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!

i'm sure you'll be glad to know i solved the mystery!

apparently, the whole issue with the sidebar going missing was because of problems with the "<div>" tags in the html of one of the posts. i figured it out with the help of a little googling.

(yeah, yeah, i could have done an update to the other post or just deleted the doggone thing, but sue me, i'm shamelessly padding my post count for the year.)

okay, what the heck?

sorry to do this, and i swear it's not just to pump up my post count for the year, but my archive list panel looks like it's disappeared from the blog. it shows up when i go to an individual post, but the main url is just showing the posts themselves, nothing else from my layout.

so i'm checking to see if adding a post will goose it back into working right.

seriously, totally not doing this just to boost my post count.

if it works and you see this post, it's only because i'm worried if i delete it, the problem will come back too.

dragonbane ... secret of the dragon emperor, part 5!

okey-doke, folks! i got off my patootie and updated my page layout, so if you don't know the story so far, you can now go to the link list on the left and scroll down until you find the dragonbane section!

otoh, this sesh may be an okay place for newbies to jump in if they don't have the patience to catch up from the start, since the group more or less just got to an inn and started getting the low-down on what looks like the main quest of this campaign ...

GM Elle: All right, people. I was looking over the notes while getting ready for this session, and I was like, "Where the F*** is all my swearing?" Seriously, have I really been dropping that few F- and S-bombs while I'm running the game?
MSG: I haven't edited anything out, I promise.
Claire: Me either!
Ariel: I figured you were just trying to make the Misty Vale seem like a place that isn't just totally full cussing.
Sasha: Go with that one, Elle. It's good cover.
Akane: Hmm ... psychology idea! Possibly if cursing gives a feeling of control, it's less needed when you are the one already in control?
Hettie: I don't believe I'll comment on that notion.
GM Elle: Great. Guess I'll just be Miss Self-conscious the whole session tonight waiting to see what comes out of my mouth.
Ariel: That's what -- ow!
Sasha: Worst possible time for your standard joke, Aers. Sorry about the elbow, though.
GM Elle: Ugh. Well, I'm not promising this won't be a total sh**storm, but I guess we should just get started. All right, we left off with Fidu being tired and about to head to bed, but you'll have to pay Vagnhild the innkeeper for your stay first. Do you want a private room for two, or a bunk in the dormitory?
Ariel: I'm pretty loaded right now, so a private room for sure.
Sasha: Isn't some of that the group's money?
Akane: Yes! Zedeja insists on even-handedness in division!
Ariel: Well, I mean, since we're all staying here, how about if I just pay for everyone. Are there enough private rooms?
GM Elle: It isn't a huge inn -- only two separate rooms that will fit two people each, and then a dormitory with triple-bunk beds where six people can stay. The rate is 5 silver a person for the separate rooms, 1 silver each for the dorm bunks.
Ariel: Um ... 5 ... and there's two rooms ... and two people a room ... and that leaves, what, two people in the dorm room? Is that 20 + 2 silver pieces?
GM Elle: Exactly.
Ariel: Woohoo, I mathed it! Okay, well, since I'm getting so many sleeping places, I ask if maybe I can get a discount for bulk.
Akane: Is anyone bulky? Zedeja has the shape of a stick. (It's a joke. Bulk is large quantities, right?)
Hettie: Yes.
GM Elle: Go ahead and roll your Bartering skill, Aers.
Ariel: Made it with a 7!
GM Elle: Vagnhild says she'll shave off 20%, which my calculator tells me is 4 silvers and 4 coppers. So your total will be 17 silver, 6 copper.
Ariel: I don't have any coppers!
GM Elle: She says it looks like your friends are going to be drinking a bit, so if you give her 18 she'll use the extra 4 coppers toward their tab.
Ariel: 'K! I'll get the room keys and leave one at the table before I go up.
Akane: Zedeja tells you to wait for her. "Old ones should share a room to avoid young boisterism." Then she tells everyone not to give away secrets in drunkenness.
Hettie: When the mage turns away, Dilfriida thumbs her nose at her.
Akane: Zedeja is tired, or she would discover you with an Awareness roll.
GM Elle: Around this time, the door opens again and Dolora enters. Since Vagnhild was helping Fidu and Zedeja with the rooms, Annabelle intercepts Dolora at the door with the inn's customary free first tankard of mead.
MSG: I definitely accept!
GM Elle: She points you toward the table where Filvius, Dilfriida, and Sir Quackenscrump are sitting with the adventurers you met on the road and says she thinks your friends are over there.
MSG: Dolora thanks her and heads that way.
GM Elle: Before you actually step away, though, she puts a hand on your arm and leans close to say they told her you could serve as the party's spokesperson about the map the group has. She suggests she might be of help to you, and could also offer a reward if your travels bring you into possession of certain items. 
MSG: Hmm. I'll ask her what she knows about the map.
GM Elle: She draws you aside and tells you she belongs to an organization called the Truth Society. They want to uncover the true history of the Misty Vale and the Dragon Emperor who once ruled it, Eledain. Legend says Eledain's magical sword was buried in a crypt beneath the temple ruins at the center of town, long before Outskirt was founded. The Truth Society thinks the sword and anything buried along with it might help shed light on the ages centuries ago. But a cult of dragon worshippers wants the sword to help them bring back the rule of dragons and enslave everyone who won't submit to their rule. She tells you about how the four pieces of the statue can be used as a key to get into the crypt. She also says that although her organization isn't wealthy, they could reward you with 50 gold pieces for each piece you find and deliver to them.
MSG: Personally, I'd be skeptical of anybody calling themselves the "Truth Society." But Dolora thinks it sounds like this is a sure in on some potential knowledge along with the possibility of reward. She asks what else Annabelle can tell her, and if part of our reward might be taken in the form of access to the Truth Society's information.
GM Elle: She says her sources are always keeping an ear out for word of where the statue pieces might be, so you should definitely check in with her whenever you're in town if you accept her deal. "And spreading the Truth is our entire purpose, so we'd be glad to let you use the Society's library if you help us accomplish our goal."
MSG: Anything else she might know that could help us in our efforts? Like, where to get really potent poison antidote for cheap?
GM Elle: She says she's heard of an herbalist named Hafarmal who can work wonders with different herbs, though she doesn't know if he specifically makes antidotes. Supposedly he lives in the Magna Woods a few days to the north.
MSG: Do I remember the Magna Woods being one of the places on the map? I studied it pretty thoroughly.
GM Elle: You can make an INT roll with a boon to see, I think.
MSG: Yep, 12 and 14.
GM Elle: You do, and you remember there's a road leading into the woods to what looks like a temple on a hill.
MSG: Okay, I tell her I'll talk to my party and get back to her, but I'm pretty sure we're interested in the deal.
Sasha: Uh, no, much more interested in getting that sword to kill monsters with.
MSG: Well, that's not top of Dolora's mind right now. Elle, I'll head on over to the table and try to edge into the conversation to discuss Annabelle's offer.
Claire: Okay, I'm all ears.
Ariel: Is that an elf joke?
Claire: Ooh, no, but I wish I'd thought to make it one!
Sasha: I'm drinking until I hear the part about the monster.
MSG: Well, that's good, because right off the bat, I tell you I found a spot that has a monster, and poison antidote, and maybe even one of those statue pieces. Let me see the map and I'll show you.
Claire: I'll get out the map, but do you need to roll a Bluffing check for that?
MSG: Yes, but I was going to roll when I pointed to that temple in the Magna Woods. I easily make it.
Claire: Great. I guess we buy whatever you're selling, then.
Sasha: Since you're selling monsters, yeah.
MSG: So there's this temple in the middle of these woods. And there's a guy in the area named Hafarmal -- he's an elf, by the way -- who's an expert in poisons and antidotes who lives nearby. That serving maid said rumors are, there might be a piece of the statue hidden in the temple, but there's some kind of monster guarding it.
Claire: You know you're screwed if Gualmond, Hengrik and Fleetclaw have been there and know all about the place.
MSG: Eh. They don't have to believe she told me the truth, just that I'm giving what I think is good information. But I do ask them if any of that checks out with what they know about the place.
GM Elle: This is all news to them.
MSG: Darn. I was hoping it would get some knowledge out of them.
Claire: Slick.
Sasha: Well, I'm totally in. Except if you say we're trading in the statue for gold. I want that monster-killing sword.
Hettie: Dilfriida wants to know if there's anything about other treasures in this temple -- especially if we're not getting the gold for any statue pieces we find.
MSG: It's an abandoned ancient temple, right? It only stands to reason it's one of those places we heard about being chock full of treasure from the age of the Dragon Emperor.
Hettie: I don't know if that's a hundred percent persuasive for Dilfriida, but she can't come up with any argument against it.
GM Elle: Anyone else want to do anything before you all turn in for the night, then?
MSG: I'm good.
Claire: Me too.
Ariel: Already chasing rabbits in my sleep!
Akane: Why -- ah, wolfkin, yes. Zedeja slumbers oldly.
Sasha: I'll probably have another tankard of mead or two and then turn in.
GM Elle: Sounds like that will put you last, so you'll definitely be in the dormitory. Who's in room number two, and who's the other dorm bunkee?
MSG: I've got a boatload of the party's gold, so we probably don't want that in the dorm.
Claire: I've got a good chunk too.
Hettie: Dilfriida's pretty broke. She'll take a top bunk and put her stuff between her and the wall. One sheathed dagger under the pillow -- not the poisoned one!
GM Elle: Okay, then. Sash, you close down the bar with the three adventurers, who are also going to be staying in the dormitory. They say they intend to stick around town resting up and healing a few days, and see if any likely candidates happen through to beef their numbers back up.
Sasha: I'll wish them luck before bedtime. I guess if we happen to lose anybody, we can keep them in mind for replacements.
Akane: Pessimism ... tch.
Sasha: It's a rough world!
GM Elle: All right, in the morning you can pool the party gold and divide it up or buy party gear before divvying up the rest. A bowl of stew to get you going for breakfast is 5 copper, or for 3 silver you can order up a full meal -- eggs, some bacon, potato hash, something along those lines.
MSG: I'm sitting on 94 of the party's gold and I think 12 or 14 silver. I added the silver in with whatever I had.
Claire: We both had 4, remember? I have 19 party gold.
Ariel: Fidu has 17 and 4 silver.
MSG: Okay, that's 130 gold and 18 silver, since Claire's right about the 4 we each had. Looks like ... 21 gold, 9 silver, and 6 or 7 coppers each if we just split it. What would we buy as party equipment if we went that way?
Ariel: Oh! I know, a wagon or at least a wheelbarrow, or something. It seems like we don't have a lot of spare encumbrance room, and Fidu is sure hoping we find some good loot to haul back and trade.
Sasha: That's probably a good idea. Did Dolora say there's a road going to that old temple?
MSG: It looks like it on the map.
Claire: So a wagon or maybe just some pack animals would work. What are our options?
GM Elle: 15 gold for a cart that could be pulled by a donkey -- a horse would take most of your budget, but a donkey's only 12 gp. That would carry two people and 50 encumbrance units. Or for 30 gold and the price of a second donkey, four people could ride with cargo of 100 units. Or just a donkey could carry 10 units, 12 with a saddlebag that costs 6 gold.
MSG: My math says that's 27 for 50 units of capacity, 54 for 100, or 18 for 12 units. The donkey by itself doesn't sound too economical.
Akane: But if we must leave the road for some reasons, a cart or wagon becomes undriveable. 
Ariel: Fidu really wants to be in the cart if we get one!
Sasha: I'm voting wagon. We may need to haul a huge monster head back to prove our triumphant deeds.
Hettie: No way, Duckie! I'm not putting any of my share toward hauling monster corpses. The cart sounds fine to me.
MSG: A cart and donkey takes us down to 17 gold, 4 silver, and 6 copper apiece.
Claire: I agree with Dilfriida -- I don't want to cut that down any farther with a wagon.
GM Elle: Okay, buy up any other supplies you want from the rulebook here -- 
Ariel: Can I Barter for us? Especially if we pile it all together and call it one purchase?
GM Elle: Sure. Make your roll.
Ariel: 12 succeeds!
GM Elle: That's a 20% discount, then. MSG, can you pull the PDF of the rulebook up on your phone or computer or both so more people can shop at once?
MSG: Sure. I've got it on the tablet too.
Claire: I'll take the phone.
Ariel: Sash and I can share the book.
Sasha: Yeah, that works.
Akane: The tablet is shareable also. Hettie?
Hettie: Certainly.
GM Elle: Okay, make sure you've got everything written down as to what's in your inventory and what's in the cart.
MSG: Done.
Claire: Done.
Ariel: Me too!
Sasha: Done.
Akane: Zedeja is a careful shopper. Sorry to take a bit longer.
Hettie: Wow, is that really the load on the cart?
MSG: Yeah ... looks like by the time we load on all the supplies people wanted, we've only got 22 open weight units to spare.
Claire: Well, I'm going to say finding more than 22 weight units of treasure is the kind of problem we won't mind having.
Ariel: I mind! Fidu doesn't want to go back to carrying a bunch of stuff himself!
Akane: Zedeja prefers zero problems, regardless of the kind. But if this problem arises, she can assign burdens to each companion.
Hettie: Dilfriida says she wants to see you try it.
GM Elle: All right, then. You head out on the road for your first shift of travel north. Looks like it's a pretty peaceful journey through fields of grain and then the road winding in and out of rolling hills. The mists that give the valley its name remain thick most of the day, only occasionally parting enough to let the sun be seen as a hazy orb overhead.
Akane: Zedeja commands watchfulness from her seat on the cart!
Hettie: Hey, who said she got to ride?
Akane: Obviously, that was Zedeja. Does the thievish halfling dispute it?
Hettie: I definitely do if you call me thievish!
Akane: Then the group must vote. Who is the deserving passenger to sit beside Fidu our wolfkin? An aged and weary wizard who can heal you, or a young, thievish halfling with such energy to make trouble?
Hettie: Dilfriida grumbles about the name-calling, but she's actually kind of surprised Zedeja is calling for a vote.
Akane: Here is how Zedeja arranges the vote. Everyone who wishes Zedeja to ride, continue traveling. Everyone who wishes a halfling to burgle poor old Zedeja's seat, stand still. We will count the vote after one hour.
Hettie: Dilfriida stops for a second before she realizes how that's going to work. I mean, assuming I'm the only one who stops.
MSG: Dolora is on the march for knowledge. She's not interested in stopping.
Claire: Filvius either.
Ariel: Fidu doesn't think it's worth the energy to argue with Zedeja.
Sasha: Since Sir Q is in the lead and I assume the wagon is near the back, I'll make an Awareness roll to see if I even hear what's going on. I have a bane for my helmet ... yeah, that's a fail.
Hettie: As soon as Dilfriida realizes she's falling behind, she growls and hurries to catch up. But when we stop for lunch, she insists that we take a new vote. Everybody who wants Dilfriida to get a turn riding, eat lunch. Everybody who wants Zedeja to stay in the cart, don't eat lunch.
Akane: What a cruel halfling! Not only must Zedeja walk, she must starve her frail old body also?
Ariel: That does seem pretty mean.
Sasha: Does a halfling even weigh 20 units? Can't Dilfriida just ride in the back as long as we don't fill the whole cart up with loot?
GM Elle: Well, Fidu's large tent is 4 units, and a chest is 3 units. So Dilfriida would have to weigh as much as, what, four chests and two large tents, to be over 20 units?
MSG: That's what my math comes up with.
Claire: Great, we have a solution.
Ariel: And since we solved it without violence, that's an experience mark at the end of the session, right?
Sasha: I think Elle decided that solving problems we create ourselves doesn't count.
Akane: Zedeja is dissatisfied to have a  halfling crimester in her cart, but especially if there is no experience mark for the solution, eventually she ceases her complaint.
GM Elle: The afternoon shift passes without incident either. So far, the Misty Vale seems like it's treating you very hospitably. Toward the end of the day, you cross an ancient but still intact bridge over a wide river. Its dark waters pass quietly beneath you, obscured by a blanket of fog.
MSG: Do I remember a bridge from the map?
Claire: Filvius just gets out the map to look.
GM Elle: Yes, it appears to be the bridge across the Kummer River, which runs west to east the length of the vale.
MSG: Looks like we're almost to the Magna Woods, then.
Claire: So how much farther is it? Do we want to push on and get through tonight if we can?
GM Elle: You might be able to, but forcing a march for a third shift will make you all exhausted.
Ariel: That sounds terrible. Let's stop and make camp. Fidu is plenty tired from this long day of travel already.
Sasha: You've been riding in the cart all day!
Akane: But a tiresome halfling rides with us. There's a canceling effect.
Hettie: Dilfriida's just about ready to do some canceling on your old posterior.
GM Elle: If you're making camp, someone needs to make a Bushcraft roll to get the tent up.
MSG: My Bushcraft is good, and I'm pretty sure Fidu is way too tired to do it himself.
Ariel: That's very considerate.
Akane: At least some youngsters have a correct attitude. Zedeja says this with eyes targeting Dilfriida.
Hettie: I scowl at her, then I volunteer to help Dolora, just to prove her wrong.
GM Elle: That gives the bard a boon on the roll.
MSG: Yikes. 17 and 19, both failures.
Akane: Halfling quality help, it's clear. Only worth half of real help.
GM Elle: Are you going to push the roll, MSG? If you don't everyone will have to make individual Bushcraft rolls or the shift won't count as sleep.
MSG: Guess I'd better. Okay, one die is a 10 this time. I'll be disheartened that it was such a challenge to get the tent up.
Hettie: Part of my help is to lay everyone's sleeping furs out inside. When I do that, I'm spreading my bag of marbles out underneath Zedeja's.
Akane: Wickedness! Is there not even a roll required?
GM Elle: You should probably roll Sneaking to get away with it and arrange things so it's not obvious, Het. But considering you're inside the tent, I'll give you a boon.
Hettie: Both my dice come up successes.
GM Elle: It seems like your dastardly plan is coming together. Zedeja, I'm going to give you a CON roll to successfully sleep on your sabotaged fur.
Akane: 9. Even the constitution of this enfeebled ancient exceeds that.
Hettie: Dilfriida still imagines you tossing and turning all night.
GM Elle: Are you splitting the night into watches? If so, who's up first?
MSG: Well, I did most of the work to set the tent up, so I feel like I deserve a rest.
Ariel: Fidu is just going to sleep all night unless someone makes a big deal out of him taking a watch.
Sasha: Sir Quackenscrump will gladly take the first watch. Anyone staying up with me?
Hettie: Dilfriida will. She wants to periodically observe whether her chicanery is spoiling Zedeja's rest.
Claire: Would it work for me to spend the shift hunting not too far from camp? I don't want to get out of earshot where I can't yell for help if something happens, but it would be nice to keep ourselves fed without dipping into our rations.
Ariel: I know, right? Those things are expensive!
GM Elle: You can try it, but I'm going to give you a bane on the roll, and if either die comes up a Demon, there will be trouble.
Claire: Well, I put one of my skills into Hunting and Fishing, so I'm going for it or why did I bother? Aha! 6 and 7.
GM Elle: Okay, you come across ... a rabbit.
MSG: You're not going to lightning-bolt a cute little bunny, are you?
Claire: Well, I don't have a ranged weapon, so I pretty much have to. I'll just put in 2 WP, though. Woohoo, a 2!.
GM Elle: Dilfriida and Quackenscrump see a lightning bolt split the sky extremely close to camp, its blue fire illuminating the mists for an instant. Claire, when Filvius gets to the electrocuted hare --
MSG: Did the hare stand on end when it got shocked?
Claire: Boo.
GM Elle: Seriously, I'm going to start asking that Experience question about puns if you make me. Now, as I was saying, when Filvius arrives at the hare's smoking body, he finds it's big enough for 2 rations worth of food.
Claire: Well that was kind of anticlimactic.
Sasha: Did the electricity like, make its eyeballs explode or anything?
Ariel: Ew!
Akane: Is this knowledge a necessity in a fantastical world?
Claire: Hey, if it's knowledge, Filvius wants the details too.
Ariel: I'm plugging my ears.
GM Elle: Go ahead and roll your damage dice, Claire. Anything over 5, and sure, the eyes exploded.
Ariel: lalalalalalala
Claire: I roll 7 points.
Ariel: lalalalala did you say already?
Sasha: Yeah, you're safe.
GM Elle: I'm rolling twice on the random encounters table for this shift, in case the lightning strike stirred something up ... but no, the shift passes uneventfully.
MSG: All right, so if the three of them are hitting the sack for second shift, and Fidu is sleeping the night through, is Zedeja at least going to join Dolora on watch?
Akane: This depends on, is Dolora waking Zedeja up?
MSG: Sure.
Akane: The mage of Mind is cross. "You were not instructed to wake me!" But with this grumbling she agrees to help with watch.
Hettie: Excellent. As soon as they're both out of the tent, I'll scoop my marbles out from under Zedeja's sleeping fur.
GM Elle: Sneaking roll again, since there are people in the tent with you, some of whom are trying to get to sleep.
Hettie: 12. Done.
GM Elle: No one is the wiser, then.
MSG: Having slept, I get to remove my "disheartened" condition, right?
GM Elle: Yes. Now let's see if anything comes upon you the rest of the night. A 3 on the d12 means no.
Claire: By the way, I'm assuming, Bushcraft-wise, I know to hang my rabbit from a tree branch or something where it won't attract bears.
GM Elle: Probably should have said that before you went to sleep, but sure. With dawn, the mists thin ever so slightly, allowing through a hazy light from the east. Everyone needs to mark off a ration for breakfast. Anyone doing anything else before you set off?
Claire: I think it takes a whole shift to cook my rabbit, which seems excessive, especially since it's already been fried by lightning. But the rules are the rules, and I assume no one wants to wait another shift to get two rations of food cooked.
Akane: If the subject is raised, Zedeja makes a ruling. No hare cookery delays!
GM Elle: Travel gets underway, then. For an hour or two, the road is quiet, winding through the thickening copses of the Magna Woods until you're surrounded by full forest. Then, from somewhere ahead, you hear high pitched cries for help echoing through the trees.
Sasha: Sir Q breaks into a run, in case someone's being attacked by a monster.
Akane: Wait! This was not authorized by Zedeja!
Hettie: I'll jump down from the cart and follow the knight, if only to get under Zedeja's skin.
GM Elle: What's everyone else going to do?
MSG: Well, I don't think we should all leave the cart, but I definitely want to know what's going on, so I'll suggest Fidu and Zedeja do their best to get the donkey to hurry, then I'll follow the others.
Claire: No way is Filvius letting Dolora be the first to know what's up. He'll head in the direction of the screams too.
Ariel: How do you get a donkey to hurry? Riding? My Riding skill is pretty bad. 
Akane: This is not the expertise of Akane. You should roll.
Ariel: Aw, man. I roll and 8 and I needed a 7 or less.
GM Elle: The donkey brays at you resentfully and continues plodding at a typical donkey pace. The cries and wails grow louder as those on foot approach the source -- but it becomes obvious they don't originate on the road. You're going to have to push through the dense vegetation to get to whatever's making the sound. It's a very high-pitched, reedy voice. "Help! Help meeee!" You think you hear deeper voices responding roughly, but the foliage makes it hard to tell what they're saying.
MSG: I guess I'll keep hurrying that way.
Claire: Should we try to sneak up on whatever's happening?
Sasha: Sure. I'm in plate armor and my Sneaking is 7.
Hettie: Sounds like we should just rush them and decide what to do when we can see more clearly.
GM Elle: You break through the undergrowth to what appears to be a game trail. Coming up the trail toward you is a procession of tough-looking humans armed with scimitars. Two of them carry a goblin between them, chained to a log. The goblin is the source of the screams.
Sasha: I'm disappointed there are no monsters, and it's just a goblin screaming. Last time we met goblins they attacked us for no reason, so maybe these dudes are only giving this one what it deserves.
Hettie: We should at least ask them what's up, though, don't you think?
MSG: Dolora agrees and asks the humans what the trouble is.
GM Elle: "No trouble at all," says the one in the lead. "Unless you're getting in our way." He appears to be sizing the four of you up. The goblin pleads for you to save him so he can go back to his family, but one of the men whacks him on the head. "Shut up, runt!"
Hettie: Dilfriida doesn't much care for seeing small people abused by bigger ones or insulted for their size. She's going to draw her dagger.
GM Elle: The leader sees that and immediately whips out his scimitar. Time for us to draw initiative cards. NPCs ... 8.
MSG: 5.
Claire: 7.
Sasha: 9.
Hettie: 3. I'll immediately switch with Claire and say, light these guys up, Filvius!
Claire: Sure. I'll spend ... let's say 4 WP. Animism roll is ... damn it, 14. I'll push and become Disheartened. That's better, 11. I'm zapping the guy in the lead.
GM Elle: He's definitely going to try to evade that. Getting zapped by lightning doesn't appeal to him. He succeeds with a 5, so there's no second bolt.
MSG: I'll move up and smack the leader with my greatclub, since I know he can't dodge now. Wham! 10. My damage is 13 points. 
GM Elle: He's down. Het?
Hettie: I'll move to here and throw my dagger at #2. That's a hit for 8 points.
GM Elle: Their turn. The two holding the log drop it and draw their scimitars. These two here draw and move up to attack Dolora. This guy in the back pulls his weapon and moves up, but can't get close enough to strike this turn. First attack on Dolora ... hits for 9.
MSG: I bought some studded leather, which helps a little, but ouch.
GM Elle: Second guy hits but only does 4.
MSG: Whew! Medic!
Sasha: Quackenscrump rushes this guy and guts him with a broadsword stroke. A hit, but only a lame 8 points.
GM Elle: That's the one Dilfriida threw at though ... so, dead. New initiative. They're on 6.
MSG: 4.
Claire: 2.
Sasha: 7.
Hettie: A wonderful 10.
Claire: I'll move up and try to heal Dolora with 4 WP of Treat Wound. Blah, 18! Now I'm getting Angry at how poorly I'm doing with my magic ... but I still blow it with a 14 when I push the roll.
MSG: I'm going to switch cards with Quackenscrump, then. Here you go, Sash.
Sasha: Yes! Sir Q boldly strides between these two guys and broadswords the one next to the bard. Slash! Hit! Sheesh, only 9 points of damage, though.
GM Elle: Hang on, you're supposed to give him a chance to dodge or parry. Which he does. Their turn. This guy's out for blood on Dolora, so he shifts here and hoo, rolls a Dragon.
MSG: Damn it. It takes a Dragon to dodge that, right? I'm not wasting my action on those odds.
GM Elle: He's picking the option that lets him get a second attack on someone else after hitting you. 9 points.
MSG: Puts me at 0.
GM Elle: For his free attack on Sir Q ... a hit, for 10 points.
Sasha: You need to get some plate armor, Dolora. That's only 2 to me.
GM Elle: These last 2 guys also move up to attack you though, Quackenscrump. First one misses ... second one hits for 9.
Sasha: Yawn.
MSG: All right, I've got to make a death roll ... no problem with a 7. Now I'll try to rally myself ... made it! I keep on my feet and swinging!
Hettie: Dilfriida draws her knife and moves here to backstab. Easy hit, 3 and 7, for 14 points.
GM Elle: He's very dead.
Hettie: Also, poisoned. Does that mean my poisoned dagger is used up and now just a regular dagger?
GM Elle: Poison is listed as by the dose, so I'd say yes.
Hettie: Well, easy come, easy go.
GM Elle: New initiative, then.
Ariel: What about us? Have we caught up yet?
GM Elle: The yelling for help stopped, and you continued forward. If you roll Awareness I'll say you hear the sounds of battle off through the trees and can draw initiative.
Akane: Zedeja is the most Aware ... but fails.
Ariel: Oh no! I roll a Demon!
GM Elle: In that case, not only do you not hear, you keep driving the cart forward so that you're now getting farther and farther from the fight.
MSG: Peachy.
GM Elle: The bad guys are on 10.
MSG: Yes, finally! I get the 8, but at least I'm ahead of them.
Claire: I get 6.
Sasha: Quackenscrump draws the 1, baby!
Hettie: 9 for Dilfriida.
Sasha: Broadswording this guy here. Hit! He dodging?
GM Elle: He's trying. You seem to be a killing machine. Fails with a 19, though.
Sasha: 11 points. I'm betting they have 12, right?
GM Elle: No comment.
Claire: I'm trying to use Healing skill to help Dolora, since I've got a slightly better chance of that than I do with my magic. A 2 succeeds.
MSG: Kind of a bummer, since I rallied. But I'll take it over dying.
Claire: You're welcome.
MSG: Okay, I'm going to pull my horn out and use my Musician ability to give them all a bane on all rolls until my next turn. That has the additional advantage of working out to 100 meters, so hopefully Aers and Akane can hear it.
GM Elle: Normally I'd just give it to you, but because of that Demon Aers rolled, I'll say they get another Awareness roll ahead of next initiative. Hettie, you're up.
Hettie: I'll just do a normal attack on this guy Quackenscrump almost killed. 12 hits.
GM Elle: Dead. Their turn, and they see which way the wind is blowing here. They're taking off running. Sash, you'll get a free attack on each one.
Sasha: Yessss! Hit! 17 points! Hit! 12 points!
GM Elle: Both dead.
Sasha: Hah! I told you they had 12 hit points.
GM Elle: The sounds of battle die away through the mists. Zedeja and Fidu get their Awareness rolls.
Ariel: Made it.
Akane: I, also.
GM Elle: As the goblin hesitantly and plaintively asks you to release him, I'm going to say this is a good place to stop for the evening. Experience questions! Did you participate in the session? Yes for all. Did you explore a new location? Sure, the Magna Woods. Did you defeat dangerous enemies? Yes for Dilfriida, Dolora, Filvius, and Sir Q.
Ariel: That's a little bit of a bummer, but Fidu is relieved that he at least didn't have to exert himself. Also, I got a free mark for that Demon I rolled.
GM Elle: I think everyone played their weaknesses pretty clearly. Did you overcome an obstacle without violence?
Akane: Crossing a bridge? It's unlikely as an obstacle, I suppose.
GM Elle: Yeah, I'd say you skipped that one again. So, 4 for most of you, 3 for Aers and Akane, and then any marks you got for Demons or Dragons.
MSG: Great game, Elle!
Ariel: Even if there was hardly any cursing!
GM Elle: Oh, sh**, there wasn't, was there? All right, well, you can clean up the one I just said there and the ones from when we got started if you want.
MSG: Claire? It's your blog.
Claire: Sure, let's bleep it back to PG.
GM Elle: All right, thanks for playing, everybody. Next time ... the temple!
Ariel: I mean, unless we let this goblin go and follow him home or something.
Sasha: I'm definitely going to be interrogating him on whether there are monsters near his place.
GM Elle: We'll see ...

subspace rhapsody!

you guys.

if you're not watching strange new worlds, i don't know what to tell you, but i hope it's because star trek just isn't your thing. because it's the best trek ever. i'm done being wishy-washy about whether i'm betraying my first star trek love, the original series, by saying that kind of thing -- it's flat-out true. and anyway, snw makes tos better with every episode.

this one is pure, for-sure, the tops, though.

when i saw they were doing a musical episode, i kind of thought it would go one of two ways: (1) it would be too silly and i'd enjoy it but think they pushed the envelope too far, even if i respect me some envelope-pushing in a big way ... or (2) it would be the best thing ever.

honestly, i feel SO (shift-key level) dumb for thinking it could go two ways. i mean, what was wrong with me?

with this crew, and this cast, and these people behind the show working as hard as they can to make it absolutely brilliant and true, it was always going to be the best thing ever.

i just ... i can't even express how my heart feels about this episode.

if you're a trekkie/trekker, and you haven't already, go watch it. (best to watch the rest of strange new worlds first if you haven't given it a try, though. it will be worth it, i promise!)

i'll be going back to this one over and over for a long time!

dragonbane ... secret of the dragon emperor, part 4!

howdy, howdy, howdy! we've been having a lot of fun playing this dragonbane rpg. so far i'd pretty highly recommend it for anyone who wants an easy-to-learn fantasy rpg, especially since it comes with a mini-campaign that's off to a great start for our group. (not that i think we've gotten all that far in the campaign part ...) if you haven't been following so far, you can go here to start from the top. or if you want to just jump right in, our characters are right in the process of arriving in the town of outskirt, which is the only real settlement in a place called the misty vale, where we've been drawn by the siren call (you know, rumors) of ancient treasure!

GM Elle: All right. The gates of Outskirt stand open before you. The three adventurers you ran into on the road have already headed inside while you were introducing yourselves to the guy at the gate. What are you going to do?
MSG: Dour Dolora will ask the guard where we should take these two bandits. Is there a sheriff or a jail?
GM Elle: He kind of scratches his head and says maybe you should go talk to Vagnhild at the Three Stags Inn. "We're not the largest of towns, you know. Not yet big enough for a sheriff or jail. Vagnhild organizes the watch, which I'm captain of. So we're about the closest thing to authorities you'll find around here. Won't surprise me too much if she says since you caught 'em, they're your problem."
MSG: I guess I'll ask directions to the Three Stags, then.
Ariel: And I'll ask directions to whoever does the trading around here! We've got loot to sell off!
GM Elle: He says if you follow the street that goes more or less north from the gate, it will curve around to the village square. "The Stags is the big two-story inn there -- you can't miss it. And there's Ulvar's place and the smithy for trade, just across the square."
MSG: I'll thank him and lead the two bandits through the gate.
Claire: It sounds like all the action in this town is in the same direction, so Filvius will follow along.
Ariel: Fidu too!
Sasha: Sir Q is ready to see if that inn has anything to drink.
Akane: Zedeja looks for alternative destinations. Is this really a town of only one useful direction? Last time, we saw ruins on a hill?
GM Elle: Yes, and in fact, there's a weathered old path stairstepping its way up the town's central hill right in front of you. The street to the village square curves around it to the right, and another one angles  west-southwest from the gate. Here's part of the map.

Sasha: So the town's basically a big shoe.
GM Elle: No, that's just the part that's in view at the moment. It looks like mostly residences lining either street here, except for a building down the way that has a windmill attached to it.
MSG: I'm continuing up the street, hopefully far enough to be out of earshot when Zedeja starts ordering everyone to do whatever it is she decides we ought to do.
Claire: I'm down with that plan.
Akane: What! Cravers of knowledge ... you're mis-titled. Here are curious ruins! Very close!
Hettie: Dilfriida is going to hurry over to the stairs before Zedeja can order her to. "Come on, then, Z. Let's see what we can find!"
Akane: Unacceptable. Zedeja has leadership, not lackey-ness. No orders from you, scoundrel!
Hettie: I start up the stairs. "You sure you don't want to investigate?"
Akane: There is grumbling from Zedeja about agedness and all the marching of this day. "We should take all loot and trade for gold, then rest at this inn of stags. Cease detouring!"
Hettie: All I've got is some rank-smelling goblin leather. It's probably not going to fetch much coin anyway. I wave and tell Zedeja I'll be along in a bit.
GM Elle: So you're going to go up and explore the ruins alone?
Hettie: No, that sounds like a terrible idea. I'm just going to wait long enough for Zedeja to get well up the street and then follow along where she can't see and yell at me to catch up.
GM Elle: Roll your Sneaking, opposed by Zedeja's Awareness.
Akane: No, Zedeja has turned her back to this person and now ignores her existence.
Hettie: I roll an 8, well under my skill level of 14.
GM Elle: Then you easily manage to follow Zedeja without attracting her attention. Meanwhile, the rest of the group has followed the upward grade of the road around the ruin-topped hill and now sees the village square laid out before them. At its center, you see a weathered statue -- looks like a warrior in armor, but it's obviously been here forever, since both arms have fallen off and the whole thing is pitted and cracked. To the right of the statue is an oblong log building with a grass-covered roof where several goats are grazing. A sign over the door of the place says, "Master Ulvar's." Next to it, beyond the statue, is a open-fronted log building with a smoky interior through which you can see a glowing hearth. Clanging and banging and dwarven songs ring out from inside.
MSG: Dwarven songs? Sounds sort of like Dolora should investigate, except that I've got these bandits to dispose of. Any sign of that inn?
GM Elle: Yes; it's on the opposite side of the square from Master Ulvar's, a sturdy two-story building with warm light and raucous laughter issuing from its downstairs windows. Above the door is a great wooden plaque graven with three noble stags.
MSG: I guess that's where I'm heading, then.
Claire: I'll go check out that statue and see if there's any knowledge to be gotten from it.
Ariel: I'm going to check out the goat-roof place. The gate guy said something about Master Ulvar's being a trading place. Maybe he'll trade for some of these swords.
Sasha: I'm going in the inn to see what they've got to drink.
GM Elle: Claire, make a Myths & Legends roll for Filvius.
Claire: Pretty easy success -- I roll a 4.
GM Elle: You think the statue is likely meant to be the Dragon Emperor Eledain, who supposedly ruled these lands long ago. you can see on his head a horned crown like those on the mileposts you passed. The statue also bears some resemblance to the four pieces drawn on your map. Aers, inside Master Ulvar's you meet the shopkeeper, who seems brisk and industrious, and his hulking son, who's sweeping the place unenthusiastically. It doesn't take much discussion with the shopkeeper for him to tell you that the smithy's the place to trade weaponry and armor. "Here at Master Ulvar's, we deal in more peaceable wares.
Ariel: Oh, gosh. I'm sorry! I mean, I guess maybe Fidu isn't all that sorry since he's just out to trade. I feel bad for the kid sweeping though. That looks tiring. Well, it's over to the smithy then I guess.
GM Elle: As Dolora and Sir Quackenscrump enter the Three Stags, a rumbling female voice and cheerfully tells them to enter. But when the woman it belongs to sees the bandits being led in tied up, she lifts a hand and asks what's going on. She's a middle-aged woman with a lined but jovial face and her hair done up in burly, graying braids. You notice her other hand goes to the head of a large warhammer that hangs at her belt.
MSG: I tell her the guard at the gate said I should see Vagnhild about how to turn these bandits in to the authorities and I ask if that's her.
GM Elle: She laughs and says it is, but that she's not the kind of authority that wants to babysit bandits. She says you should either turn them back out the gate or march them over to old man Mifaldor's place. "He could probably use a couple of hands to help him bring in his cows since his gout's acting up again, and he might let them sleep in the barn, then pay them a couple of silvers at the end of the week. Assuming honest work's of interest to them now they've had their asses handed to them for thieving."
MSG: Damn it, I really wanted to just get rid of these guys. I find out if it's closer to old man Mifaldor's or to the gate.
GM Elle: She gives you directions to Mifaldor's place, which is not far from the north gate, so you'll have your choice.
MSG: I guess I'll lead the bandits over there.
Claire: If I'm done looking at the statue, I'll head go wherever I need to to unload the bandit loot, goblin leather, and shortbow I'm hauling around. 
Ariel: Probably I'm coming out of the store around then and I'll wave at you to go in the smithy with me!
Claire: Sure, sounds good.
GM Elle: Sash, do you go with Dolora or --
Sasha: Hell no. Anybody in this joint look like they need a drinking partner?
GM Elle: Vagnhild offers you a tankard of mead on the house since you're new in town. You see those three adventurers at one table, looking downcast and nursing their own drinks. There are also three or four villagers at another table, drinking boisterously.
Sasha: I'll go sit with Gualmond and his buddies and try to cheer them up with a drinking song. My Performance is pretty decent ... I get an 11.
GM Elle: You manage to raise their spirits at least a little.
Sasha: Obviously, it's a song about monster-killing.
Akane: Does Zedeja cross the path of a dwarf towing two bandits?
GM Elle: If you head toward the inn when you reach the town square, yes.
Akane: I demand to know where she is taking them now.
MSG: I tell her.
Akane: What?! No punishment for banditry? This place offers injustice. We should take them to the wall, where the magic of Zedeja can levitate them high up and drop them on the sharp ends of wall-logs.
GM Elle: The bandits look alarmed and start to object.
MSG: I tell them Zedeja's offer doesn't sound too bad to me, but I'll take them to Mifaldor's farm if they promise they'll go straight. If we find out they don't stick to the deal, we'll track them down and turn them into palisade decorations.
GM Elle: They swear they'll be more than happy earning silver for tending cows, considering they have no food, money, or weapons now. Look, I'm not even rolling a die, so you can feel pretty sure they're not bluffing.
MSG: Great. I'll drop them off at Mifaldor's and head back to the inn to drink, then.
Akane: Zedeja does not accompany the dwarf to this farmer. She continues inn-ward with shaking of the head.
Hettie: If I had the chance to while they were talking, I'd try to sneak past and get to the inn before Zedeja does. 7 on my Sneaking if you allow it.
GM Elle: Sure, but Zedeja and Dolora do get Awareness rolls.
MSG: My awareness is terrible. I tie you with a 7, but it's still a failure.
Akane: Zedeja of Mind is the most with Awareness! 5! Great success! I see you, sneak!
Hettie: Does she spot me before I pass them or after?
GM Elle: After.
Hettie: I'll dash on ahead to the in and call back, "What was that? I didn't hear you!"
Akane: Is the distance more than six meters? Possibly I must Levitate her for insolence.
GM Elle: No, she's definitely out of range.
Akane: Zedeja grumbles alone to the inn, then.
GM Elle: Meanwhile, inside the smithy, Fidu and Filvius meet Okald, a heavily tattooed dwarf woman who cheerfully engages them in trade. She'll offer you half of the book price for whatever you're trying to sell her.
Ariel: I have Bartering skill, though! Umm ... yes, a 13 is less than my skill 14.
GM Elle: You can haggle her into paying 20% more than her initial offer, then, but it comes at the extra price of having to listen to a lot of long-winded stories in the process. She jokingly complains that your negotiating tenacity reminds her of times she out-ate cave trolls in her homeland, or wrestled basilisks in the depths of the mountains.
Claire: Basilisks? I'll ask if she has any advice on fighting them, since we think we know where one is.
GM Elle: She says she'll happily trade that information for the 20% Fidu talked her out of.
Ariel: Claire! You're ruining my good roll!
GM Elle: Okald is actually joking, Aers. But she doesn't have much more to tell you than you already know. Her main advice is to get some really powerful antidote for their gas. "Not the cheap stuff -- it won't do you any good. Probably need the kind that's 20, 30 gold a dose."
Claire: Yikes. There would have to be an awful lot of treasure in that cave for us to shell out that kind of money to gear up.
Ariel: Like, even if we pooled all the money we've got now, we couldn't buy more than a dose or two of it! Does Okald know who's got it for sale? Maybe I could roll a dragon bartering with them and get it for half price.
GM Elle: She laughs and says poison antidote that good is pretty rare. The best place to buy it would be in some big city out beyond the vale.
Ariel: Well, we just got here, so for sure we're not going all the way back to civilization and making ourselves broke again for one or two doses of medicine.
Sasha: You two should have your characters come over to the bar. Sir Q is getting plenty of medicine for a lot less than 20 gold a pop.
GM Elle: Speaking of which, Sash while you're singing and drinking with Gualmond and friends, the inn's serving maid comes by to make sure you've all got all you need at the moment. She says, "You're a new face in town, I see! Any word of the wider world lately?"
Sasha: I'll ask for another tankard of mead and tell her that I and my pals have come to rid the vale of all its monsters.
GM Elle: "Goodness!" she says. "You must be quite the heroes!" She introduces herself as Annabelle. She has kind eyes and deep dimples, with a bit of a haggard look that makes her age hard to pin down. She tells you a task like that would surely require the legendary sword Um-Durman, forged eight centuries ago by the Dragon Emperor himself, Eledain. "Very useful against monsters, I'm sure!"
Sasha: I tell her if she happens to know where it's lying around, I'd love to have directions.
GM Elle: She laughs and says that actually it's well known that the sword rests somewhere beneath the ruined temple on the hill. But the crypt is hidden and can't be found without the statue of the Dragon Emperor, broken into pieces and lost long ago.

Sasha: Hmm. That sounds familiar. Good thing I'm only on my second tankard or I might accidentally spill the beans that we found one of the pieces.
Hettie: Has Dilfriida shown up yet?
GM Elle: Probably just about now ... right about as Fidu and Filvius get back from the smithy. Vagnhild welcomes everyone, and tells Annabelle to bring you each a complementary mead.
MSG: Have I ditched the bandits at old man Mifaldor's place yet? Or do I have to role-play through that.
Claire: Talking to a farmer with gout might be a sure-fire way to learn something Dolora hasn't yet found out, you know.
GM Elle: We can skip it if you want.
MSG: Great. I'd like to go to the smithy and unload this heap of stuff I've been carrying around, then.
GM Elle: You can make a Bartering roll if you want to try to get a better price. But I'm going to give you a bane because Okald already stocked up on stuff from your other party members.
MSG: Well, that's not happening. My Bartering's only 7. I'll give it a shot, though ... holy moley, 6 and 6!
GM Elle: She's apparently in a very generous mood today! You can collect 60% of book price for whatever you're trading in. But you get another earful of her long-winded stories about hunting dragonspawn in abandoned mines and so forth.
MSG: For the extra gold, I won't complain about listening. She is a fellow dwarf, after all. 
Claire: Well, I'm taking my free mead and sitting down with my companions to tell them what I learned about the Dragon Emperor statue in the middle of the village square?
Ariel: Oh, boy, what did you learn?
Akane: It is armless. Also, old and broken.
Hettie: Is this Akane talking, or Zedeja?
GM Elle: Zedeja's not quite there. Probably just now entering and being offered the customary free mead for first timers.
Akane: It was Akane anyway. Zedeja would have said, "Tell them of its armlessness and other poor conditions!"
Claire: Either way, Filvius is going to excitedly say the statue looks similar to the one we have that busted hunk of that matches the pieces on the map.
GM Elle: Gualmond and his two friends sit up a little straighter when you say that.
Sasha: Smooth move, blabber-elf.
Claire: Hey, I wasn't there to hear the story of the temple crypt and using the statue pieces as a key.
GM Elle: Sash, you can make an Awareness roll.
Sasha: I think you mean, I can attempt an Awareness roll. Cause I sure as squat don't make it with a 14. My Awareness is 5.
Akane: With bane for helmedness!
Sasha: I'm assuming I took off the full-visor helmet to drink my tankards.
Akane: Ah, sensible. Since Zedeja is now arriving, she approaches the table of companions.
GM Elle: You can make an Awareness roll too, Akane.
Akane: 9 is a success of no effort for Zedeja.
GM Elle: You notice a serving maid at a nearby table who seems to be distracted by your friends. She's looking away from her customers toward your group with an expression of surprise on her face.
Akane: Zedeja goes to scold everyone. "What trouble are you causing? This place has a staff so friendly -- look, see the gift of mead! Why alarm these kind people?"
Sasha: I'll say I don't know what she's talking about.
Akane: Zedeja nods at a serving girl.
Hettie: I don't think she's actually a girl. Elle referred to her as indeterminate in age.
Akane: All are youthful in the eyes of so-very-old Zedeja. I tell Sir Duck about this girl's look so startled. "One of you is a culprit!"
Sasha: Does she look startled?
GM Elle: No, she's actually headed back over toward the bar and isn't looking your direction anymore.
Sasha: Then no harm, no foul.
Akane: Yes! The fowl is you! How can a duck forget he's a fowl? No more tankards for you!
GM Elle: Gualmond's human friend leans in and says quietly, "Did I hear right, and you've got a map to the four pieces of Eledain's Key?"
Claire: Oh, no, it's just an old map of the Misty Vale. But it has drawings of some statue pieces in the corners. You want to see it?
GM Elle: Gualmond shushes you -- which is not as subtle a sound coming from a mallard as when a human does it. He tells you there aren't any complete and accurate maps of the vale these days -- just rough ones pieced together from the sketches of adventurers who've traveled here and there. "If you have a complete map," he says, "it's got to be old. Especially if the statue key figures on it." The wolfkin of the group growls that lots of people would be interested in a map like that ... Sathmog cultists and the Keepers of the Immaculate Flame ... even some of the orcs that haven't left the valley yet. "There's word a band of them's looking for the way to get at Eledain's magic sword."
Claire: Filvius asks them to tell him all about this stuff. He's dying to know more.
GM Elle: They tell you the Sathmog cultists are a weird sect that seems to have been popping up more and more lately. When they set their sights on something, they'll take on anyone who gets in their way, which is what happened when this group ran into them on the way to Dead Eyes Cave. The Keepers of the Flame are a very different sort of group -- the human, Hengrik, says, "Zealots, all the same!" But they're apparently a bunch of knights and monks devoted to Eledain's ancient cause, working toward a day when the reign of the dragon knights might be reestablished in the Dragon Emperor's name. The wolfkin is called Fleetclaw, and she says with a shrug, "As for the orcs -- they're orcs." Gualmond says it's not as simple as that, but she just knocks back her tankard and ignores him as he tells you about the remnants of several orc and goblin tribes banding together under a General Maladûk, who seems to be a very effective leader. Whatever it is Maladûk's about, she's got goblins out looking for something, and no doubt a magical sword would appeal to her regardless of her specific ambitions.
Claire: Filvius is eating it all up and asking for more details.
Sasha: Unless they start talking monsters at some point, Sir Q keeps drinking and calls the serving maid over for a refill.
GM Elle: Claire, they don't have a lot more information, but they tell you anecdotes of other adventurers they've met who had run-ins with one or another of these factions. Sash, when Annabelle comes over at your signal, she leans in close and tells you to be careful what you believe out of stories about that statue. But she says she knows some of the real truth, and would like to discuss it with you under more private circumstances.
Sasha: I tell her if it doesn't involve monsters, I'm not sure how interested I am, but either this loose-lipped elf or our more sensible dwarf bard would probably love to hear more.
GM Elle: She nods and goes to get your next drink.
Ariel: Is it late yet? Fidu is tired. Actually, I'm a little sleepy myself -- me, me, not Fidu me.
Sasha: What? We haven't even fought anything yet.
GM Elle: No, but this is probably a good stopping point if anyone else wants to call it an evening too.
MSG: I'm easy either way.
Claire: Me too.
Akane: Ending means more experience questions and marks, so more improvement before more fighting arrives. And Zedeja is also old and tired.
Hettie: Sounds like it's best we call it a night, then.
GM Elle: All right. Everyone gets a participation mark. You explored a new location in the form of Outskirt. No dangerous enemies defeated, but I think figuring out what to do with the bandits counts as solving a problem without violence. So three marks to start, and I'll leave it to your discretion whether you think you gave in to your weakness tonight.
MSG: Not me. Dang, I guess I should have taken advantage of Okald's gabbing about her glory days to pump her for information.
Claire: I think Filvius did enough knowledge-craving for the both of us, so I'll take the mark.
Ariel: I was pretty slothful, wasn't I?
Sasha: For my money, yep. And if anything, I'm thinking I might be overdoing it with Quackenscrump's monster obsession.
Akane: No, lots of amusement in this monster-fixating duck. Meanwhile, plenty of overbearing from Zedeja for a mark, I think.
Hettie: Not much thin-skinned behavior from Dilfriida, though. Honesty suggests I should skip that one.
GM Elle: All right. Well, everybody roll to see if you advance your skills, and we'll start off from here next time!