvia’s arrow goes wide, mine slams into the ogre’s shoulder. He lets out an agonizing roar! A second later, Ronan’s crossbow soars past the goblin on the opposite bank, and Edwin’s fire bolt fizzles into the water near the ogre’s waist. Our second salvo has similar results as the goblins turn towards us. An arrow whizzes past me from the opposite bank, and the ogre’s javelin slams into a blue wall of force that appears in front of Edwin. Another arrow whizzes past as the near goblin rushes towards me, firing his bow, only to take one of Sylvia’s arrows in the neck. Ronan moves past me, and fires on the goblin following the ogre who is now rushing towards us, killing the goblin. My arrow goes wide as the ogre closes, as does Edwin’s firebolt. The ogre reaches Ronan, who ducks out of the way of the mighty club, unbelting his hammer and bringing round into the ogre’s knee, dropping the beast, and caving it’s skull in with a coup de grace! The last goblin runs for it, but I put an arrow in its back.
“Police the…” I start.
“Loot’em!” Sylvia interrupts as she races towards the fallen ogre, while Ronan steps away, scanning our surrounds. Edwin and I also peer into the fading light, looking for signs of other goblins or ogres nearby.
Q: Any others nearby? NO Q: Any unusual item? YES
Sylvia gather’s coins from the dead, and starts pulling something from one of the goblin’s pouches, “Two are still breathing,” she calls to Ronan, who sees to it they stop. Then Sylvia throws a net around him, “Caught ya!” she laughs.
Q: Does he tear it off? NO
He glares at her as he pulls the net off of. “Very funny.”
“A fishing net!” Sylvia declares, but looking at it, I explain that it is a birding net. I point out the cinching cord and explain how it is laid flat with bait in the center, then the hunter pulls the cord, catching the birds inside. “Huh, wouldn’t have thought of that,” Sylvia replies.
Ronan cleans his weapon and then we wade through the stream and follow it a bit farther north, getting clear of the battlefield.
Q: Can we see the spire? EXCEPTIONAL YES
Then we see it, up ahead, a scorched and broken tower of white stone that reaches up towards the moons through the forest canopy.
Edwin smiles, “Well done, Garrick. Find us a place to rest until morning.”
I nod and look for someplace concealed for our cold camp.
-Survival 7, so we’ll check for a night encounter-
We settle in around our camp, Sylvia takes the time to inspect each of her knives, while Edwin studies his spellbook in the fading light, practicing some finger gestures. Ronan and I spar for a bit, me trying to get past his shield and hammer, him trying to pin me down in spite of my speed. After a bit, we bed down, with Ronan taking the first watch.
During my watch, I hear the bleating of goats and a small herd of wild ones pass by the camp in the dark. I nock an arrow and peer into the darkness, worried that whatever disturbed them may be following.
Q: does something come after? NO
After a time, I finally relax my guard, and eventually, Sylvia relieves me and I lay down to rest.
Great Harvest 11
-Immersion-spongy to the touch-
-Warm, cloudy, light wind-
(Garrick reaches level 3 from yesterday’s combat)
E: Positive for Alfred Timmusson: the Movement of Opposition (I’m thinking he made a big exclusive supply contract, proving his father’s faith in him)
Scene #38:
I wake the next morning, fully rested, having laid my blanked on a soft natural bed of grass and old leaves. It takes a bit to clean off the morning dew as I roll it up. Sylvia hands me some bread as our companions begin to stir. Edwin prepares his daily wards, and asks me why I didn’t wake him when the goats came through.
“How did you know about the goats?” I ask.
“Wards, my friend, like when the cultists struck us the other night, I knew they were there,” Edwin explains.
“Why didn’t you get up?” I ask.
“Sounded like goats, and you didn’t seem worried, so I decided to stay in the comfort of the tent,” Edwin shrugs. I smile.
We eat breakfast, gather our gear and I lead the way towards the tower, quietly as we can.
-Morning-No Encounter-
Q: Are other ruins around? NO Q: Rebuilt? YES
We come to the tower, the top half seems shattered by some great force. The white stone is sheathed in ancient vines that reach ever upward, thick for the first thirty feet, and runners stretch far higher. Windows gape open, coated in dried bird droppings. A heavy portcullis bars the entrance.
“New construction,” Edwin notes as we draw close. I nod. “This means someone lives here, or did, fairly recently.”
Ronan snorts, “Goblins don’t often build.”
“Hobgoblins do,” I remind him. He nods solemnly, as Sylvia moves ahead to peer through the grates.
Q: Is there a lever she can reach? NO Q: Or see? EXCEPTIONAL NO
(Content check, Blindness Rune DC 14 to spot, but looking from light into darkness with no illumination drops Sylvia’s passive perception from 15 to 10)
Straining to see in the darkness, she suddenly cries out, “I can’t see” and staggers backwards.
Ronan grabs her and draws her back, looking her in the eyes, “What happened?”
“I saw an eye, in the dark. I still see it, glowing blue in my mind. I can’t see,” she begins to cry.
Edwin steps forward, his cloak pulled over shielding himself from the sun, and looking at the ground, begins to chant. For several minutes, unknown words tumble from his lips, then he explains, “An arcane rune, of blindness. The rune has faded, for now. Ronan, open the gate.”
“What about Sylvia?” I ask as I examine her tear filled eyes.
“We have a chance to get inside before the rune’s power returns. We had best take it,” he replies.
Ronan turns and with my help, we try to lift the gate from it’s position.
-Lifting a homemade porticulus in an old tower should be very hard-DC 20 Strength check- We roll a 6+3=9-
“It’s not budging,” Ronan admits as we step back from it.
Sylvia is still sobbing quietly, “Will I see again?’
“Of course,” Edwin replies. “Such a spell is usually temporary.”
“What if it’s not”, she asks.
“You’ll become a beggar,” Ronan replies dourly. I chastise him and tell her we’ll take care of her. She curls up, rocking back and forth grabbing her knees, sobbing quietly, while Edwin starts walking around, looking for another way in.
“One of the windows?” he points towards one that seems wide enough to climb through.
Ronan looks up and agrees, “Certainly not built for defense.”
“We wait until Sylvia can see again,” I tell them. “Withdraw to the camp.” I give Sylvia my hand and lead her away. The other two men follow.
-Encounter-Wolves- Q: Do they scatter? EXCEPTIONAL YES
We return to our camp to see the same pack of wolves from yesterday sniffing around our campsite. They quickly scatter at our approach.
-discussion topic-contacts-
We sit in camp, and I examine Sylvia’s eyes, giving her some food and studying her. “Did you have a lot of friends back home?” I ask her.
“Not really, nobody likes you when you’re poor,” she admits. Then thinking admits, “there was this one kid, Abner. He and I ran around together a lot. There was this one time. An apple cart. Well, the man with the cart was beating his mule, and the animal kind of wasn’t having it anymore and started braying really loud. Everyone was laughing at the man. And Abner, he chunked a rock at the guy, who got all mad. Started chasing him while everyone else was laughing. I ran up behind the cart, cause nobody was watching anymore, and I filled my tunic with apples. Abner lost the guy in the alleys, of course. And he and I got sick on apples that night, we had so many of them!” she’s laughing at the memory. Then sniffles a bit. I pull her to my side and tell her to rest, stroking her hair as she takes a short nap.
“Don’t get too attached,” Ronan warns. “She’s a good kid, but…” he trails off. Memories reflect in his face. I nod in understanding.
Some time later, Sylvia wakes up, blinking, “I can see. Oh by the goddess, I can see again!”
Edwin nods, “Temporary effect. As I explained. Let’s get back to business.”
I lead the group back to the tower.
-Encounter-Minor Annoyance: Food spoilage- well, that’s going to suck at dinner time!-
As light begins to fade, Edwin points out the window he and Ronan had agreed would be the best access point. I nod, “Sylvia, follow me up.” I grab hold of a sturdy looking vine and begin climbing up.
-DC 12, athletics-tricky-
I get a false start, then try again and am soon pulling myself up through the window. After quickly scanning for danger, I unshoulder my pack.
-Encounter-Darkmantle-Stealth 19!- (Nature roll 11, I’ve never seen a darkmantle before)
As I uncoil the rope from my pack and Sylvia starts climbing up, my world goes black as I feel something wrap around my head and neck, choking me. I punch and try to pry it off of me. I cannot breathe and the thing continues squeezing. I hear Sylvia’s muffled screams nearby. It continues squeezing. I feel a hand on my arm as I struggle to pull the thing off and my breath is squeezed out of me. Something is hitting us. Suddenly, the think falls away, and I sit up, gasping for breath. Sylvia stands over me, her bloody dagger in hand. I look at the creature, lying on the ground beside me. Some sort of cuttlefish.
“After I hit it, everything went black, but I was able to grab hold and keep stabbing. I didn’t cut you did I?” Sylvia asks, looking me over.
“No, no…I’m fine,” I gasp catching my breath. “Let down a rope.”
As she gets ready to let down the rope, Ronan climbs through the window, “You two made it look easy. What happened?” He looks from me to the carcass on the ground. “I heard the girl scream, but had a hard time getting up here.”
“Damned thing jumped me. Didn’t see it when I looked around,” I admitted. He nodded, lighting a torch and thrusting it into Sylvia’s hand as he took the rope from her.
Soon, Edwin has joined us. Glancing at the dead creature, “Dark mantle. You’re lucky to be alive,” he notes. Then I see his face blanche with fear, “We need to stay together. There will be other challenges.”
-Room properties, Workshop, 2 doors-
“This was a workshop?” Sylvia asks, looking around. Edwin nods, noting the remains of past victims of the darkmantle. A few goblins skeletons with their heads crushed in. Human remains as well. Plus, innumerable small animal bones.
Q: Any of the corpses recent? NO Q: Anything of value? NO
“That way,” Edwin indicates, and Sylvia checks the door, torch in her off hand. Edwin stands off to the side behind her. I stand next to her with my bow drawn. Edwin behind us some distance.
-Encounter-Boss Fight-Crystal Sentinel-
Sylvia pushes open the old wooden door, and I have to squint because some sort of mirrored creature stands in the center of an old sitting room. It turns and raises one arm towards us, “Rush it!” commands Ronan, Sylvia charges and slashes at the creature’s leg as Ronan charges forward and smashes its arm with his hammer. A fire bolt goes wide, as the creature sends a jet of glasslike shards jetting towards Ronan and I. We each dive away, but I still feel shards bury into my side, burning as they hit. I run up, firing my bow, striking the creatures as I drop my weapon and draw a blade.
Sylvia slips behind the thing, opening up a path for me to approach, but neither she nor Ronan land a blow, but with that opening, Edwin sends a bolt of flame into it that seems to stagger the thing slightly. It swings a mighty fist at Ronan, but he catches it on his shield as it staggers him. I draw my second blade, and hit the thing, as chips of mirrored glass clatter to the floor. Then a blast of shards spray out, cutting Ronan, Sylvia and I! Then Sylvia plunges her dagger in the thing’s back and it collapses into a pile of broken glass
“That was…interesting,” Edwin observes as he walks into the room.
“What was it?” Sylvia asks, breathing hard.
-Arcana-Failed-
“Some sort of magical construct, of course,” Edwin replies looking around the room. “A study?”
Ronan nods, then points upwards towards a hole in the ceiling through which we can see the night sky. “Used to be a trap door above, and you can see the ladder notches, probably opens up to the battlements above.” Edwin nods in agreement as he starts perusing the ancient shelves, filled with tomes that have largely rotted to nothingness. Ronan takes up a guard position while I check over Sylvia’s injuries and mine.
In the corner of one of the shelves, Edwin pulls out several crumbling, moldy books and drops them to the floor. “Sylvia, here. See if you can get this open,” he commands.
“Get what open…” she squints, “Oh…a secret panel?” Edwin nods and steps aside, while Sylvia gets to work.
-Rolls 14 vs DC 15-
Sylvia works at it for several minutes growing increasingly frustrated. “I just can’t quite get it!” she confesses in frustration.
“Let me try,” suggest Ronan, “That crowbar I noticed in your pack.” He takes it from her, and positions it as best he can. There is a resounding “Pop!” and the panel splits open with flash of light. Ronan blinks a couple of times. “What was that? For an instant, I couldn’t see anything.”
“Another blindness rune linked to the panel,” Edwin notes, picking up the broken panel door, and tracing his fingers across the broken run. “That one won’t recharge.” He peers inside the small vault beyond the panel.
-Q: Spellbook? Very Unlike-YES- Generate CR 2 Hoard-
Edwin smiles, and pulls out an ancient book, covered in runes, sliding it from beneath an old purse. He blows the dust off of it, and sits in one of the ancient chairs.
“What is it?” Sylvia demands eagerly.
Edwin smiles, “A treasure beyond my dreams. Oh, and there are other things in the hole. Perhaps of interest to the rest of you.”
I nod for her to check it out and Sylvia eagerly pulls out the purse of coins and a small ivory box. “By the gods, this is beautiful!” she coos as she examines the box. Then she carefully opens it up, “A ring! A magic ring! I found a magic ring!” She hops up and down excitedly.
“Right,” Ronan rolls his eyes. Edwin, however, glances up, and asks to examine it. He looks at the ring, and three vials that were in the box with it, and begins chanting in his peculiar tongue.
After several minutes, Edwin smiles, “Yes, it is magic. As are the two vials of liquid. The vial of powder, is not. Looks like jade dust.”
“What does the ring do?” begs, Sylvia.
“No idea,” replies the wizard, then he returns to his book. Flustered, Sylvia looks around.
“Keep it,” I tell her, “You earned it.”
“What a minute,” Ronan objects.
“We can sell the box, split the coins, whatever. The girl saved my life,” I point out, “and nearly got blinded when we first arrived. She deserves something. Makes her happy.”
Ronan sighs, but then agrees, picking up the pouch of coins, “I don’t recognize these. Gold, silver…but I’ve not seen these markings.”
“Old elven, I’d guess,” Edwin replies, not looking up from his book.
Ronan shrugs, “Gold’s gold, I guess,” and he adds it to the company’s stash.
Edwin does some chanting in the Darkmantle room, and then around the windows and gesturing towards the hole in the ceiling, then we brace the door, and set down bedrolls. As we start to eat, Sylvia complains, “Ugh! Drenched!” dumping out her food pack.
Ronan laughs, “Let it get wet when you crossed the stream to get after that goblin yesterday. Got to wear your pack higher.”
Disgusted, she dumps her food out the window. I beckon her to come sit beside me and we share from my kit. Edwin returns to his book, periodically chanting with his eyes closed before studying it further.
-No Encounters in the night-
-Great Harvest 12-
-Immersion-Smell of sweat-
-Hot, cloudy, no rain, good breeze-
Scene #39:
The air is thick and humid, but the lack of breeze renders it ripe with the stench of our sweat from the last few days. “You guys are ripe,” notes Sylvia as she cooks breakfast over a fire made from moldy old books, the smoke from which rises from the hole in the ceiling.
I get up and accept the hot bowl of beans from her. “What’s this?” I pick at the meat.
“Dark mantle,” she grins. “Umm…maybe Ronan should take the first bite.” She grins. The soldier looks up at her, shakes his head and defers to me. I try it.
Q: Is it good? NO
I chew, and chew, and chew…then swallow, “Perhaps it’s an acquired taste.” Ronan shakes his head and picks around it. Edwin absentmindedly eats his while poring over his newfound book.
After breakfast, we pack up, unbrace the door, and head back the way we came.
-Encounter-strange lights-
As we enter the dark mantle room, strange colored lights seem to orbit around us. Ronan and I draw steel, while Edwin holds up a hand. “Stay,” he cautions. Sylvia tries to poke one of the lights but it shies away from her finger. “Just a play of light. Simple illusion,” Edwin explains, “Let’s get out of here. I found more than I’d hoped.”
“We don’t want to continue exploring?” Ronan asks. Edwin shakes his head, and Gestures for Sylvia to lead the way out the window while securing a rope for Ronan and I to help lower him down.
-Pass a few climb checks and we are all on the ground-
We are soon on the ground, and Edwin tells me to lead us back to Firth.
-Morning no encounter-
-Afternoon-Mishap-tripping-
Late afternoon, I hear Ronan cry out from the rear of our formation. I turn and look to see him on his knees. “Damn it! Freaking rabbit hole or something.”
-Medicine 12-
I double back as he gets back to his feet, limping a bit. I check his ankle, “You’ll be fine. Just walk it off.”
“Yeah, had worse,” he grits his teeth as we continue on our way.
-Evening Encounter-Boars-Eating-
As the light wanes, we come across a number of wild boar foraging nogbutton and other vegetation, ripping up the undergrowth. We give them a wide berth and soon set camp in a hilly area near some water.
-Survival 24-no night encounters, good campsite, party activities-share a drink-
As we relax around our camp, Edwin pulls a bottle of wine from his bag, “To a successful venture!” he smiles as he takes a pull from the bottle and passes it around. We each take a draught. When asked about the high quality wine, he explains that Timmus gave him the bottle from the dwarven shipment we guarded for him.
“So that’s what dwarven wine tastes like,” I muse.
Ronan takes another pull, then shrugs, “So what was that crap Fenwick poured us on the boat?”
“Dwarven vinegar!” jokes Sylvia, to everyone’s amusement.
-Great Harvest 13-
-Immersion-Sense of Confusion/Anxiety-
-Pleasant, cloudy, no rain, gentle breeze-
Scene #40:
I am startled by Ronan’s shout. I open my eyes and see him standing, hammer in hand, looking around confused. “What…what…a dream.” he mumbles. Sylvia is staring at him, fear in her eyes.
“Easy friend,” I say as I get up. He looks at me, breathing heavy, but more slowly. His body covered in sweat.
“I was back there again. Siege of Tul Ravin. They broke through in the night,” he whispers.
I nod, having heard the story many times before, and put my hand on his shoulder “You’re here now. Feldholm, across the western sea in the kingdom of Firth. With friends, seeking our fortunes.”
“Yeah, Feldholm. Firth. Ordinary goblins. Not legions of hobs,” he chuckles, “Payback is a bitch.”
“That it is,” I agree. Soon we are packing gear and eating bread, cheese and jerky, our road rations, as we get on our way.
-Morning encounter-lose an item-Poor Sylvia!-
We climb through some rugged terrain, break through the forest, and spot cultivated fields down below. We see farmers mowing down wheat as we approach. “What village is this?” I call out.
“Rabbit’s Fall,” comes the reply, “Lord Fredo’s village. Where have you come from?”
“Silvenar, hunting goblins,” I reply.
“Kill all the little bastards,” shouts one of the woman helping gather wheat.
“Where’s my card!” suddenly exclaims Sylvia, looking around. She goes back through her pouch. Then pulls off her pack and begins frantically digging through it. “My card! Alfred gave it to me!”
“When did you last see it?” I ask.
“I was looking at it this morning, when Ronan…” she swallows. “I must have dropped it at camp.”
I nod, “I’ll go get it.”
“Wait! I’m coming too,” Sylvia responds.
Q: Do the others follow? YES
Ronan and Edwin come as well.
-Afternoon-No Encounter- DC 20 to find the card, Garrick rolls a 23-
We soon return to our camp, and I find the card near the edge of where we were resting. Sylvia throws her arms around me in gratitude when I pass it back to her, then she carefully secures it back into her pouch, “I don’t want to lose this again! It’s…special.” I nod, and soon we are back on our way towards Firth once more.
-Evening encounter-Game fowl-
As we return to the village, the fields now empty, we startle a group of pheasants that were picking through the recently cut section, picking over lost bits of grain.
“I should have set up that net!” notes Sylvia.
Q: Are we welcomed? YES
We arrive at the village palisade, where a sergeant opens the gate for us. “You the lot that was out goblin hunting?” he asks, then nods when Ronan holds up a string with the three goblin ears and the ogre’s. “Nicely done!” the guard grins. “We don’t have an inn, but you can pitch a tent in the village square if you need.” he advises. “I’ll let lord Fredo know you are here,” he leaves the other guard on post and heads up to the manor house as we follow him into the village square.
Q: Does the lord send for us? NO
A few minutes later, the guard comes back out, “You have permission to stay the night,” he informs us as he returns to his post.
We find a good place sheltered from the wind, and set out our tents and bedrolls, glad to be able to relax.
-Great Harvest 14-
-Immersion-See something discarded that cheers me up-Sylvia-
-Clear skies, inconsequential wind-
E: Setback to ‘Marlowe want to explore Gorm’: a Celebration of Portals
Scene #41:
I wake to see Sylvia with two cards in her hand. “Two cards?” I ask. She beams at me.
“Yeah, I found another card. Looks like it’s the same style. The changeling!” she smiles, showing me the card. “Look at the picture. It looks almost human, but not quite, and in the mirror, it is something else.” I nod admiring the card before she tucks them both back into her pack.
We get up, pack our gear, and eat a road meal as people return to their fields for another day of work.
Q: Does anyone stop us? EXCEPTIONAL YES Q: Lord Fredo? NO Q: Curate? NO Q: The guard? NO
As we are on our way out the village, an older woman stops us, “You were hunting goblins yes?” We nod, and she gives us a sad smile, “My brother was killed by them a few months ago. Out at the edge of our field,” she presses something into my hand. “Make them pay for what they’ve done.”
I nod, “I will.” She smiles and heads on out to the fields with the others. I open my hand and see a small falcon shaped pendant. I hang it around my neck, as a blessing from the goddess is always welcome.
-Morning, Afternoon, Evening-No Encounters-
We make good time following the trade road. Soon, we reach a familiar branch and quickly pass by the Green Fox Inn and are soon at the gates of Firth shortly after nightfall. The guard welcomes us.
Q: Has the king asked them to watch for us? YES
“Ah, you lot! The king requests your presence now that you have returned,” the guard tells us. “Best get up to the keep.”
“At this hour,” asks Edwin skeptically. The guard shrugs, and says he was just told to pass it on.
Ronan suggests, “We should go to the keep.” I shake my head.
Edwin replies, “We won’t be granted an audience at this hour as guests. So the only reason to hurry is if he is angry.”
“I’d rather an angry king looking for me in town than have me walk inside the walls of his house!” exclaims Sylvia. And with that, we retire to the Yellow Toad Inn until morning.
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