dragonbane ... secret of the dragon emperor part 6!

time for the next thrilling installment of our dragonbane rpg campaign!

GM Elle: All right, everybody got their sheets and dice?
MSG: Yep. I even have the inventory sheet for our cart. It's filling up fast since we looted those dudes' scimitars and tossed them in.
Claire: Maybe we should have bought the wagon after all.
Ariel: We should probably be good as long as the cart holds enough loot for us to trade up to a wagon later, right?
Sasha: But what if we come across a whole wagon's worth of treasure? We won't be able to get it all back.
Akane: Time to bury it and draw a treasure map, like pirates!
Hettie: Anybody have map-drawing supplies on their sheet? Dilfriida clearly does not.
MSG: Not me.
Claire: I have my grimoire, which I suppose Akane's character does too, since we're both mages. But I don't actually have anything to write in it with.
Akane: Zedeja has a raggedy old journal memento, plus the grimoire of magic. But also no pen.
GM Elle: Well, before you get too far down the road of trying to draw a map to treasure you don't have yet, there's still the matter of the goblin prisoner -- and on top of that, Dolora got knocked down to zero hit points, so she's got to make a CON roll or suffer a Severe Injury.
MSG: I don't like the sound of that. Luckily, I roll a 4.
Claire: We should get back to the cart and then maybe take a stretch rest. I'm down WP and Dolora's still hurt, right?
MSG: Yeah, I was actually going to ask if you could manage another healing spell. I'm at 5 out of 15 HP.
Claire: I roll an 18 and blow it. So I'll push the roll ... and roll another 18. Oh. Yikes. I've already got two conditions. Should have looked at that before I pushed. I guess now I'm Scared on top of Angry and Disheartened. Oh, crap, Angry means I was supposed to have a Bane on my Animism roll, so I guess I double-fail.
GM Elle: If I was in a mean mood, I'd make you roll the other two dice for the Bane and see if you got a Demon in the process. But actually I think if you'd had to roll with a Bane in the first place, you probably wouldn't have pushed the roll.
Claire: Definitely not.
Ariel: Well, it would be two chances to get a Demon or Dragon and earn an extra advancement mark!
Claire: No thanks. A Demon on a magic roll means you roll on that mishap table, and I don't want to go begging for that kind of trouble.
Sasha: While all that's going on, Sir Quackenscrump's going to go question this goblin.
GM Elle: It's terrified -- trembling and chattering its teeth, with a serious case of goblin fear stink coming off it.
Sasha: Ack. Well, I ask it what the deal is. "Who were these guys and where were they taking you?"
GM Elle: You're going to have to work at getting him calmed down before you can tease anything useful out of him. Right now he's just kind of, "Please don't hurt me, please don't hurt me, please don't hurt me," over and over.
Sasha: All right, challenge accepted. I've got a pretty good Persuasion, so I'll make a roll to convince him we're the good guys, and if he does what we ask, we'll let him go. Oh, and if he can give us directions to the closest monster, I might even throw in some coins as a reward. Ooh, Dragon!
GM Elle: This guy takes an immediate shine to Sir Q and starts blabbering all kinds of thank-yous and crap and saying he'll do whatever you ask if you just please let him go home to his family.
Sasha: Yeah, yeah, I tell him to make with the info. Who were those dudes?
GM Elle: He says they were members of a cult. He says they kept talking about throwing him into a portal to some kind of demon world. "They said, 'Oh, you're so lucky! You gets to serves Lord Sathmog, you gets to show us how live things is changed by the Demon World!"
Sasha: Demons, huh? Pretty sure demons are monsters. Did they say where this portal is?
Akane: Possibly there are monsters less dangerous for us to start with? And also fewer than would be in an entire demon world?
Sasha: Start small, stay small is what I say.
MSG: I want to know more about this demon world. What did the cultists tell him about it?
Claire: I want to know more about the cult, since we've already run into them and will probably run into more of them way before we run into demons.
Ariel: I want to know about any of it since I'm still back at the cart.
Akane: Oh! Yes, Zedeja as well. Please remove my comments from your heads -- I couldn't have said them, being elsewhere.
GM Elle: Sash, despite all the other questions, the goblin sticks to answering you. He says they talked about a temple, and he's heard of something called the Temple of the Purple Flame deeper in the Magna Woods. "Frightful! Terrible! Smart goblins avoid!"
MSG: I'll show him the map and ask if that cathedral-looking place is what he's talking about.
Claire: Is the map written on your character sheet? Because it's written on my character sheet.
MSG: What? When did that happen? I thought it was basically party treasure.
Claire: Yeah, but somebody still has to carry it. We can't all be holding it at once. If you want to go back through the other session write-ups to double check who had it when, we can, but I kinda feel like if it's written on my character sheet and it's not written on yours, I probably have it.
MSG: Well then I tell you to show it to him.
Claire: Maybe I will after he answers my first question, which he hasn't done yet because Quackers is hogging his attention.
Sasha: I ask him if he knows which one of these dudes had the key to his chains.
GM Elle: He tells you it's the ugliest one.
Sasha: I look around to see which one looks ugliest.
GM Elle: None of them are beauty-contest winners. They range from a guy who's about a 3 to one who's maybe just above average at a 6.
Sasha: I go to search the 3 one.
GM Elle: He says, "No, no, no -- that one looks almost bearable for a humans. The ugly one."
Sasha: Sir Q isn't super bright, so he'll go to the next ugliest one.
GM Elle: "No, no, no! Ugly! I saids ugly. That one with the very small features, both sides of the face unpleasantly alike one another."
MSG: I point at the one who's a 6, and say, "That one?"
GM Elle: "Yes! So ugly!"
Sasha: Quackers is a little confused because he thought he'd figured out what passes for good-looking among humans, but he goes over and searches the 6 body.
GM Elle: You find a key in one of the pockets.
MSG: While he's searching, I'll try to get the goblin to answer Filvius's question.
Claire: Really? That's nice of Miss Grumpy-Drawers Dwarf.
MSG: No, I just want him to answer so we can show him the map like you said you would after your question was done.
Claire: Ah.
MSG: My Persuasion sucks, though, and I blow it with a 13.
Claire: Does he answer my question about the cultists?
GM Elle: He says, "They talks a lots about Sathmog. And you can see, they are most ugly."
Sasha: Let me know when I'm back with the key because I'm just going to straight away unlock him and let him go.
MSG: Wait, we didn't agree to that.
Sasha: Are you going to make a grab for the key or try restraining him once I unlock the chains?
MSG: Honestly? I'm probably not paying any attention to you because I'm hoping this damn goblin will get around to dropping some knowledge on us soon.
Claire: Same.
GM Elle: Then as soon as he's unlocked, he hops up and thanks you and gives a weird, squatty goblin bow and runs off.
Claire: If I didn't have a bane on my magic skill, I'd Lightning Flash the little shrimp.
Ariel: Really? Claire, that's awful!
Claire: No, not really. For one thing, Filvius only has 2 WP left, and it seems like a waste to use them up torching a goblin.
Ariel: Okay, whew!
Sasha: Heading back to the cart, then, right?
Hettie: Dilfriida's for it. She was getting pretty thin-skinned about having to sit through the goblin interrogation.
GM Elle: You can find the road and the cart without difficulty if someone wants to play the role of pathfinder and roll Bushcraft.
MSG: I've got a 13 in Bushcraft.
Claire: You go, then. I've only got a 12.
MSG: My roll is a ... success, with an 11.
GM Elle: The path back to the road doesn't challenge you at all. Zedeja and Fidu, you see your comrades returning from the woods. Someone's carrying the scimitars, I guess?
MSG: I'm Bushcrafting, so not me.
Sasha: Sir Q is fine with carrying them.
Akane: What happened? Why do we have a bleeding dwarf? Explain!
Hettie: I tell Zedeja to calm down.
MSG: If somebody wants to fill the cartsters in, I'm voting for a stretch break.
Claire: Me too. And I'm meditating to double my dice.
GM Elle: Roll them.
MSG: Blah. Only 3 hit points back for me.
Claire: 6 WP for Filvius.
GM Elle: Anyone else?
Sasha: Sure, Quackenscrump will rest -- mostly so Dilfriida is the only one available to tell Zedeja the story. 2 points.
Akane: Zedeja expects only half-truths from a halfling story.
Hettie: I'll try to b.s. her even though my Bluffing is only 8. Nope, that's a 17.
Akane: Transparent! Can Awareness or Spot Hidden be used to determine truth from these lies?
GM Elle: Hmm. That's actually pretty clever sounding ... but it doesn't fit in well with the skill descriptions. Why don't we role-play it through instead?
Hettie: Dilfriida's lie is about how we found a traveling scimitar salesman in the woods crying, "Help me! Help me! Help me ... get rid of some of my scimitar inventory! No one seems to be buying them this season, so I'll give you a sweet discount."
Akane: No, probably unlikely to detect a log-chained goblin and cultists heading to purply flaming temples from such a story. Akane dismisses this babble with rolling eyes.
GM Elle: All right. Well, that was the random encounter for the first shift of today's travel. By the end of the shift, the road crests a hill at one point and allows you to see the spires of a cathedral jutting up from the trees a kilometer or two ahead.
MSG: Hmm. So ... I'm still feeling pretty hurt. I think I'd rather take on this temple after another shift rest
Claire: Even though it's, what, early afternoon?
MSG: Sure. You could do some more hunting on the afternoon shift, then cook whatever you bag on one of the two night shifts. Also, since you get one stretch rest every shift, you could heal me some more, do some hunting, and then take a stretch rest to round out the shift.
Claire: Sure, that's probably a good plan. Who wants to go hunting with me?
Akane: Stop! Zedeja has not approved this concept!
Hettie: Dilfriida will definitely volunteer to go hunting if it gets her away from Zedeja.
Claire: Okay then, my Animism roll to heal Dolora is a 6. You get 7 hit points back.
MSG: Awesome. I feel much better. I'd volunteer to come along on the hunting trip now, but my Sneaking sucks.
Claire: Dilfriida and I will manage on our own, then.
GM Elle: What's everyone else doing?
Akane: There is sulking from Zedeja. Then she orders a dwarf to make camp and a mallard to help. Wolfkin, you keep watch while they are tenting.
GM Elle: Let's have some rolls, then. Claire, roll your Hunting and Fishing, and MSG, roll your Bushcraft with a Boon for Sir Quackenscrump's help.
Claire: Hey, since Dilfriida is along, can she give me a Boon by helping too?
GM Elle: I don't see anything that says it's an exception to the helping rules.
Claire: Whew! I roll a 19 and an 8, then. So the 8 is a success. 
GM Elle: Roll d6 for the outcome.
Claire: Seriously? I roll a 1. What's that, a baby mouse?
GM Elle: Squirrel. One ration. Dilfriida's going to have to shoot it, though, because your Lightning Flash would leave nothing but some burnt fur on a cinder. MSG, did you get the tent up?
MSG: Yes, with a 7.
Hettie: Aha! Dragon on my bow shot roll!
GM Elle: Right between the squirrel's eyes. Its big, fluffy tail sticks straight out and then it falls from the tree stone dead.
Ariel: Oh. Did you have to describe the fluffy tail? I don't think I can eat any of that now.
Sasha: Aers. You're a wolf person.
GM Elle: And now, my turn to roll for whether the shift includes an encounter.
MSG: Uh-oh. This could be bad for the two people off on their own.
Claire: Or for the dwarf gal with her hands full of tent pegs.
Akane: No, because our wolfkin is watchful, remember?
Ariel: Sorry, Akane, but you know I'm slothful. I pretty much kibblax as soon as you're not looking.
Akane: The bitter taste of such disobedience. What is "kibblax?"
Ariel: It's like "chillax" but it's short for "kick back and relax." I just made it up! Saying "kick back and relax" seems like a lot of words when the whole point is that you're taking it easy.
Sasha: That's very you. Good job!
Akane: No, the job is poor! What if an attack comes during this kibblaxation?
GM Elle: Well, lucky for everyone, I roll a 2. No encounter. And anyone who's down points can roll for a stretch rest at some point in the shift. That takes you to about dinnertime.
Claire: Time to boil up some squirrel-hare soup!
Ariel: Ew! Oh, wait, you mean "hare" with an "e".
GM Elle: That's a Bushcraft roll.
Claire: Yes, I get a 3. This stew is hoppin'.
GM Elle: Who's on watch and who's sleeping during the stew shift?
Ariel: Since I kibblaxed all afternoon, probably the smell of the soup cooking is going to keep me up, so I guess I'll be on watch.
Sasha: So the third person has to be Zedeja or Dilfriida, because if we put them both on the next watch together, none of us will get any sleep from the arguing.
Akane: Conflict can be avoided simply by following the leader's instruction.
Hettie: Dilfriida brought that squirrel down, so she's quick to volunteer for first watch to ensure she gets a helping.
GM Elle: All right, then, let's see if there's an encounter during stew shift. Hmm.
MSG: Not sure I like the sound of "Hmm."
GM Elle: It's actually not too bad. Aers and Hettie, roll a Spot Hidden check.
Ariel: Ugh. 19
Hettie: I roll ... well! Not just success, but a Dragon!
GM Elle: All right, I'm assuming Fidu would have picked a comfy spot to sit through most of the shift while Dilfriida did more pacing about the edge of camp.
Ariel: I would have said that's what Fidu did except I thought it seemed obvious enough I didn't need to make the effort of spelling it out.
Hettie: Dilfriida would certainly be keeping an eye on the perimeter and the surroundings beyond.
GM Elle: So Dilfriida notices a large stone half-buried in moss and underbrush. It looks like one of those milestones, but fallen on its side. And because you rolled a dragon, you see that a vine is growing out of a crevice in the stone -- which isn't all that unusual, except that the crevice looks extremely straight and even.
Hettie: I'll investigate more closely.
GM Elle: Further inspection makes it clear that the crevice is actually a seam, one side of a compartment of some kind hidden in the milestone's surface. When you open it -- I assume you try to open it?
Hettie: Left to my own initiative, I would probably have done another Spot Hidden check to see if there might be a trap. But your tone there suggests that opening it is basically a given. So yes.
GM Elle: Inside a small niche, you find a beautiful gold ring with a stylized crown.
Hettie: I'll pocket it ... using Sleight of Hand, in fact, in case anyone is watching from the direction of camp. Success with a 6.
Claire: Probably overkill since I'm busy making soup.
Ariel: And I'm busy looking the the direction you're not at, since that seems like my job if we're both on watch. Plus you might be going off into the woods to do your business, and I don't need to see that.
Hettie: Anyway, I'll look at it more closely when there's better light and plenty of privacy.
GM Elle: Very good. First watch ends without further event, then.
Claire: Besides eating the stew, you mean.
Ariel: After smelling it cook, I'm over my ookiness at the poor squirrel getting arrowed so violently.
Hettie: Dilfriida's probably famished over the smell as well.
GM Elle: Sounds like the three of you totally devour it, then, since it was only three rations worth of food.
MSG: What did you make the stew in, anyway? Did we buy a pot?
Claire: Oops. That's a good question. Two good questions, I guess. Maybe we weren't making stew then, just cooking them on skewers.
Hettie: Halflings are resourceful ... especially about food. And Sir Quackenscrump can't have been wearing his helmet to bed ...
GM Elle: Are you saying you pinched it to make stew in?
Sasha: I mean, I'm probably not sleeping curled up around it or anything, so you could probably get hold of it. But I kinda doubt I'm big-headed enough for my helmet to double as a stew-pot. This isn't Zedeja we're talking about. No offense, Akane.
Akane: It's true. The head of Zedeja is so large. But to use magical thoughts, it can't have a helmet, so there's no cooking in her headwear.
GM Elle: Switching off for the next watch, then ... I roll a 5 on the die, so the night goes peacefully during Dolora, Zedeja, and Sir Quackenscrump's turn.
Akane: Peacefully! Yes, if a dwarf and a duck follow Zedeja's directives!
MSG: I'm guessing we do, just as the path of least resistance.
Sasha: Quackers isn't going to make trouble for trouble's sake.
GM Elle: All right, then the next morning, you all get up, have breakfast, and press on through the mists of the Magna Woods. It's less than an hour before you find the road winding up a hill toward a great, dilapidated stone temple. Ivy and thorn vines have overrun the walls, bristling with enormous brambles and briars, and you see that the gate stands slightly ajar. Murals to either side of the gate depict what once must have been vivid purple flames, though they now appear faded with time.
MSG: I'm guessing this is the place the goblin told us about.
Claire: The goblin? Or that maid back at the inn? I thought you said she pointed you at the temple as a place where that herbalist might be.
Sasha: And monsters!
MSG: Yes, right. But the goblin basically confirmed it.
Claire: Uh-huh.
Ariel: Well, maybe we're not where either of them said to go, but we're somewhere, so now what? Are we going to just go up and go in that open gate with our donkey and cart and all? Not that Fidu is volunteering to get out and walk. But does it even look like a cart would fit in there?
GM Elle: Might be tricky getting it in. There are steps leading up to the gate, so it might take some wrestling to drive the cart up them. And it's not clear the gate is functional enough to open up and admit the cart.
Akane: Step two: unhook donkey from cart. Step three: hide cart in some brush. Step four: more brush on top. Step five: erase wheelmarks. Cargo safe, proceed inside. Step six: find where to tie up a donkey.
Hettie: Dilfriida points out that you seem to have skipped step one.
Akane: So obvious, isn't it? Step one is driving old slothful Fidu and old weakly Zedeja up to the gate.
Hettie: Dilfriida grumbles, but I must say that was nicely set up, Akane.
Akane: Thank you!
GM Elle: Is that what you do then?
Ariel: Sounds pretty good to Fidu, so if people don't get in the way of the cart I'm guessing we drive right up.
Sasha: Sir Q will push ahead to have a look inside the gate before they get there. In case there are monsters, of course.
MSG: Dolora will go with him, in case that stew-pot he's wearing makes him overlook something important.
GM Elle: All right, when you poke your heads inside the open gate, you see a vestibule that serves as the entrance to the temple proper. The ceiling is high and peaked, its beams supported by heavy, hexagonal stone pillars. The dim light from outside falls on flaking murals of demonic monsters tearing vanquished dragons to shreds in a landscape lit by a violet sun. To the north you see another set of stone double doors, also slightly ajar. The room beyond them is very dim. To the northwest is a short, arched corridor that leads out to an open-aired space that seems to be a courtyard, overwhelmed by vines and weeds. The layout is about like this.

MSG: Okay, well if there are no immediate threats, let's get this cart taken care of. Maybe that courtyard will be a good place to put the donkey.
Claire: Hey, so how thick are the vines on the outside walls? Is there anyplace they're dense enough we could drape them over the cart and hide it that way, instead of wheeling it back out into the woods?
GM Elle: Interesting idea. Make a Bushcraft roll. 
Claire: Oof. Demon.
GM Elle: You see a dense patch along what looks like the outer wall of that courtyard Dolora and Quackenscrump saw. You're positive the vines there look thick enough to hide the cart.
MSG: Great. So this is obviously not going to go well.
Claire: I point out that the vines over there look like a great place to hide the cart.
Akane: Excellent. Strong duck and dwarf, maneuver it there with immediacy!
MSG: Do I get to make my own Bushcraft roll as Quackers and I drag the cart in the direction Filvius pointed?
GM Elle: Sure.
MSG: I succeed with a 9. Does that let me recognize that the cart is going to stand out like a sore thumb if we hide it there?
GM Elle: No, but it does let you recognize at the last possible second that the vines are covered in enormous, wicked briars and seem to be twitching with movement. You can draw an initiative card. Sir Q will get the 10 card, and everyone back at the steps will have to wait until next round.
MSG: Sigh. I'm on 8.
GM Elle: It's your lucky day; the vines draw a 9.
MSG: Am I close enough already that they'll get a free attack if I retreat?
GM Elle: Afraid so.
MSG: Well, to heck with it. Did my Bushcraft success make me think these vines look more susceptible to slashing with a sword than bashing with a greatclub?
GM Elle: All you saw was that they were moving and very pointy. Do you want to use your action to make a new roll to evaluate them?
MSG: No, I'll just drop the cart pole, draw my shortsword, and slash at them. Great, and miss with an 18.
GM Elle: Vines attack! Oops, they have a Ferocity of 2, so they were supposed to draw two cards. Oh well. Both attacks happen now, then. First one is ... Deadly Embrace! It goes for Sir Q with this one.
Sasha: I don't like the sound of that, so I'll try dod-- no, that's right, my Evade stinks. I'll just let it hit me and hope my armor soaks it up.
GM Elle: 7 points.
Sasha: Hah! Nothing!
GM Elle: But you're also grappled and won't be able to take any action requiring movement without doing a STR check to break loose. With a Bane.
Sasha: Dammit.
GM Elle: Second attack ... Spore Cloud! Both Sir Q and Dolora have to do open CON checks against a paralyzing poison of potency 14.
MSG: I roll a 12.
GM Elle: Poison roll is a 12 also. You can push your roll or we roll again.
MSG: If I push and fail, though, I'm screwed, right? Let's do the tiebreaker roll. I get a 5. 
GM Elle: Poison's at 8, so you're safe.
MSG: Whew!
Sasha: 11 for Quackers.
GM Elle: Poison is 11 too.
Sasha: I don't think it makes any sense to push, so my tiebreaker is 8.
GM Elle: 14 for the poison, so you're also safe. You do both suffer the limited effect, though, which is that you become Exhausted.
Sasha: Double dammit, that's another Bane on my STR check, isn't it.
GM Elle: Yes, and it's now your turn, so roll it -- 3 dice. 
Sasha: 17, 5, and 5, all successes because Quackers is a beast.
GM Elle: New round, then. Everyone draws initiative this time.
MSG: 5.
Claire: 3.
Ariel: Woohoo, 2!
Sasha: 9.
Akane: It's 4.
Hettie: 6.
GM Elle: Murderous Briars get 7 and 10. Aers, you're up.
Ariel: Okay, I don't want any of that Deadly Embracing, so I think I'll use my bow. Woohoo! I hit with a 3 and do ... 12 points of damage!
GM Elle: You see that your arrow severs a couple of small tendrils, but maybe isn't as effective as it would have been against something with a real central body to shoot at.
Ariel: Poop.
GM Elle: Claire? Filvius is up.
Claire: Is there part of the thing that's farther than 2 meters from my buds? I'd like to Lightning Flash it, but not if I'm zapping my allies.
GM Elle: You can do a Bushcraft or Spot Hidden check to see, but it's an action.
Claire: You know what? I'll just zap some vines outside the 2-meter range, and if they're just ordinary vines, the secondary flash should still jump to the Murder Briars. Let's just do 2 WP on this one though. Argh, 14.
GM Elle: Zedeja's turn, then.
Akane: She will move here to be close enough for slinging. Then, she slings. Hit! The damage is 9.
GM Elle: You pulp some leaves, but like Fidu's arrow, the sling stone doesn't seem most effective against the mass of tendrils.
Akane: Hmm. Arrows, piercing. Sling, bludgeoning. Zedeja orders everyone to use weapons of the slashing type. "It's more effective to slash!"
MSG: Already on it. Dolora hacks at the vines with her shortsword. Eww, that's a Strength skill, so I have a Bane from being Exhausted, don't I? 17 and 7, so I miss.
Hettie: I'm not keen to get in where those spores can paralyze me, and I'm doubly unkeen at the idea of minding Zedeja, so I'll shoot with my shortbow. I mean, Fidu did some damage, didn't he?
GM Elle: Some.
Hettie: 11 on my Bows roll, which hits for 7 points. 
GM Elle: Or at least a smidge less than that. Vines' first turn on 7 uses attack number 6 ... Face Attack! Dolora, a branch finds its way into your nose and mouth, choking you on its barbed spines. 3 damage and make a WIL roll to avoid fear. No armor against that nasal-passage damage, by the way.
MSG: Great. Oh, hell, Demon on my WIL roll.
GM Elle: Oof. I'll let you pick. I roll twice on the Fear result chart, or I roll once and increase the effect.
MSG: Can I see that chart? Yikes. There's some pretty bad stuff here, so I'm guessing increasing the effect would turn it into really bad stuff, so I'll take the two rolls.
GM Elle: Enfeebled, and ... Wild Panic. You lose 2d6 WP and become Disheartened. So, 7 points of WP gone. Then you have to spend your next turn running away at full speed. After that you can make a WIL roll each turn to come to your senses and act normally.
MSG: Wow, that sucks.
Sasha: Nah, it's okay, because Quackers is taking this thing down with his broadsword right now.
GM Elle: Rolling with a Bane for Exhaustion, remember.
Sasha: Yeah, yeah. 9 and 15, both successes, and 3d6 for 13 points of damage.
GM Elle: Well, you called it. That's enough to do this clutch of vines in. All that's left are some wriggling stumps.
MSG: I roll a 3 on my next turn to recover, so I don't run far.
GM Elle: Okay, good place to stop the session then, I think. Did everyone participate? Yes. Defeat a dangerous opponent? Yes. Solve a problem without violence?
Sasha: Getting information out of the goblin.
GM Elle: Sure. Give in to your weakness? I'll call that a yes for everyone. And you explored a new location, for a total of 5 advancement marks, plus any Demons or Dragons people rolled on skill checks.
Ariel: I'm excited for next time!
Sasha: You mean, so Claire can find a place to get our donkey Murder-Briared?
Claire: Hey!
Ariel: No, because we'll actually be getting into our first real dungeony adventure of this campaign!
Akane: Agreed, it's an expectation of newness.
Hettie: Hopefully we all survive.

and on that cheerful note ... the end, for now!