i can be kinda stubborn sometimes.

like, a while back i realized i wasn't blogging on a very good pace to keep up my ambition of doing more posts every year than the year before, and i told myself that ought to be okay. if i didn't have anything to say, why force myself to say anything?

it seemed like pretty chill advice, and i was like, "good job, claire! way to be kind to yourself and let what will be, be."

but dang if i'm not over here writing another blog post because something made me think of the fact that if i could just get in a few more blog posts in may, i'd be on track again for another record-breaking number of posts this year.

now i'm totally stuck between being stubborn about chasing a new record and being stubborn about telling myself i don't need to go around chasing records.

but it turns out i'm also feeling tired because we all woke up middle of the night around here and it's catching up to me.

so apparently i'm not so stubborn that i won't go back to bed and try to get some more shuteye. hopefully my brain won't stubbornly keep me awake once i lie back down ...

xoxo
claire

writing advice!

90% of writing is starting.
9% is pushing through.
1% is finishing. 

pay special attention to that first line!!!

xoxo,
claire

(p.s., i just found out that control+enter gives you a line break in blogger instead of a paragraph return. control+enter, where have you been all my life?!?)

poetry

how do we look for life
in red-circled numbers
accessorizing iconic bells?

i saw one, yesterday,
and where did it lead me?

to pictures,
two pictures,
of two beloved women
whose images
i posted out of ...

pride?
a yearning to have my
delight in
beloved
beings of
beauty
given validation?
the hope that
by sharing joy
i might better the world?
improve upon it?
really? when it has already given me
these two revelations
of what perfection looks like?

i saw that red number
chased it
and found

that whoever had liked
my photos
(your photos)
meant so much less to me
than the simple opportunity
to see them again
and be reminded

of what i have

secret of the dragon emperor ... part 22!

let's get right to it!

GM Elle: Okay, last time we wrapped up with Filvius getting his fortune told by spiderwebs, which pretty much means you've done all there is to do in the burial mound of Hanhgrav the Great.
Sasha: Unless we want to go back to that shed with the weaving thing in it and find out if it's a monster or not. We never did get a good look at it.
Ariel: We're not going to do that just so you can decide it's a monster and kill it! Claire got a pretty good trade out of that whatever-it-was. I don't think it would be right at all to go and kill it.
Sasha: Sir Quackenscrump doesn't know how you can say that when you're not even sure it's not a monster.
Ariel: Fidu is an honest merchant! In his opinion, if you can trade with someone, they can't be a monster.
Sasha: Fidu is also a treasure hunter, though ... and who knows how much treasure that thing might have racked up, trading its future knowledge for magic items.
Ariel: Okay, that's true ... but Fidu is also slothful, and he's already gotten way more than enough exercise today, climbing up that hill and then fighting that giant spider and then climbing up the inside of that statue and getting all freaked out by a ghost. I'm ready to get back to our wagon and take a load off my feet. Or paws. Whatever I've got at the bottom of my legs.
Akane: The wagon! Zedeja insists we move speedily. A cultist has been there minding our goods and donkeys alone much too long! What if she decides to betray the employment contract?
Hettie: Dilfriida mutters that she wonders why Glinssa would ever do that, considering she has such pleasant employers.
GM Elle: Does this mean you're leaving the statue mound then?
Akane: Zedeja is exiting.
MSG: Dolora is about ready to get out and see if she can figure a way to repair her greatclub. 
Claire: Filvius is ready to get going after the things from his spiderweb vision. Oh, which of course he tells everyone about as we're leaving the place. In enormous detail.
GM Elle: When you get back to the cart, Glinssa and the donkeys are all still there. She says you were gone an awfully long time and hopes you found something good inside.
MSG: Dolora says we're not rich by any stretch of the imagination, but we did okay.
Claire: Filvius immediately starts telling her about his knowledge of the future.
Akane: Stop! She is a cultist, remember? Even if reformed, we should not tell her about statuette pieces!
Claire: I didn't say Filvius told her that part. But it sounds like Zedeja just blurted it out trying to keep me from spilling the beans.
Akane: So bad! Your haste to tell her things gave Zedeja haste to keep secrets and now they are revealed! Zedeja tells the junior mage that from now on he must ask her permission to relay any important information to hirelings. Really, to anyone outside the party.
GM Elle: Glinssa keeps her mouth shut and sidesteps away from this discussion to get the donkeys ready to go
MSG: Sounds like she may have a higher Wisdom score than some of our party members.
Claire: It's Willpower in this game, dear.
MSG: Sure, but the joke doesn't work with Willpower.
Ariel: If we're at the cart by now, Fidu is hopping up on the front seat to rest his tired old feet and legs.
Sasha: Quackers says maybe instead of arguing about whether to tell our donkey-tender where we're going, we ought to actually decide where we're going.
Hettie: Dilfriida says she thought we would be heading back to town to unload some of this treasure. Our cart's getting pretty full, isn't it? Speaking out of character, she doesn't actually care about that. She just wants to sell off this crown that she hid in her backpack. Shall I make a Bluffing roll for that?
GM Elle: No, everyone can just decide whether to be suspicious of that or not.
MSG: It's definitely true that the cart is getting full.
Claire: Filvius isn't keen on heading to town instead of pursuing his vision of that tower near the swamp, so he doesn't agree with the idea but he doesn't see anything suspicious about.
Ariel: Fidu just wants to get to work on his nap.
Akane: Zedeja suspects only poor work ethic from our thievish member. She says, "Hush, halfling! Laziness is the job of our hound!"
Sasha: Quackers thinks the odds of running into monsters in the swamp is probably greater than on the road back to Outskirt.
MSG: Is there even a way across the swamp, though?
Claire: Filvius is very quick to pull out our map and make use of the knowledge on it. Hmm. There's a tower on the far side of the swamp, all right. Elle, does this look like the one from my vision?
GM Elle: It does indeed.
Claire: So there's no road to get way over there ... but there is this little village or something at the end of the road that leads up to the swamp. We'd just have to turn right at the next intersection. Probably we could leave the cart there for safe-keeping and just take the donkeys across the swamp.
Ariel: Won't they get swallowed up in quicksand or something like that? Wait, what if we get swallowed up in quicksand?
Akane: Zedeja can levitate persons, but not donkeys. Is quicksand a grave fear?
GM Elle: Someone can roll Bushcraft.
MSG: Dolora can.
Claire: No, Filvius will!
Ariel: We're not going to have to do initiative cards again, are we?
GM Elle: MSG spoke up more quickly, so I'll say they can both roll, but Dolora gets in the first word.
MSG: Oof. 19.
Claire: Hah! 9!
GM Elle: You're not aware of quicksand being a particular danger in a swamp like this ... but navigating off-road requires a Bushcraft roll every shift, and on a failure you experience a Mishap. Spoiler alert, one of the entries in the Mishap table is quicksand.
MSG: Great.
Claire: Filvius says that if Dolora didn't even know that much, obviously she should let him do the Bushcraft rolls when we get into the swamp.
Ariel: What are y'all talking about? I put my fingers in my ears when Elle said "spoiler alert."
Sasha: MSG and Claire are just getting their characters set up to argue over who makes the Bushcraft roll every shift we travel through the swamp.
Ariel: Oh. Fidu is too tired to get involved in that. If we're not moving yet, he'll get out his sleeping pelt and try to squeeze in a nap.
MSG: It is seeming like we've got a consensus built around going for that tower, since we're right here by the swamp anyway.
Akane: This plan of swamp-investigating has not been approved by Zedeja! There shouldn't be so much assumption we'll go there before returning to Outskirt.
Hettie: Indeed? I would have expected her to get on board simply because Dilfriida preferred the other route.
Akane: It's the assuming Zedeja disapproves of, not the choice of direction. Just because assumers sometimes assume the appropriate direction does not mean assuming is appropriate in the first place.
Hettie: Ah, that seems more in character.
Claire: Filvius suggests that we go to that village on the map and check it out regardless. We've got one more shift of travel today before we need to rest, right? We can make it there in one shift, but if we turn in the direction of Outskirt, we'll have to camp out before we get all the way there.
Sasha: More chance of monsters attacking us in the night if we camp out.
Akane: True. A stop at the village seems to hold more wisdom, then.
Sasha: Quackers was actually trying to suggest the opposite. The more monsters we fight, the better.
Akane: Zedeja is aware. But this approach allows her to admit the accuracy of your facts and also dictate a direction for the group that is her choosing, not the duck's.
Sasha: Got it. Well, I'm also okay with getting a few tankards of mead at an inn and sleeping in a bed for the night, so I guess we can head that direction if everyone else agrees.
Hettie: Dilfriida doesn't, but she restrains herself from arguing, since the effort appears unlikely to bear fruit.
GM Elle: If that's where the group is headed, then, let's see if there are any encounters during this shift's travel. And the die says ... mm-hmm. Interesting. Each character needs to make an Awareness roll as you pass through an area where the road runs near a bayou, and twisted dark swamp trees stand to either side. 
MSG: 15 is a failure for Dolora.
Claire: 12 is a failure for Filvius. Good grief, I need to start putting some advancement marks in Awareness!
Ariel: Oh no. I roll a Demon!
Sasha: This is not looking good so far. My turn? Quackers gets a 12 ... that's also a failure.
Akane: Misfortune continues! Zedeja's roll is 19. A failure of Awareness is intolerable to her, though, so I will push the roll and become Angry. So enfuriating to look around and see companions heedless to the environment! She redoubles her watchfulness. Now the roll is ... 15, a success.
Hettie: Ah, the tide of fortune turns for Dilfriida. She rolls a Dragon.
GM Elle: Your choice, then. Dilfriida has spotted the danger so clearly and quickly, you can give one of your compatriots a Boon -- essentially, another roll that only counts if it's lower than the first roll. Or you can negate Fidu's Demon and turn it into an ordinary failure.
Hettie: I believe this choice makes itself. The way most everyone rolled, giving them a Boon might easily do nothing to improve the situation at all. So I'll negate the Demon. In-game, I'll say that because I'm riding in the back of the wagon, I'm positioned perfectly to spot whatever it is and point it out to the wolfkin.
GM Elle: Probably a good strategy. Glinssa also fails her roll, so everyone is stuck except for Zedeja and Dilfriida.
MSG: Stuck?
Ariel: I knew it! Quicksand!
GM Elle: No, actually. Too late for most of you, you find that a giant spider has spun its web almost invisibly across the road. The donkeys are immediately stuck along with those who failed their rolls.
Claire: Great. Another spider. Filvius is going to have nightmares.
Akane: A benefit, though -- he is learning much about giant spiders.
Claire: He actually will take that as consolation ... assuming he survives.
GM Elle: Initiative cards.
MSG: 3.
Claire: 6.
Ariel: 9. Ooh, that's a pattern!
Sasha: 5 for Quackers.
Akane: Zedeja, 7.
Hettie: And I draw the 8.
GM Elle: The spider gets the 4 and the 10.
MSG: Wow. I thought it would get the 1 and the 2 for sure.
Claire: That would be about par for the course for us in initiative results.
GM Elle: That means Dolora is up, MSG. What is she going to do? Breaking loose of the webbing requires a Strength check with a Bane.
MSG: Dolora's actually going to blow her horn instead of trying to break out first. Everyone will get a Boon on their rolls to counteract that Bane until my turn next round.
Ariel: Woo-hoo!
GM Elle: Spider's turn, then. From out of the trees, you see its bulbous, black shape scuttle to attack. Seeing that some of you are still free, it makes a Web attack on Dilfriida. You get a free Evade roll to dodge the sticky mass of webbing.
Hettie: I believe I shall spend 3 WP on my "Hard to Catch" halfling ability, which gives me a double Boon on the roll.
GM Elle: Not taking any chances, hmm?
Hettie: Not with the rest of the group trussed up like that. I get successes on all three dice.
GM Elle: Dilfriida nimbly sidesteps the gooey glob. Sir Q's turn.
Sasha: Strength check? Aha, Dragon!
GM Elle: I'll say that lets you rip loose so easily that you can take your full turn.
Sasha: Can I get within reach of it and attack?
GM Elle: It's still on a tree trunk, not on the ground, but to shoot its webbing, it came down low enough you should be able to get a swing in on it.
Sasha: Great! Here comes a devastating chop with my longsword! "Die, Monster!" Grr! 18 is a miss, but that makes me Angry -- I'm pushing the roll to get another chance. Much better -- a 2.
GM Elle: The spider attempts to Evade.
Sasha: What?!
GM Elle: It succeeds with a 3.
Sasha: Damn it. Dolora should have used her horn to give it a Bane instead of giving us the Boon.
GM Elle: Claire, Filvius is up.
Claire: Super. I'm going to Lightning Flash the tree trunk the spider is on. Quackers isn't within 2 meters of that tree trunk, is he?
GM Elle: He did have to get in pretty close to be able to slash up at the spider. I'd say he's right at 2 meters if not closer to the trunk.
Claire: Dang. That means there would be a 50/50 chance of the secondary bolt hitting him. Change of plans. I'll just Lightning Flash the spider. Quackers will take some damage, but it's just some d4's.
Sasha: I've got hit points out the tailfeathers, bring it.
Claire: Rolling my Animism skill with a Boon -- this is at Power Level 3, by the way -- a 4 and a 14. That's 4d6 to the spider and 4d4 to the mallard.
Sasha: You didn't say it was going to be that many d4's.
Claire: 17 points to the spider ... 11 points to Sir Q. Damn, I rolled pretty good on that secondary strike.
Sasha: Yeah, you better bust loose of that webbing and get your ass over here to heal me real quick.
Akane: Zedeja casts Power Fist at level 2. 17 succeeds! She then moves closer to be able to Brawl this spider next round.
GM Elle: I didn't say it was Zedeja's turn yet -- but it was, so no harm done.
Akane: Akane is not so Aware as Zedeja, but still, I can look at the card in front of each player and see.
GM Elle: Dilfriida is up, then.
Hettie: I am, unfortunately, the shortest member of the party, and armed with daggers. So will I have enough reach to get to the spider if I dash over there?
GM Elle: I'll say you can leap up to attack. But you'll get a Bane on the attack.
Hettie: Hopefully it won't be a problem, since I have Dolora's Boon and I'm also spending 3 WP to make this a Backstabbing attack, which is another Boon on top of that. And one of my dice comes up a Dragon.
Ariel: Sweet!
Hettie: You know what? I'm also going to shell out my last 3 WP to use my new Assassin ability and add in another d8. That's 2d8 for the Dragon, 1d8 for Backstabbing, 1d8 for Assassin, and 1d6 for my Agility.
MSG: Damn, woman!
Hettie: 25 points.
GM Elle: You get it right in whatever passes for a spider's heart, and it falls dead.
Claire: Whew! That combat certainly could have gone much worse.
Ariel: We're getting pretty good at killing these spiders. Fidu didn't even have to do anything.
Sasha: Elf! Where's that healing!
Claire: We started a new Shift after the statue, right, Elle? So Round Rests and Stretch Rests are reset?
GM Elle: That's accurate.
Claire: Then I'm going to suggest we take a Stretch Rest, because I'm totally out of WP. Without waiting for anyone to respond, Filvius conks out in his Inner Peace Stretch Rest coma.
Ariel: I guess we're resting, then!
Akane: Assuming no further spiders lurk nearby.
GM Elle: I don't think it's likely. They're generally solitary hunters, I think.
MSG: Is that what we figure out if we make our Beast Lore rolls, or are you just saying we can go ahead and roll to heal up from resting?
GM Elle: You can roll.
MSG: Nice. 5 WP back for me.
Claire: 7 for Filvius.
Ariel: I get 6!
Sasha: All my WP back, but only 1 HP. Crapola.
Akane: Zedeja commands you to let her treat you with Healing. Then you receive another 1d6 from the rest. My roll succeeds on a 5.
Sasha: Thanks! But ... the d6 says only 2 extra points back for me.
Hettie: 3 WP back for Dilfriida, and 2 HP.
Claire: Okay, here comes my Heal Wounds spell on Quackers ... I succeed with a 9, doing 2d8 of healing ... 9 points
Sasha: Back up to full, then.
GM Elle: Proceeding with perhaps a bit more caution, you eventually get to the T intersection on the map, where the left road leads to Outskirt and the right leads to the little village drawn on your map.
MSG: Hang on. I just had a thought. Isn't our map really old?
Claire: Ooh, that's right.
Ariel: So?
MSG: So what if that little village was there fifty years ago but turned into a ghost town since then?
Sasha: Ghosts are monsters, so Quackers is fine clearing out the place if that's the case. We took care of that ghost king without lifting a finger, right?
Akane: True. But we did not find out the results of lifting a finger at him. Possibly they would have been  less preferred.
Hettie: Dilfriida immediately says that Outskirt seems like a lot more of a sure thing, now that it's been pointed out the village might not even be there anymore.
Claire: We can't make it back to Outskirt today, though -- it's getting late, isn't it?
GM Elle: Yes. You'd have to do a forced march into the night or else camp out along the road.
MSG: Dolora isn't especially optimistic by nature, so she suspects any of our options will end up being uncomfortable or dangerous.
Claire: Filvius wants to get knowledge of whether this map is accurate about the village though. And even if there are only abandoned buildings there, it might provide better shelter than camping out. Then the trip to Outskirt would just take us maybe a shift and a half tomorrow.
Ariel: Fidu for sure votes against a forced march. That sounds exhausting. And if there is still a village there, sleeping in an inn sounds way better than in our tent.
Sasha: Seems like Dilfriida is the only one who'd rather go back to Outskirt.
Akane: Zedeja gave no opinion. But possibly it's obvious: the preference of a skulkish halfling must be opposite that of the mage.
Hettie: Fine. Dilfriida caves on the matter again.
GM Elle: In that case, an hour or so after making the turn toward the Haunted Marshes --
MSG: Oh yeah, that is what they're called, isn't it? Seems like the place being a ghost town is even more likely. I haven't looked at the map in a while.
GM Elle: Presumably Dolora saw it when Filvius got it out earlier, though, so I hope you're not about to re-open the debate on which way to turn.
MSG: No, we definitely made the turn, sorry to interrupt.
GM Elle: Then with the sun lowering into the mountains in the west, the mists of the Misty Vale thicken from haze into fog with the approach of night. Ahead and to your left, though, you think you see a light. As you continue forward, the light resolves itself into a couple of simple lanterns that flank the door of a quaint but well-kept-looking country inn. A hanging sign above the door bears the name "Road's End Inn." You notice as you draw closer that the design of the inn looks similar to the drawing on your map.
Claire: Oh. So it's just one building, not a whole town?
Ariel: Who cares? There's light, so it's open. Fidu wants to go in and get a room and some food and then get to bed!
Sasha: Well, this sucks.
Hettie: Really? In what conceivable way, dear Sasha?
Sasha: I mean Quackers thinks it sucks. If there's an inn sitting here all by itself without even a town to help protect it, obviously there aren't a bunch of monsters roaming around in the area.
Akane: Unless a monster is an innkeeper here.
MSG: Well, the only way we'll find out is by going in, so Dolora's going to head on up and enter.
Claire: Filvius too.
Ariel: Wait for me!
Akane: Yes, party members should allow elders to go first.
Hettie: Doesn't Zedeja need to pause a moment to give some kind of stern instruction to Glinssa?
Akane: Yes. She says, "Cultist! Wait for us to arrange for donkey storage in stables. Do not drive our cart off into a swamp while we negotiate with proprietors!" She also tells the duck knight to stay and keep watch on our donkey-watcher.
Hettie: Dilfriida says she'll do it, just to get under Zedeja's skin.
Akane: Zedeja is briefly argumentative, but allows it, because her truthful goal was to get the halfling to do this anyway.
Hettie: Ah, Zedeja's getting sneaky, is she? Luckily for you, Dilfriida isn't too intuitive when it comes to  interpersonal manipulations.
Sasha: Sir Quackenscrump joins the others going inside, then. Doesn't seem to be much reason to worry about monsters getting our donkeys at the moment, so he's ready to hit the mead barrel.
GM Elle: Inside, you find yourself in a warm and cozy dining room with about twenty other patrons who sit at the various tables eating and drinking or playing at dice. Behind the bar, you see a cheerful-looking halfling woman --
Akane: Zedeja becomes suspicious.
Hettie: Pardon a moment -- is it not just Dilfriida she considers beneath her trust?
Ariel: OMG, Zedeja's not some kind of anti-halfling racist, is she?
Akane: No, it is the cheerfulness and so many customers here. Have we seen any others on the way here? Did we pass nearby farms? What are such numbers of diners and dicers doing on a road that leads nowhere?
GM Elle: Is Zedeja blocking the door for everyone behind her? You can all smell the mouth-watering aroma of some sort of roast cooking on a spit in the fireplace.
Akane: There's no blockage from the mage. But she has narrow eyes on all these inn-goers.
Ariel: Maybe everybody in Outskirt just knows they cook a great roast at this place and people come here and spend the night to have fun and eat some good roasted whatever-it-is. All Fidu knows is, he's hungry and tired. I'll go over to the bar and ask the halfling lady if there are rooms available and space in the stables.
GM Elle: She introduces herself as Helemi, and says there's plenty of room for all ... as long as you don't mind doubling up. There's a special on the roast tonight, only a silver and five coppers per serving, and the rooms are two and a half silvers apiece.
Ariel: Wow, that's cheap! See? No wonder people are coming here from all over.
Akane: Skepticism continues on the face of Zedeja.
GM Elle: She asks if the five of you are your entire group, and if you'll all want the roast. There's also stew for half a silver if you'd rather.
MSG: Roast for Dolora, definitely.
Claire: Filvius too!
Ariel: At those prices, I won't even do my normal Bartering. 
Sasha: Roast and a mead for Sir Quackenscrump.
Akane: Zedeja has an oldster stomach. Possibly stew is more suitable. Also, stew for our donkey-minder. How much cost is there for her to sleep in the stables?
Hettie: I know Dilfriida's not there to point this out, but wasn't her first question whether the five of you were the whole group?
Ariel: Oops! I was just so impressed by the prices!
Sasha: At the point Zedeja mentioned Glinssa, Quackers would probably say something about Dilfriida too.
Akane: Zedeja's oversight was purposeful.
Hettie: I figured that.
GM Elle: Helemi says, "So enough of you for three full rooms ... But why make your last friend stay in the stables? They can share a room with one of our other singleton guests, or stay in the common room for a silver."
Akane: Our agreement for the employing of this person includes provided shelter. It does not require the shelter to be cozy. Additionally, we have gear in our cart. Her duties include watching over it.
GM Elle: Helemi seems a little hesitant.
Akane: Zedeja narrows eyes even more full of suspicion on her.
GM Elle: She returns to smiling and says, "Of course, of course. Let's call the whole arrangement 20 silvers, then, and I'll include a tankard of mead for each of you along with dinner." She says the stables are around back if you want to have your "employee" put the cart and donkeys there. Then she pours out seven tankards of mead from a keg with a spigot and informs you that dinner will be served shortly, as the cook is about to cut up the second roast of the evening.
MSG: Dolora will volunteer to go out and let Dilfriida and Glinssa know.
Claire: While we're waiting for the roast, then, Filvius will circulate and see if there's anybody who looks like they might have some knowledge he can squeeze them for.
Ariel: Fidu will just sit at the bar since that's where he's been talking to Helemi. He doesn't see any reason to put more mileage on his legs finding a table.
Sasha: Sir Q will grab a barstool beside you and start knocking back the mead.
Akane: Zedeja looks whether there is a quiet corner that is suited for the elderly.
GM Elle: Something strange happens as Dolora reaches the door to go out, though. You suddenly feel the room contracting around you. The walls seem to warp and close in, and a swirling blackness crosses your vision, blotting out all conscious thought.
MSG: And is that just Dolora, or is it everyone?
GM Elle: Everyone inside the inn.
Hettie: And those of us still out at the cart?
GM Elle: Well, some time passes, and you aren't seeing any of your party members come out.
Hettie: Then Dilfriida will get aggravated and go in to give them a piece of her mind.
GM Elle: All right. Glinssa says she's going to take the donkeys and cart around back. There's a track leading that way off of the road, so she assumes there are stables back there. When Dilfriida enters the inn, she finds the common room full of people seemingly enjoying themselves -- but none of your companions are anywhere in sight.
Hettie: Hmm. I rather doubt I would like the looks of that. Dilfriida will retreat back out the door and try to get Glinssa for backup before investigating further.
GM Elle: As soon as you touch the door handle, then, the same strange distortion overcomes you and you slip away into oblivion.
MSG: Oblivion?
Sasha: Well, I guess that was a weird way to finish up an otherwise fun campaign.
GM Elle: Not actual oblivion, people. I'm just trying to communicate how far out of it you all went. You drift in unthinking, dreamless darkness for an unknowable period of time, and then wake up, finding yourselves in an oblong dormitory with moonlight streaming in from a window. There are separate beds for each of the six of you. You don't see any sign of Glinssa. The room is very cold, as if someone had left open a window in winter -- though the actual window is not open. In one dim corner is a rocking chair, occupied by some person of small stature. Along the wall opposite the window is a large tapestry.
MSG: I hope this is supposed to be creepy, because I'm pretty creeped out.
Claire: Very high creep factor, all right.
Ariel: It's got the heebies and the jeebies. Fidu feels like he may have trouble going back to sleep. How comfortable are the beds?
Sasha: Quackers is just mad he didn't get to finish his mead.
Akane: Creepiness must be secondary, though. Most important is the confirming of Zedeja's suspecting such a cozy inn located nowhere. This proves again that all must listen to Zedeja!
Hettie: I am hoping that, having fallen prey to the mind-warping phenomenon slightly later than everyone else, Dilfriida also awakens slightly later and does not have to hear more of Zedeja's crowing about her infallibility.
Akane: Zedeja is not infallible -- only less fallible than all other party members.
Hettie: Be that as it may, I'm still hoping Dilfriida slept through that part.
GM Elle: In the interest of moving the story forward, I'll say sure, she woke up after Zedeja said it.
Ariel: Well what about the beds? Fidu really would want to go back to sleep if it's the middle of the night. I wasn't just asking one of those oracle questions.
Akane: Oracle questions?
Hettie: "Rhetorical," I believe.
Ariel: Yeah, that's the kind I meant!
GM Elle: The beds aren't either comfortable or uncomfortable, but with any attempt to go back to sleep, you find yourself chilled to the bone and your skin prickles with the sense that someone or something is watching you.
Ariel: Ugh. Then did we at least sleep enough for it to count as a Shift Rest?
Sasha: Yeah, if we were really that far out, I think it ought to.
GM Elle: I'm going to say no, because having your mind washed into blankness isn't the same as getting a good night's sleep. But if anyone hasn't yet taken a Stretch Rest since last Shift, you can mark one off and roll to recover WP and HP.
Akane: Zedeja will do so. All others have Stretch Rested already, I think. Ah, recovery of 6 WP!
GM Elle: All right then ... what do you do now that you're awake?
 
[more of this session next post!]

not much to say lately?

well, folks, things are looking bad for my multi-year streak of blogging more every year than I did the last. skipping april entirely didn't exactly help!

it's not completely hopeless or anything -- i've still got a couple of weeks in may and then seven more months after that. but i'm kind of ... at peace, i guess, with not pushing myself to blog just for the sake of beating some number?

my yams and i have been doing great lately, especially now that ariel is no longer down in her back. so there's a lot to be said for letting life just kind of wash over me for a bit. jeepers, it's not like i haven't gone like, practically a whole year basically without blogging at all. (i'm looking at you, 2015!)

i'll get there or i won't on my record-breaking streak. meanwhile, we have games to play around here, and music to listen to, and absurd numbers of shows to watch. i won't say i have better things to focus on than blogging, but i have satisfying things to do.

really, there's not a lot more i could ask for!

xoxo,
claire

secret of the dragon emperor ... part 21!

in which we wrap up elle's homebrew addition to the official campaign ...

GM Elle: Okay, so before we get started, does anyone want to brag about experience advancements from last time?
MSG: Well ...
Claire: Why do you look embarrassed instead of eager to share?
MSG: Because for one thing, I got a Heroic Ability because my Acrobatics went to 18, and I picked one I thought looked pretty awesome ... but it only works with a two-handed weapon, and my large club is currently broken. So I won't even get to use it this session. Also ...
Claire: Ooh, it gets even more embarrassing?
MSG: Yeah. The ability lets me add an extra die of damage to my attack, which is nice. But the name of it is "Massive Blow."
Claire: Haha!
Ariel: "Massive Blow!" That's what she said!
Sasha: Dude, I can't wait for Dolora to Massively Blow some goblin in combat.
Akane: Also, when the roll is poor, it becomes a Low Blow.
GM Elle: All right, all right. Let's get back to the adventure and next time I won't make the mistake of trying to be the GM who celebrates the characters' progression. Sir Quackenscrump and Fidu return from their strange conversation with the being in the shed. They find the rest of the group finishing up their Stretch Rest at the dead end around the corner.
MSG: Dolora will ask if they found any monsters to kill.
Ariel: No, just somebody in a shed.
Sasha: Actually, I'd say it's more like a maybe on the monster thing, but whatever it was wouldn't come out of the shed and let us get a good look at it.
Akane: Zedeja demands proper description of what happened.
Ariel: I'll tell everybody. I'll especially let Filvius know that whatever was in the shed passing us notes, it says it will trade some kind of information for magic items, which made me think of your bone mask.
Claire: I mean ... I like the idea of getting information. But I also like the idea of having a mask that protects me from enemy magic.
Ariel: But it gets stuck on your face if you use it!
Sasha: And when actually have you used it?
Claire: Well, not at all. But there haven't been too many people casting spells at us or monsters using magical attacks against us since I found it. You are making some good points, though. What kind of information is it offering?
Ariel: It said something about weaving.
Claire: Weaving.
Ariel: Yeah, but it wasn't like, information about weaving. The thing said it would do a weaving. 
Claire: Which is ... ?
Ariel: Well, I don't know! I didn't want to go through all the work of asking it what exactly a weaving is if Filvius was just going to end up saying he didn't want to trade his mask anyway. It wasn't talking out loud -- we had to keep throwing this board back and forth for it to scratch messages on.
MSG: This sounds pretty sketch to Dolora.
Claire: Well of course it does. She doesn't have any magic items, so she wouldn't be getting any knowledge out of the deal anyway. Filvius is definitely intrigued enough to go ask the thing what exactly it means.
Ariel: Great! Is everybody ready to go then?
Sasha: Quackers is. There's entirely too much standing around not killing monsters going on for his tastes.
Harriet: Dilfriida inquires as to whether she might get some healing magic now that Filvius has rested. She's still down a quarter of her hit points.
Claire: Sure. But boo, I roll a 16 to cast my spell. I'll try again. Worse! 19. I'm burning through all the WP I just got back from resting.
Akane: Zedeja says healing should be saved for more worrisome wounds. Be wary in the meantime, halfling! Save your actions for dodging and hiding.
Harriet: Dilfriida says she feels like she's still banged up enough for it to qualify as worrisome. And she sticks her tongue out at Zedeja.
Claire: Out of character, I think I'd like to give these dice a rest and not push this streak of bad rolls. For an in-character justification, Filvius says he must be too interested in finding out what this weaving thing is all about, and it's distracting him from casting properly.
Sasha: Let's go, then. Sir Q will lead off, if the rest of you want to fall in line after him.
Akane: Zedeja commands each person to walk in the normal order.
GM Elle: It's not a very long walk. You take the fork in the tunnel that leads to the chamber with the shed, and find it just as Sir Quackenscrump and Fidu left it.
MSG: Dolora will call out, "Hey in there! We're here to find out what a weaving is!"
Ariel: I'll say, "It's your friends from earlier. We're back with the rest of our group to maybe trade for that information you were talking about. Er, scratching about."
GM Elle: You hear some more scratching, and then the board flies out again.
MSG: Dolora will grab it and read everything on it.
Claire: Oh, come on. I'm the one who's got something to trade.
MSG: Sure, but I'm closer because Dolora is before Filvius in the marching order.
Claire: Maybe we should draw initiative to see who grabs for it first.
GM Elle: Here are the cards.
MSG: Ha. Right off the bat, I get the 1 card.
Ariel: What!
Sasha: We never get the 1 card, and you went and wasted it racing Filvius for a message we're all going to  hear in a second anyway?
MSG: I'm going for that advancement mark for giving in to my weakness.
GM Elle: Well, the board says the same things it said before, and it also says, "What magic is offered?"
Claire: I guess I'll take out my bone mask and show it. "This thing protects you from magic when you're wearing it."
Ariel: It also sticks to your face. 
Claire: Shh! It doesn't need to know that.
Ariel: I'm an honest merchant. I don't like being involved with trades that aren't fair and truthful.
GM Elle: You see the rake come out and tap the ground.
MSG: Dolora isn't ready to give the board back. Can I do some kind of Languages or Myths and Legends roll to see if I know of any creatures that communicate by scratching on boards in neat handwriting?
GM Elle: Sure, Languages.
MSG: Great, I succeed on an 8.
GM Elle: You seem to recall that there are a number of different bug-like creatures that usually don't have spoken language. People tend to call them insectoids even if they're not really insects.
MSG: Hmm. And do any of these insectoids use webbing?
GM Elle: For that, try Beast Lore.
MSG: Dang, my Beast Lore stinks. Aha, but I roll a 2!
GM Elle: It does seem to you that there's a kind of insectoid called spider-kin.
MSG: I'm really glad you prefaced that by saying people use that word for things that aren't really insects.
Harriet: Me too. Although I still find it terminologically uncomfortable.
GM Elle: In the game's defense, it is translated from Swedish. Maybe whatever word they used in the Swedish version just crudely translates into "insect."
Claire: If it looks like Dolora is distracted while contemplating that, I'll grab the board away from her and put it down where the critter can get it with the rake.
MSG: Dolora looks grumpy at that but doesn't put up a fight. What do I know about these spider-kin?
GM Elle: There are rumors that they can weave webs that tell the future.
Claire: Nice! If I find that out, I'll for sure tell it I would trade this mask for information about the future.
GM Elle: Let's assume that either Dolora clues you in, or you find out quickly enough through a little back-and-forth with the creature.
Sasha: Whoa, there. If Dolora starts talking out loud about spider-kin, Sir Q is going to be suspicious that this thing might be in cahoots with the giant spider we killed.
MSG: That's why Dolora is not going to talk about spider-kin. But I will say I've heard of some kind of weaving beings that can predict the future.
Claire: Good enough for me.
GM Elle: The creature asks to inspect the mask. If it likes the feel of the magic, it will trade.
Sasha: I wouldn't trust it. On the other hand, if it keeps the mask and refuses to hold up its end of the bargain, that will give me an excuse to bust in and find out for sure whether it's a monster. So overall, I guess that's a thumbs-up from Quackers.
Claire: Filvius sets the mask down on the ground where the creature can rake it in.
GM Elle: It draws the mask into the shed. There's silence for a while, then some clicking noises, and finally some more scratching. This time, it tosses out a fresh board. The only thing scratched on this one is, "Finish your search through the statue. When you return, pass this one's dwelling and turn right. Your weaving will be down the passageway with no outlet. Only you may sit beneath the weaving and learn."
MSG: That's it?
Claire: I guess we just have to trust it for now?
Sasha: Probably it's hoping we get whacked by something else in this maze.
Akane: Does a spider that knows the future need hoping?
Harriet: Indeed. There may be a good chance it already knows whether we're going to succeed or fail in our further explorations.
Ariel: So that's good news! If it's expecting we'll come back enough that it's going to do the weaving while we're gone, that means we're probably going to be okay, right?
Sasha: Or it just said it was going to do the weaving because it knows we're already toast, and that was the quickest way to get us out of its hair and leave the mask with it.
Akane: Zedeja says there's no cause for this discussion. Our goal is the statue. If there's no more to do with a spider-kin at this time, we should proceed.
Claire: Works for Filvius. He's itching to get his hands on some future knowledge, so the sooner we go and come back, the better.
Sasha: Quackers heads on past the shed, then.
GM Elle: All right. The way curves around to your right, getting narrower for a bit before making a sharp bend that ends up in a much larger area. You seem to have found the statue's base. There's a broad dais surrounded by what look like the withered remains of rose bushes. Rising up from the dais are the enormous sculpted legs of the statue, clad in luxuriously detailed boots almost up to the knee, and what looks like chainmail above that. But everything past the knees is hidden beyond the roof of the chamber, which is supported by a couple of vaulted stone arches and a lot of wooden buttresses. It looks about like this:

MSG: What's that bit there on the right?
GM Elle: It looks like it might be a continuation of the passage you've been following. But it's either collapsed or been deliberately filled in with rocks and boulders.
Claire: If I notice Dolora peering at the rocks, I'll go over and see if there's anything interesting or knowledge to be gleaned from them.
GM Elle: You can roll Bushcraft or Crafting, your choice.
MSG: Can I roll Sneaking to see if I can get past Filvius and scope out the base of that statue while he's busy?
Claire: You stinker! Well, my Bushcraft is way better than my Crafting ... but I roll an 18, so it doesn't really matter.
GM Elle: Looks like a pile of rocks. MSG, go ahead and roll Dolora's Sneaking.
MSG: 11 would be a success if I was any good at Sneaking at all, but my skill's an 8, so I guess I'm not putting anything past Filvius.
Claire: I'll abandon this heap of rocks and go over to the statue base too.
Ariel: I bring my lamp!
GM Elle: The statue stands on a great stone platform over a meter tall and 12 meters by 24 in area. The stone here looks far less weathered than that above -- basically pristine except for a coating of dust.
MSG: Any plaques or historical markers?
Ariel: Any sign of a way in?
Sasha: What about monsters? Any of them hiding behind the legs in the shadows?
GM Elle: No, no, and no.
Harriet: Dilfriida will start searching around the base of the thing for hidden compartments or secret openings.
GM Elle: It's got a pretty substantial perimeter, so that will take you a bit. I'll let you know when you can make a roll.
Ariel: I'm going to climb up and go look around the boots to see if there's door in or something, since we know the thing is hollow.
Sasha: Do we? I thought Akane was pretty clear Zedeja didn't share what she saw while she was climbing around the thing's face outside.
Akane: Truthful. That information must be used wisely, so Zedeja entrusts it only to the wisest of the party.
Ariel: Sure, but Fidu used his Treasure Hunter ability outside and it pointed him right at the statue, so there's got to be some way in.
GM Elle: Which boot do you search first?
Ariel: Um ... oh gosh, I don't know ...
Sasha: I call left boot! Quackers climbs up and starts checking it out.
Ariel: Hey! Okay, then, I go to the right boot and search around it too.
GM Elle: Both of you can roll Spot Hidden.
Ariel: 5! That's super-easy success for me.
Sasha: 2 is an even super-easier success for Sir Q.
Ariel: Dang it!
GM Elle: Sash, you notice a seam in the stonework near the heel of the boot. Aers, you notice Sir Quackenscrump noticing something.
Ariel: Fine. I say, "Hey, what'd you find there?"
Sasha: Not sure. But stay back while I check it out in case there's a monster in there. I'll look closer at this seam and see if it's maybe a way in.
GM Elle: Tracing the edges of the seam, you find it makes the outline of what could be a large panel, about the size of a door for a dwarf or someone else relatively short. Hettie, Dilfriida can make her Spot Hidden check for the search she's doing now.
MSG: I hope this is to find a secret compartment that has the key to this heel.
Harriet: I succeed with a 3.
GM Elle: You find a very small inscription that says, "A cobbler's task is never done, so long as shoes are forced to run. Leather mend and torn toes seal, make whole the sole and heal the heel."
MSG: Damn it. I meant a literal key, not some riddle we have to figure out to get the thing open.
Claire: Psh. This one is so easy.
Akane: Yes? It sounds very puzzlesome to me.
Claire: That's because it's an in joke. My very first role-playing game character was for Dungeon Crawl Classics. Her profession was cobbler, and she leveled up as a cleric. I called her "Cobbler Claire."
MSG: Wow. That's going way way back.
Claire: I know, right? All the way before Elle stopped turning her nose up at playing rpg's.
GM Elle: I don't actually recall being asked to play in that game, but you're right, I probably would have snarked about it and said no.
Claire: Anyway, a cleric is a healer and my character now is a healer, and it says, "heal the heel," so I bet all I have to do is cast a healing spell on it and it will open. Am I right?
GM Elle: We will only know if you actually learn about the poem.
Harriet: I'm sure Dilfriida would get around to mentioning it sooner or later ... as long as Zedeja isn't the one asking.
Akane: Zedeja does not yet know of this seam.
Sasha: Well, if Quackers isn't finding a door handle or a keyhole, he'll ask if anybody's got a wedge or a shovel or something to try prying this thing open.
Akane: Good! This announcement should alert a halfling to reveal her clue discovery.
Harriet: Why? Dilfriida doesn't have a wedge or a shovel, so Quackenscrump's request doesn't seem to concern her.
Akane: What?! Is this halfling visible as we stand by giant boots needing a trick to get in?
Harriet: I'm not hiding or anything of the sort. But since the poem has nothing to do with wedges or shovels or prying, Dilfriida would probably just continue her search around the perimeter of the base for now.
GM Elle: All right. I'll have you roll Awareness though to see if you notice the others standing by the statue's heel. Zedeja can also roll Awareness to see if she notices that Dilfriida stopped and was peering at something on the side of the base.
Akane: Zedeja is Aware with a 6!
Harriet: Dilfriida gets a 17, so she's oblivious.
Akane: Halfling burglar! What are you observing there? Probably you have burglish tools that could assist in opening heels. If so, bring them!
Harriet: Can I roll against INT to see if I connect Zedeja's mention of heels with the word in the poem?
GM Elle: Sure, if you don't want to just say Dilfriida could make that kind of obvious connection.
Harriet: She could, except that it's Zedeja asking, and she's pretty set on ignoring Zedeja whenever she can. I roll a 6, though, which is under even Dilfriida's 9 Intelligence. She'll look up and say something like, "What's the deal with heels? I just found a poem that says something about fixing a heel."
Sasha: Quackenscrump rolls his eyes and says a poem isn't exactly a wedge or a shovel, now is it? Seriously, who's got some heavy tools?
MSG: Dolora points out that we've got a crowbar, a pickaxe, and a shovel in the wagon.
Ariel: Are you kidding? That's so far! Hettie, please tell us Dilfriida reads the poem.
Akane: Zedeja demands this, in fact.
Harriet: Dilfriida might have read it for someone else, but not Zedeja. She'll say, "Come read it yourself. I'm still searching this statue base."
Claire: Filvius will immediately head over to see if there's anything to be learned from the poem. Once I read it, I'll say, "Aha!" and head back and cast a healing spell on the boot where the seam is. Ugh, 16 on my first roll. I'll spend another 2 WP and try again ... 14 makes it, barely.
Ariel: You need a way higher magic skill, Claire.
Claire: I keep marking it for advancement every session! But of course, when I actually want to roll high so my score increases, I roll low instead. Anyway, does anything happen?
GM Elle: Yes. As soon as the spell takes effect, the seam widens with a grinding sound and reveals itself to be the border of a panel. When the panel recedes and slides to one side, you see a ladder inside that leads up through a hollow in the leg. Anyone taller than a dwarf will have to hunker down to get inside, but the hollow space within the leg is wide enough to accommodate any standard-sized humanoid.
Claire: Let's go, then!
Sasha: Sir Q will sling his shield over his back and put away his sword, I guess. Can we see how far this climb is going to be?
GM Elle: It extends beyond the reach of your light sources, unfortunately.
Sasha: I guess let's get climbing, then.
Akane: Hmm. Climbing up a dark ladder shaft. Seems familiar-ish.
Claire: I'm getting flashbacks to our Mothership campaign.
Ariel: Oh no! There were spiders all around that ladder shaft too! I start watching for spiders. Especially ones with holograph zombie heads on them.
Sasha: I think we're safe from those in Dragonbane.
Ariel: You can't be too sure! Those things killed my best friend!
GM Elle: Meanwhile, back in the Misty Vale ...
Ariel: Oh! Sorry.
GM Elle: After 8 or 10 meters of climbing, your lamplight reaches just far enough to reveal an opening above you. It looks like the ladder shaft comes out into a larger space there.
Sasha: I'll keep climbing, but with an ear out for monsters.
Akane: Can a duck keep ears out?
Harriet: Rather a good point there ... I don't believe fowl have external ears. Do they?
MSG: Ear openings under their feathers, I think. But nothing that protrudes enough to say they could keep one "out."
Claire: Of course, since ours are always out, does it make any more sense for humans to say it? (Or elves, in Filvius's case?)
Sasha: The point is, I'm listening extra-careful.
GM Elle: All seems quiet except for the sounds of the group climbing. When you reach the top, you find that the opening is a rectangular hole in the floor of a roughly oval chamber like this.

Ariel: Hey, wait a minute! That hole is on the right! Sash said she was looking on the left one!
GM Elle: It's to the right of the other one on the map, but it's the statue's left leg. The statue is facing the other direction than your characters were when they approached it.
Ariel: Sure, but I wasn't talking like I was the statue, I was talking like I was my character. And I bet Sash was too!
Sasha: Yeah, well, even if I was, I'm not going to admit it now so that we have to pretend everything happened the other way round.
Harriet: Does it make any sort of a compelling difference one way or another?
Ariel: It's very important to Fidu if he's the one who finds the way to the treasure.
Sasha: In that case, maybe we should rewind things, and since it's so important to Fidu, he can be the one climbing in front. You know, where he'll run into any spiders first.
Ariel: Never mind.
GM Elle: Does anyone want to know what you find in this room?
Sasha: Heck, yeah!
GM Elle: It appears to be a treasure vault. Let's draw 5 treasure cards to see what's there.
Claire: 5 cards! Nice!
Sasha: Don't get your hopes up. Some of those treasure cards are real stinkers, remember?
GM Elle: Yeah, the very first one is 2d6 copper coins. Welp, and I roll snake eyes.
MSG: Seriously?
GM Elle: Yeah, but that's ridiculous for treasure in an ancient king's tomb. I'm burning that one and trying again. Next one comes up ... 30 gold pieces.
Ariel: Whew!
Sasha: That's more like it.
GM Elle: Next ... a small chest with 80 gold coins in it. Then a sack of 20 silvers ... then a short sword ... and finally, a gold bracelet. You think it's worth ... another 80 gold.
Claire: Saaweet. A hundred ninety gold and twenty silver!
Akane: Hmm. Since 20 silver = the result of one card out of five, it becomes 1/5th of treasure. So if we give those to our cultist donkey-tender, it's much more than a fair share, right?
Harriet: Dilfriida's not particularly good at math, but she would probably disagree with Zedeja on general principle.
MSG: I mean, by that reasoning, if Elle had made us stick with that first card, Glinssa would end up with 2 coppers for her share.
Claire: Weren't we paying her a flat salary anyway?
Ariel: I thought it was 2 silvers a day, so unless we've been on the road for ... I don't know, a bunch of days, giving her 20 silvers would be a big raise for her.
Akane: Never mind, then. Zedeja would surely not propose such extravagance.
MSG: So what's that mark on the other side of the room from the leg ladder hole? Sort of where the spine would be?
GM Elle: It's another ladder, leading up into a shaft in the ceiling.
Sasha: Let's get climbing, then, so we can see what's up there.
MSG: What's up? Or what's ahead?
Sasha: Boo.
Harriet: That was one of your weaker ones, dear.
Sasha: Anyway, I'm climbing.
GM Elle: This shaft looks like about as much of a climb as the one in the leg, but you can see a difference right away -- there's a dimly lit space of some kind at the top.
Akane: Must be from the eyes!
Sasha: Only one way to find out ... I keep going.
GM Elle: Something strange happens as you get closer and closer to the top of the ladder. You feel like the air is getting colder with every rung. There's no draft -- it just seems like the temperature is dropping significantly.
MSG: Uh-oh.
Ariel: I mean, it doesn't sound good, but at least it also doesn't sound like spiders!
Sasha: Still climbing.
GM Elle: You reach the top. Your breath is frosting in the air. For the last few rungs, more and more of the hollow space within the head has become visible. There are faint beams of sunlight piercing the gloomy space. The ceiling appears to be a dome painted with images that remain indistinct in the poor lighting. As you come level with the floor and raise your head into the room, you see that it looks about like this.

GM Elle: The ladder comes up through that spot at the bottom. Just in front of you is a raised stone platform, about the size a person could stand on, with stairs leading up to it. It appears to be positioned right in front of one of the eyes so that a viewer could climb up and look out through the mesh screen. An exact copy of the platform stands in front of the other eye, up and to the right. There's some large stone object at the back of the room, but from your perspective, the closer of the two platforms is obscuring the view.
Sasha: I'll go ahead and draw my sword and put it on the floor right next to the top of the ladder where I can grab it once I climb up.
GM Elle: When you do, the clank of the metal blade against the stone floor echoes inside the chamber, and an eerie voice speaks from the far side of the stone platform. It says, "Whooo? Who enters the tomb of King Hanhgrav the Great?" The air suddenly feels even colder.
Ariel: Okay, bye, y'all!
Sasha: Seriously? Come on, maybe it's a trained talking owl.
Akane: Are these the words of Fidu and Quackenscrump? Wouldn't our knight be hoping for monsters, not an owl?
Sasha: A trained talking owlbear, then.
Akane: Ah! That's better for consistency.
Claire: If Fidu is actually wanting to leave, there may be a problem, since Filvius is behind him on the ladder and really wants to know what it's like to meet a ghost.
Ariel: I was mostly joking. Fidu is a lot less chickener than I am.
Sasha: Well, anyway, we were asked a question, so Sir Q will start climbing out and say, "Fearless adventurers, coming to make sure no monsters have taken over this tomb!" What do I see when I get far enough up to look over the top of this platform that's blocking me?
GM Elle: A skeleton in exquisitely crafted plate armor sits upon a carved stone throne. Both the detail work of the throne and the embellishments on the armor look stunningly designed and executed. Across the skeleton's lap lies a sheathed greatsword, its handle wrapped in pristine white leather and its pommel set with an enormous glittering ruby.
MSG: Cool. I think we're probably up for fighting a skeleton.
GM Elle: I wasn't finished. Superimposed upon the skeleton is a spectral, translucent image -- a human wearing the same armor. His face is gaunt with age, and his white beard and hair look well groomed but thinned by many decades of mortal existence. He wears a crown upon his head, and there's a matching one on the skeleton's head as well -- finely wrought of gold and gemstones.
Sasha: Nice. Pretty sure I'd consider a ghost a monster too, so we're free to whale on it and take its stuff. Can I roll Beast Lore to see if I know how to fight a ghost?
GM Elle: Sure.
Sasha: Woof. That's a Demon.
GM Elle: You're pretty sure you'd fight them just like you'd fight anything else. And since it's the ghost of a really old person, you expect that you're more than a match for it.
MSG: This is sounding bad.
Sasha: I'll hop the rest of the way up out of the ladder shaft, scoop my sword off the floor, and point it at him. Out of respect for his royal stature, I'll say, "Your majesty, it's time for you to head off to the afterlife. I challenge you to a duel in hopes of letting you rest after all these ... what, I guess centuries?"
Harriet: Do the rest of us hear this?
GM Elle: I'm pretty sure Sir Q isn't exactly whispering, so yes.
MSG: I think Dolora's quick enough to figure out this is probably a ghost. Can I roll Beast Lore too and see if I know anything more than Quackers?
Claire: Ditto for Filvius.
GM Elle: Sure. Anyone who thinks they're smart enough to make that conclusion can roll. But I'm giving you a Bane on the roll because Sir Quackenscrump seems so convinced he can defeat it alone.
MSG: I fail because of the Bane.
Claire: Dang, me too, and just barely. One of the dice was an 8 but the other was a 14, and I only have a 13 in Beast Lore. But I'm pretty sure I'd know my Banish spell would work on a ghost. I don't think it takes a Beast Lore roll to know they're undead.
Ariel: Fidu blows it too.
Akane: Zedeja also meets with no success.
Harriet: I'm not rolling for Dilfriida. She's at the back, she's not that smart, and her Beast Lore is only 5 anyway.
GM Elle: No one has the goods on how to kill a ghost, then. But the king only laughs at Sir Quackenscrump. "I am eternal and timeless. I can never fade into oblivion until I know that my fame is equally as unbounded by the ages."
MSG: I guess I'll climb up to be ready for a fight also.
Claire: I'm taking a round rest to get back some WP ... bleh, 2.
Ariel: I'm climbing up after Dolora -- but I'm also spending 2 WP to see if this ghost is lying about what he just said.
GM Elle: He is not.
Ariel: Oh. Um ... maybe I'm not climbing like, super-fast, then.
GM Elle: The ghost hasn't made any move to stand or draw his weapon, Sash. Is Quackenscrump going to attack him while he's just sitting there?
Sasha: Damn, that doesn't seem like a very knightly thing to do to a king ... even if he's a monster now.
MSG: If I'm up, I'll blow my horn to give everybody a Boon on their rolls until my next turn.
Claire: I'll climb after Fidu I guess.
Ariel: Am I up? Cause if I am and I think he really thinks he can't be killed, I want to try something.
GM Elle: You see a cold, immortal certainty in his ghostly eyes -- as cold as the chill in the room. Go ahead and try what you have in mind.
Ariel: So, what I'm going to do is hope real hard he doesn't ever get off that throne and go look out the eyes of the statue, and I'll say, "Of course your fame will last forever! Everybody in all the civilized lands knows about King Hanhgrav and his mighty deeds. People travel across the seas to visit this statue of yours! They've build a boo-koo huge plaza around it with all kinds of plaques and murals about your deeds."
Sasha: Hey, pretty good idea. Does she get a Bluffing roll on that, Elle?
GM Elle: Sure. But with a Bane that cancels out Dolora's Boon because this guy is paranoid about his historical legacy in the extreme.
Ariel: I succeed with a 3!
GM Elle: He appears heartened by this news, but doesn't just poof out of existence or anything. Instead, he leans forward eagerly and says, "Describe some of these murals and plaques. I must know if they got things right."
MSG: Okay, Dolora's catching on to Fidu's game. Can I make a Myths and Legends roll to see if I've heard any stories about this Hanhgrav?
GM Elle: You can, but with a Bane because he's so obscure, and the Dragon Emperor actually buried the bottom half of this statue to make sure nobody thought Hanhgrav was more worth remembering than Eledain himself.
MSG: Nope. A 13 blows it.
Claire: If Filvius is up, he'll wrack his brain too, in hopes of showing off some knowledge about the distant past. A 4 and a 9! Woop, but my Myths and Legends is only 8.
Ariel: Fidu says, "Gosh, there are so many of them. Is there anything you especially want to know what they said or showed about it?"
Akane: Strategic!
Harriet: I do like where you're going with this, Ariel.
GM Elle: He thinks for a moment and says, "The surrender of the Witch Queen at Vandery Field."
Ariel: Okay, so, uh, here goes nothing. I'll say that one's on a mural. So ... it shows the field, and since I'm guessing this was right after a battle, I'll say there's still all these bodies lying around, some of them that got witched to death and others that the king killed with his amazing greatsword -- which you could tell was him because they were like, totally cut in half.
GM Elle: He nods as if in remembrance and then tells you to go on.
Ariel: Um ... I'll say, "Well, and that guy is there beside you, I can never remember his name because obviously he's not as important as you ..."
GM Elle: The king prompts you with, "Gorshi."
Ariel: Okay ... so ... can I do Languages to see if I know that Gorshi sounds like a dwarf or an elf or some other race kind of name?
GM Elle: Sure.
Ariel: Okay, 7 makes it.
GM Elle: You think it's a dwarven name.
Ariel: Super. So I'll say, "Gorshi is looking up at you with all the respect you deserve from this great deed, and he's, er, running his fingers through his beard ..."
GM Elle: The king says, "Hah! He always was so stupidly proud of that beard." You can roll another Bluffing check to see if you're selling this well enough. No Bane this time.
MSG: Can I help her by butting in and adding some beard-related dwarf knowledge as a detail that's in the mural? Like, if there's a special kind of dwarven beard comb or something and the guy has it tucked in one pocket?
GM Elle: Sure. Roll Bluffing or Performance to sneak the comment in there, and you'll give Aers a Boon on her roll.
MSG: I roll a 4 against Performance of 16.
Ariel: Great! My Bluffing rolls are ... 5 and 16. Those both make it.
GM Elle: You manage to fake your way through a description of the mural that satisfies Hanhgrav. It looks like maybe his spectral image is a little fainter now. He asks you to tell him what memorial they put up for the signing of the Treaty of Trelgasque.
Ariel: Jeepers, great. Um ... I'll say they put that one right on the plaza itself, in one of those tile whatchacallits.
Harriet: Mosaic.
Ariel: Can I do Languages again or Myths and Legends to see if I have any clue what Trelgasque might be?
GM Elle: Sure. Pick one.
Ariel: I'll do Languages again since that worked out pretty good last time. 8!
GM Elle: You think it might be a place name in an unusual elven dialect.
Claire: Since I'm an elf, can I do the same thing Dolora did to help Fidu out?
GM Elle: This is a little more obscure than just knowing about dwarven grooming supplies, so you'll need to roll, but I'll let you have a Boon for being an elf.
Claire: My Myths and Legends is better ... but I roll an 18 and a 16, and it's not that much better. I'll keep my mouth shut.
Ariel: So ... I'll say ... the mosaic mostly spelled out the wording of the treaty itself. But ... ooh, I've got it! Nobody can actually read it now because that elven dialect died out! So Hanhgrav's fame actually outlasted a whole language in this case.
GM Elle: That's a very appealing notion to him. You can have a Boon on your Bluffing check.
Ariel: 3 and 12 both make it.
GM Elle: The king's shade dissipates a little further. He eagerly tells you to describe some of the plaques. "You pick which one."
Ariel: Dangit. Sheesh. Uhh ... I'll say, "So ... obviously there are several that spell out the most important laws you made, which everybody still follows, of course." Crossing my fingers here, I'll say my favorite one is the one declaring that holiday in honor of, mmm, probably this guy would make a holiday about himself, right? So I'll say in honor of his being crowned king."
GM Elle: I'm giving you a 50/50 chance of that guess being right. And the dice come up 32, so you pegged that one. He fades even more, and he says something, but it's faint and you don't quite hear it.
Ariel: I'll pretend I do hear it, and I'll start saying something about a different plaque, but I'm saying it real quiet too, only a word here and there that's clear, something about a great speech he made. But I'm gesturing a lot and looking really excited, like this speech means a lot to me.
GM Elle: Roll another Bluffing check.
Ariel: Come on come on come on ... 14 makes it!
GM Elle: He fades almost completely invisible ... but you can barely make him out -- enough to see that his eyes have closed, and it looks like he's sleeping.
MSG: Damn it.
Sasha: Oh, come on! Does that mean we can't loot his stuff or he'll wake back up and we'll be back to square one?
GM Elle: The only way you'll know is if you try looting his stuff.
Ariel: Boo! I worked really hard at that!
Harriet: Yes, genuinely an excellent job.
GM Elle: And I'm not saying you can't loot his stuff without waking him up. I'm just saying you can't tell if looting his stuff will wake him back up.
MSG: Kind of the same difference, if you ask me.
Claire: What if we just try looting his sword? It's just lying across his lap, right? Are his hands on it?
Ariel: Ooh, good question!
GM Elle: No, both of his hands are resting on the arms of the throne.
MSG: She's totally trying to tempt us into waking this ghost up, you guys.
Ariel: And it's totally working. You know what? Fidu is way too much of a treasure hunter to just walk away completely. Can I try using Sleight of Hand to lift that sword off of him without disturbing his rest?
GM Elle: Roll it.
MSG: Should I blow my horn first to give you a Boon?
Claire: No!
Ariel: Are you crazy?
Akane: This idea is the worst of counterproductive, MSG.
Ariel: I'm rolling. 10 is a success against my skill of 14!
GM Elle: All right, then. You lift the sword from his lap ... and no response seems to follow. The faint ghostly image of the sword remains in place, in fact.
Claire: Whew!
Sasha: Maybe taking the crown would work the same way?
Claire: This is me gritting my teeth at that.
Ariel: Yeah I don't think we should push our luck.
Akane: Hmm. But the game rules do exactly say that you can "push" when rolls are unlucky ...
Harriet: If nobody else is going for that crown, Dilfriida is going to hide behind one of those platforms by the eyes and try to pinch it after the rest of the group leaves.
GM Elle: Roll your Sneaking.
MSG: Is this going to be opposed by Awareness for the rest of us?
GM Elle: It's only an opposed role if someone is actively on the look out for whoever is sneaking. My assumption would be that all eyes are on the ghost while you're considering whether to take the crown. But if someone wants to roleplay it otherwise, just say so.
Akane: The habit of Zedeja mistrusting our halfling remains persistent. I will roll Awareness.
Harriet: My check is a 3.
Akane: Zedeja's, a 9.
GM Elle: Looks like Dilfriida's successfully hidden, then. The question is whether anyone else wants to step up and take the crown before you all head back down the ladder.
MSG: I'll skip.
Claire: Me too.
Ariel: I've already got this ritzy sword, so I'm good.
Sasha: Quackers sighs and heads over to start the climb down.
Akane: Not seeing the halfling, Zedeja will hurry in climbing to catch up to her before mischief occurs.
GM Elle: Then once they're gone, Dilfriida can roll Sleight of Hand to get the crown.
Harriet: I'll give it a bit of a wait so the ladder down is clear in case I need to run. Then my roll is ... 7.
GM Elle: As with the sword, the ghost remains unmoving, and a spectral impression of the crown stays in place when you remove the physical one.
MSG: Nice job.
Harriet: It's going in my backpack. Then I'll climb down after everyone else.
GM Elle: All right, then. The rest of the group gets to the bottom of the statue and finds no sign of Dilfriida. What are you going to do?
Akane: Zedeja asks, "Why must this halfling be so troublesome? Has she returned to the cart? Did she stay in the statue? Dilfriida! Expose yourself!"
Harriet: Dilfriida will hurry to catch up, and upon doing so will say she was searching around the bases of those observation platforms in the heads and everybody just left. Do I need to roll a Bluffing check for that?
GM Elle: I think I'd rather you guys just role-play out that kind of thing and decide for yourselves whether you buy one another's fibs. Fidu could pay Willpower points to know for sure with his Insight ability, though.
MSG: It doesn't make much difference one way or another to Dolora, since nothing happened to get us attacked by the ghost.
Claire: Filvius is already looking ahead to his fortune-telling by that spider-kin.
Ariel: Fidu doesn't have a lot of WP to spare on Insight right now.
Sasha: I'm just still aggravated about not getting to kill a monster
Akane: The eyes of Zedeja narrow greatly at this claim by an untrustable halfling. She says, "Communicate your searchings better in the future!"
Harriet: Dilfriida says something on the order of, "Yeah, whatever."
GM Elle: So, you're out of the statue but still within the burial mound. What next?
MSG: Do we want to see about shifting some of those rocks from where they're blocking that one passageway?
Ariel: You're kidding, right? I'm beat from all this ladder climbing. I want to get back to the cart and take a dognap.
Sasha: Quackers is game if Dolora really wants to. Maybe the rocks were put there to block in a monster.
Akane: On the map, these rocks appear so large -- one to two meters. It's a great expenditure of effort with uncertainty of reward. Also, our hound's treasure-seeking ability pointed up into the statue. Therefore it's probably a waste of digging.
MSG: Technically, though, Fidu's ability only points to the greatest treasure. There might be treasure behind the rocks that's worth almost as much as what was in the statue ... maybe even just a single copper piece less.
Claire: Filvius is already walking toward where that Windsilk of Five Far Eyes critter said the weaving would be.
Ariel: Fidu is with you on that.
Akane: "Look! Again, the elf divides from the group. Last time we must expend so much energy saving him from spider death! I forbid this distraction of earthen works."
MSG: Fine. I guess we can all head out.
GM Elle: You pass that old garden shed where the spider-kin seemed to be laired and come to the intersection where it told you to turn right to find the weaving. When you shine your lamp that direction, you see an intricate gossamer web, its strands reflecting the light in chromatic, glittering patterns. The weaving mostly fills the dead end there, with a small tunnel opening into it from your side and a domed space at the center where a single person could sit.
Claire: Great! I'm crawling right in.
Ariel: I'll unroll my sleeping pelt nearby and have a lie-down.
Sasha: Do we know how long this is going to take? Because Sir Q isn't keen to just sit around on his duck-bum all day.
Akane: No division of the party!
Harriet: Dilfriida says she's not excited about waiting either.
MSG: Wasn't there one more tunnel we never explored leading out of the spider lair that we got into the mound through?

Sasha: Yeah! Let's check it out.
Akane: Impertinence! Zedeja will remain with the hound and elf.
Harriet: Dilfriida's definitely going, then.
GM Elle: All right, so the three who go exploring discover that the last unexplored tunnel leads up into a different part of the mound. You find yourselves in an area that looks like this:

Over on the right is the tunnel you followed initially to get to the statue. Over on the left is what looks like the other end of the collapsed tunnel you were considering digging out from the other side.

MSG: Oof, that looks like what, 8 meters of excavation? Glad we didn't try that.
Sasha: I'm on the listen for monster sounds.
GM Elle: Roll Awareness. You can all roll.
MSG: No go.
Sasha: I get a Bane from my helmet, so I don't hear squat.
Harriet: Dilfriida misses her mark by 1 point.
GM Elle: None of you detects anything beyond the echoes of your own footsteps and the clanking or leathery squeak of your armor.
MSG: I guess let's head for that one open exit at the top there.
Sasha: Sir Quackenscrump takes the lead with his sword and shield at the ready.
Harriet: Dilfriida will be at the back with her lamp.
MSG: Sounds like I'm in the middle, then. My club is still busted, so I guess I have my shortsword out and my horn in the other hand.
GM Elle: The way leads up to what looks like another collapsed tunnel. This one is mostly full of earth, not many of the big boulders you saw choking that other passageway. There's another exit to the left. The air in here, by the way, is extremely stale. Much more so than the other part of the mound you explored.

Sasha: We'll head over to that opening, then.
GM Elle: When you turn the corner, you find a macabre sight in the flickering illumination of your lamp. The ruins of what looks like a groundskeeper's cottage lie before you. The roof has mostly collapsed or rotted away. The front and side walls are mostly rubble. Past the heaps of debris, you can see the interior of the cottage, where there's a bed against the far wall, a fireplace, some other furnishings -- and nearest to you, a table and chairs at which three skeletons sit playing cards. Here's how it maps out.

MSG: Oh, geez, are those the chairs? So they're like right there when we turn the corner.
GM Elle: Yes, but they don't seem to immediately take notice of you. Instead, they move like automatons, with their jaws clacking as though they're discussing bets. Their hands spread and reposition their cards, or move copper and silver pieces into the pot at the center of the table. The cards themselves are in tatters, some of them just scraps barely held together by narrow stretches of the original cardstock.
MSG: Can we tell if there's enough coinage in the pot to make it worth our while to fight them?
Sasha: Who cares? Skeletons are monsters, dammit, and I haven't gotten to fight a single monster this whole session. Quackers just up and attacks them.
GM Elle: You can get in a free strike on the closest one, then we'll draw initiative.
Sasha: Slash! I hit with a 15! I'm definitely paying the 3 WP for my to add an extra d8 with my Dragonslayer ability. That's 3d8 plus 1d6 for my strength ... 14 points of damage.
GM Elle: Hang on there, the book says skeletons don't count as monsters in combat, so take away that extra d8. You don't have to pay the WP either.
Sasha: Damn it! Well, it doesn't matter much -- the extra die was a 2, so that's still 12 points.
GM Elle: It shatters into a mouldering heap of bone. Initiative time.
MSG: 2.
Sasha: 7.
Harriet: 9.
GM Elle: The skeletons are on 8.
MSG: These guys don't seem all that tough, so I'll step up and slash at the next one. I kind of stink with a sword, though. A 10 misses. Maybe I should have blown my horn after all.
Sasha: Or maybe you should just stand back and watch Quackers do his thing. Ker-whack! Garrh, that's a Demon.
GM Elle: The mishap table says ... you accidentally throw your weapon d3+3 meters. I roll a total of 4. You'll have to go get it next round. Skeletons' turn. They pick up some tools that are lying nearby -- a shovel and a mining pick. The first one attacks Sir Q ... miss. The second one attacks Dolora ... also a miss. Hettie?
Harriet: I'll move in next to Dolora and spend some WP to do a Backstabbing attack. That gives me a Boon ... and I easily hit, doing 2d8 plus d6 ... 12 points of damage for me as well.
GM Elle: Another pile of bones goes down. New initiative.
MSG: 4.
Sasha: 5.
Harriet: 9. Again.
GM Elle: You're in luck though, Het, because the last skeleton gets the 10 card.
MSG: I'm blowing my horn this round, even though it doesn't seem very necessary.
Sasha: I'm not bothering to chase down my sword, just gonna smack it with my shield. I hit and do ... what do you know, 12 points again.
GM Elle: The air fills with the crunch of snapping ribs and vertebrae, accompanied by a cloud of bone dust. Then the tomb-like quiet slowly seeps back in. It's getting a little late, so I'll make this bit quick instead of going through the whole process of you guys searching everything. The skeletons, whoever they are, must already have done all that searching, because all you find is the loot in the pot or sitting beside each of the three gambler's places. It amounts to 17 copper and 6 silver pieces, plus a silver ring worth another 9 silvers.
MSG: Kind of anticlimactic as far as battles go.
Sasha: I don't care. I got to crunch some stuff, and it felt real satisfying after all the cave-exploring and ladder-climbing and ghost-negotiating.
Ariel: Neghostiating!
Sasha: Haha, sure. I guess if that's it, we head back to the spiderweb spot.
GM Elle: Claire, when Filvius crawls into the little domed space and sits there, he feels his eyelids becoming leaden and droopy. Do you fight it or do you just let them close?
Claire: I let them close. Bring on the future visions!
GM Elle: Your mind quiets. A hazy, ambiguous landscape appears before you -- as though you're looking down on the Misty Vale from a great height. You see the statue at the edge of a great marshland. Then the marshes surround you. Fog and wetland trees blur by you. The scent of muck and swampwater permeate your senses. You find yourself at a different edge of the swamp, where a high, spired tower looms ancient and decrepit over the surrounding bogs. The image of another statuette piece enters your mind -- this one is the head and one arm.
Claire: Woohoo! So there's another statue piece in that tower and apparently it's not even all that far from here.
Ariel: Well, I dunno, on the map those swamps look kinda big.
GM Elle: The vision isn't over yet, though. Your view recedes again, then glides across the Misty Vale to its far western edge. There you see the pitch-black opening of a cave, spiderwebs draping its edges. The slow, methodical scratch of spindly, hard-shelled limbs across stone enters your ears and seems to fill your head up like webbing made of sound. In the darkness you can barely see a hint of enormous, hairy fangs, dripping with green poison. You hear the voice of one of your party members as well, excitedly saying, "Look! It's another one!"
Claire: Another what?
GM Elle: The vision doesn't say ... but it does shift to the town of Outskirt, where you see the central hill by night, with the ruined temple awash in moonlight. Hiding it its shadows, you can make out the figures of Quasimund the mallard and his fellow cultists, lurking there with some clearly nefarious purpose in mind. Then you wake and find yourself back in the burial mound. Strands of silken webbing settle down over you, their colors fading as they dissipate into nothingness.
MSG: Cool ... so we got hints to at least one of the other statue piece locations, maybe two.
Claire: And we know we're heading for some kind of throw down with those cultists at some point too.
Sasha: We're gathering up these pieces to open that ruined temple, right? So maybe that was them setting up an ambush to get us and take the statuette for themselves.
Akane: Or, for us to come out of the temple after we find whatever is in it.
GM Elle: All entirely plausible interpretations. And I'm calling this game over for tonight. I definitely think you hit all five advancement marks, so go ahead and roll for advancement and we can see where you go from here next time.
MSG: Aces.
Claire: Thanks, Elle!
Ariel: I love this game!

and there you have it, at least for the time being! see you round, everyone!