secret of the dragon emperor ... part 28!

onward!

GM Elle: I heard a lot of groans during the experience wrap-up last time, so I'm guessing no one snagged any new Heroic Abilities?
MSG: The dice weren't kind to us.
Sasha: That's okay. We're going to whoop on a giant this time and get even more experience marks than last time.
GM Elle: I guess we should get to it, then. Last session, Glim-Glam helped you get to the buried basement of the Tower of Sighs and release the spirits that were damned to haunt the place centuries ago. Now you're supposed to provide her with two pigs from Outskirt and help her run her cousin Grim-Grum out of her house where he's been squatting for some time. But first, does anyone want to use the fountain in the bottom of the tower to swear an unbreakable oath?
Ariel: Sounds to me like a lot of work to go down there and a lot of work to climb back up and then making more work for myself by swearing whatever it is. Plus all the work of figuring out what to swear! No thanks.
Sasha: Sir Q already passed on the fountain after watching Dolora and Filvius swear their ridiculous oaths that didn't even have anything to do with killing monsters.
Akane: Zedeja might be tempted to swear an oath for commanding this group with more sternness. Then they might give increased diligence to obeying her wisdom.
MSG: Dolora isn't keen on what Zedeja might want to do with that fountain -- she might order us all to swear an oath to follow her orders, and then get all pissy if we refuse.
Claire: Filvius is busy showing off the cool banner he found, so he doesn't say anything about the fountain.
Ariel: By the way, did Zedeja and me see all those ghosts march up out of the basement?
GM Elle: I'll let you roll Awareness with a bane. The ghosts disappeared as soon as they got into sunlight, and the two of you were busy arguing.
Ariel: I make it!
Akane: Zedeja's mighty Awareness fails by Demoning.
GM Elle: Uh-oh. In that case I'll say you miss them until Fidu points them out, and you're so startled you need to make a WIL check against Fear.
Akane: Success. The will of Zedeja is also mighty.
Heddy: I'm assuming there's no chance of me or Dilfriida seeing them from upstairs, so when we get back down with the treasure chest, I'll ask everyone what happened. Remember, I'm particularly interested in the legend of the fountain, which I think is supposed to make it temporarily impossible to tell a lie.
Claire: In that case, Filvius will probably spill the beans about the fountain before Dolora has a chance to stop him. He'll also brag about swearing a more clever oath than the dwarf did, and explain why his was superior hers.
Akane: Hmm. Hearing these details makes Zedeja think, there are drawbacks to this fountain. A poorly sworn oath could bring inconvenience. She abstains of fountain-drinking.
Heddy: Brandywise definitely wants to see the fountain for herself. But she's a bit nervous about going down into the previously haunted basement alone. Anyone else want to come?
Hettie: It doesn't sound like Dolora or Filvius mentioned anything about uncovering treasure, so Dilfriida will certainly head down with you.
Akane: Zedeja demands a larger escort for the halfling of pilferage. 
Hettie: I stick my tongue out at her.
Sasha: I'll go with them. More so I won't have to listen to Zedeja complain if no one does what she says.
GM Elle: When you get to the bottom, it's just as I described before.
Sasha: See? Pretty boring down here. There's the fountain in that corner.
Heddy: I'll go over to examine it.
GM Elle: It's not particularly spectacular and doesn't radiate any aura of truthfulness or sense of enchantment.
Hettie: In the meantime, I ask our mallard knight whether they already searched all these bodies.
Sasha: Yeah, we found some gold jewelry and then all this costume jewelry junk that's still on them.
Hettie: Did you search around the altar?
MSG: D'oh!
Claire: I guess we could have done that.
Sasha: Quackers admits that no one did.
Hettie: I'm giving it a very thorough going-over in that case.
GM Elle: Roll to Spot Hidden.
Hettie: The die mocks me by teetering on the edge of a Dragon and then falling back to 13, which fails. I grumble about missing out on any good loot.
Heddy: I open my mouth to point out that we already found some treasure upstairs, then remember that we locked the chest back to make it appear unopened. Then I'll go back to examining the fountain. I'm quite intrigued to see how and whether it works ... but also intimidated at the prospect of tinkering with ancient magic myself.
Sasha: I'll ask if she's done yet. We still need to get on the road to Outskirt to buy those pigs. Not to mention the fact that that Grim-Grum giant isn't going to defeat himself.
Heddy: An idea occurs to me, and I let my two companions know that I've been getting quite down since joining the group because I'm a satyr and we're devoted to reveling and celebration on a daily basis. So I ask if either of them would be willing to make a fountain-oath to join me in those sorts of activities each day so long as I'm with the group.
Sasha: Quackers asks if drinking counts. He's always down for some drinking.
Hettie: Dilfriida thinks it sounds like that would annoy Zedeja, so she quickly offers to do so.
Heddy: I thank them both enthusiastically.
GM Elle: All right, then I'll need you each to tell me exactly what the wording of your oaths will be.
Sasha: I drink up and say, "I swear that as long as Brandywise is with us and there's booze available, I'll be her drinking buddy every day."
Hettie: And I'll promise to join in whenever Brandy asks me to party with her.
Heddy: That's a bit of an open-ended promise, you know. Depending on what we include as "partying," you might end up obligated to do any number of things.
Hettie: My character is young and foolish and has an Intelligence of 9, so I was quite deliberate in softballing that opportunity to you ... even if Brandywise doesn't seem like the type to take undue advantage of it.
Heddy: Not so far, no. But you have only known her a day and a half at this point.
Hettie: Please feel free to exercise your imagination in formulating Brandy's invitations to cavort.
Heddy: Mmmm! I'll give it some thought!
Akane: When the fountain-drinkers return, Zedeja has complaints.
Hettie: Unsurprising.
Akane: This chest! Why did you fail to announce it? Lackadaisical! You must remedy this by unlocking it at once!
Hettie: I tell her it seems to have belonged to the bandits, and she's welcome to go search their one-eared leader's cadaver for the key.
Akane: So churlish!
GM Elle: The giant offers to break the chest open if you can't find the key.
MSG: That seems reckless to Dolora ... most of us aren't aware that there's nothing fragile inside.
Sasha: Quackers says let's just pick it up and get going. "We've got a giant, and a strong-ass mallard, and a strong-ass dwarf, and we've got to go past that Ursic chick's body on our way off the island anyhow, so what are we waiting for?
Akane: This argument is sensible to Zedeja, so she agrees. However, there is double-glaring at the halfling.
Hettie: I just glare back.
GM Elle: All right, when you get to the bandit camp, you find the key on Ursic's corpse and get the chest open without trouble. Inside are 80 copper pieces and 45 gold pieces -- I'm assuming the group finds the false bottom.
MSG: Sweet!
Claire: Yeah, that looks like a pretty good haul.
Sasha: Great. Split it up and let's get going.
Akane: Duck! Insistence of promptness is good ... but it is the job of Zedeja! No usurpage!
GM Elle: If no one objects, we can skip over the trip back through the marshes. You've got a giant with you, so nothing's likely to attack you, and Glim-Glam can carry people across deeper stretches of water you'd normally have to go around, so you easily return to the Road's End Inn by nightfall.
MSG: I'll check on Glinssa and make sure she and the cart are okay.
Akane: I will accompany the dwarf -- but only due to our cart and donkeys!
Claire: Before we get too far into this stuff at the end, I want to say that Filvius would have been talking to Glim-Glam at every opportunity to try to get as much knowledge about giants as he can out of her.
GM Elle: I actually assumed that was the case ... and also that Dolora would be asking questions whenever Filvius had to take a breath. Anyone else want to chime in about what you were up to during the trek back from the Tower of Sighs? 
Akane: With a Game Master so predictive, I think Zedeja's behavior must already be known.
Hettie: Along with Dilfriida's responses to Zedeja's behavior.
GM Elle: In that case, Dolora finds Glinssa, the cart and donkeys about where you left them -- except that it looks like the workers have repaired the fence around the small pasture behind the stables, and instead of being tied up, the donkeys are out there grazing.
MSG: I thank Glinssa for keeping an eye on them and our stuff.
Claire: While Dolora is occupied, I'm getting some one-on-one time in with our giant.
GM Elle: She's actually hanging back in the woods rather than coming right up to the inn. Giants aren't especially sociable in general, and since she's gleaned that there are adventurers at the inn who were brought in to troubleshoot the place, she'd prefer not to march right up where they might get the wrong idea.
Claire: In that case, since my Bushcraft and Hunting and Fishing are pretty good, I'll hang out with her and see if I can bag us some dinner.
GM Elle: Go ahead and make your roll.
Claire: 2! I'll definitely take it, but I was sort of hoping for a Dragon that might bring down a wild boar and shave off some of our payment to Glim-Glam.
GM Elle: Actually, I would have let the Dragon stand in for the weapon roll you have to make when hunting. That has to be a ranged weapon attack roll.
Claire: Uh-oh. My sling skill is kinda weak-o next to my Hunting and Fishing. Let's see ... boo, 16. I'll become disheartened by my initial miss so I can push the roll and try again. Whew! 11 is exactly what I needed.
GM Elle: In that case, roll d6 for the results table. 
Claire: 3.
GM Elle: That's a rabbit.
Claire: Ugh. Probably not even a mouthful for Glim-Glam. Can I get angry at seeing so many rabbit tracks and push the d6 roll to ignore them and try finding something better?
GM Elle: Sure, but you have to take the second roll even if it's worse.
Claire: I'm good with that. Pff. 3 again.
Ariel: Maybe it's a really big rabbit!
Claire: I apologize to Glim-Glam for not bringing down something bigger.
GM Elle: She's fine. She brought along a sheep's haunch that the bandits brought in for her as part of their deal for her help digging out the basement. Go ahead and make your Bushcraft roll to see if you put your sleeping fur down on a rock and get no sleep.
MSG: Personally, I think that's the meanest rule in this game.
Claire: Luckily, I have a good Bushcraft skill, because my roll is a 15, which would fail for most of my skills.
GM Elle: At the inn, the evening progresses with a gathering of good spirits in the common room. The overall structure of the place was in decent shape, and they've done a day and a half of cleaning and repairing. They also brought along plenty of food and some barrels of ale.
MSG: I'll do some catching up with Glinssa to begin with and Gualmond's crew after that.
Ariel: I go to bed early!
Akane: The same for Zedeja.
Hettie: I suppose, given my oath to Brandy, I have to make a stab at revelry with her, though I doubt I'm particularly good at it, given my lack of practical experience.
Heddy: We'll run through a number of options and see which you're best at. Drinking, dancing ... flirting ...
GM Elle: That would be a CON check a Performance check, and then your choice of Persuasion, Bluffing, or Awareness, depending on which you think makes the most sense for Dilfriida.
Sasha: That oath I swore means I've pretty much got to get in on the drinking part with our satyr. But if I get the sense I'm being a third wheel, I'll go over after an ale or two and join Dolora and Gualmond's crew.
Hettie: Dragon on the CON check, so I presume I down quite a healthy volume of ale without total inebriation.
Heddy: In that case, I have to make a check too to keep up with you. A 6 isn't so spectacular, but I don't end up more than pleasantly buzzed. I'll take lead in the dancing and easily succeed.
Hettie: Gracious. I only have a 4 in Performance, but somehow I succeed too.
Heddy: Clearly things are going grandly, then. My Persuasion is a Dragon, so apparently I'm taking quite the lead in the flirting as well.
GM Elle: She sets you up with excellent lines, Dilfriida. You can have a Boon on whatever skill you pick.
Hettie: I'm going to say I'm pretty dense about these things, so I'm rolling Awareness, and both dice come up successful.
Heddy: I'm very careful, by the way, not to explicitly ask anything particular of my date, since that magic oath means she'd not really have any choice about agreeing.
GM Elle: Very commendable of you. Do we want to skip over the exact details of whether Dilfriida is having whatever Brandywise is serving up?
Ariel: What? It's just getting good!
Sasha: Your character's asleep anyway, though.
Hettie: Having had a great deal to drink and an unexpected thrill at my success on the dance floor, I suspect my character is in rather a pliable state. As for how far things go, I think when it comes to the end of the session, I'll put a mark by my Performance skill and let the roll determine how "experienced" I end up by the evening's close.
GM Elle: The next day dawns, then. Is everyone ready to head for Outskirt?
Ariel: No, because Fidu went to sleep by counting sheep, and that made him dream about all kinds of tasty animals including boars like Glim-Glam was asking for, and when he wakes up he checks with the people in charge of supplies for the inn to see if they brought along any pigs we could buy from them. That will save us from wearing ourselves out walking all the way to Outskirt and back.
GM Elle: It turns out they do have some pigs. But you'll need to roll Bartering to convince them to part with the animals. Replacing them means they'll have to spare someone from the work to go in and get more pigs from town.
Ariel: Fidu's Bartering rules. He makes it, easy.
GM Elle: They'll let you have the pigs, but for three gold each instead of the normal two, as a premium for the extra trouble of that trip to market.
MSG: I think we can spare it.
GM Elle: In that case, there's one more order of business before you can depart -- some information that came up during Dolora's conversation with Gualmond and his party. At some point you may have mentioned that cave Filvius dreamed of under the influence of that spider-kin's weaving, or maybe Gualmond passes along a rumor he heard about a young boy taken from a farm near outskirt. The tracks led into the Iron Forest, which made people say he must have been brought to Oracle Cave. Supposedly the Oracle knows everything about the Misty Vale, but occasionally demands human sacrifices for her knowledge. Fleetclaw chimes in to say there's also word of the Oracle having a mountain of treasure somewhere in the cave.
Sasha: Hot damn. The only way that could sound better is if she's a monster.
GM Elle: Anyway, here's the Adventure Card for Oracle Cave to add to the others you've collected from the rumors and chatter that you've come across.
MSG: We don't seem to be reducing this hand of Adventure Cards very quickly.
Sasha: That's why we need to get a move on. Come on, let's hit the road, whip Grim-Grum's butt, and then head over to that cave from Filvy's dream.
GM Elle: All right, so once again, with a giant along for the trip, you don't encounter anything willing to attack you, and the journey goes peacefully, taking you past the great mound with Hanhgrav's statue sticking out of it, a lot of gently rolling hills covered in light woods, some ruins and many of the ancient mile-markers left from the time of the Dragon Empire.
Hettie: Actually, are they mile-markers? Or kilometer-markers? Because I notice the scale on the map is in kilometers.
GM Elle: Is this an in-character question? Because I'm not recalling anyone actually letting Dilfriida look at the map.
Hettie: That's an excellent point. Sorry to interrupt.
MSG: Dolora has definitely looked at the map, though, and that's one hundred percent information she'd want to know.
Claire: Filvius too!
GM Elle: Fine. Both of you can roll Languages.
MSG: Demon. Well, at least it's a pretty low-stakes point for getting one of those.
Claire: I fail miserably with an 18, but less miserably than Dolora, it looks like. So Filvius feels at least a little superior.
Heddy: Can you actually feel superior, though? I mean, if you failed you don't know what Dolora thinks it means, right?
MSG: And because my oath makes me even more competitive about knowledge than I used to be, I definitely don't tell Filvius.
Claire: Okay, well, in spite of both of those really good points, Filvius assumes his oath means whatever he doesn't know is still better than whatever Dolora isn't saying she knows.
GM Elle: I'm going to say the Demon means Dolora thinks "km" stands for "kinder milem," or "child mile," which some region used a long time ago to mean about half a mile. Since that's less than a kilometer, she now constantly thinks the group should be making better time compared to your apparent progress on the map, and she gets either Angry or Disheartened at how long it's taking to reach the giant's cave.
MSG: Well, my name is Dour Dolora, so I guess it's Disheartened.
Ariel: Wow, how do you even know half a mile is less than a kilometer?
GM Elle: I looked it up when I started having to think about kilometers and travel time for this game, and so I know a kilometer is about 3/5 of a mile.
Ariel: That doesn't answer my question. 
Sasha: Ariel rolls a Demon on her "Mathing" skill.
Ariel: Wait, so you figured it out with math? In that case I for sure didn't roll a Demon, on account of I wouldn't even try that. I'm way impressed how hard you work at this game though, Elle! 
GM Elle: Thanks. Sometime in the afternoon, you find yourselves approaching the area where you previously met the giant, whose name apparently is Grim-Grum. Glim-Glam tells you to let her do the talking to start with, then cups her hands beside her mouth and bellows in a deafening tone for her cousin to come out. Then she looks around at you all and says, "I said I would talk, but get weapons out and look tough, yes?"
MSG: Dolora gives a little salute and readies her two-handed club.
Claire: I'll get out my sling and hang back by the cart. We are leaving the cart pretty far back, right?
Akane: Zedeja insists. Also, she casts Stone Skin and Power Fist on herself. Both succeed.
Hettie: I believe Dilfriida will stick close to Sir Quackenscrump with her dagger out.
Heddy: I'll be near the cart like Filvius. Except maybe even hiding behind it.
GM Elle: Glinssa is also there to steady the donkeys.
Ariel: I'll start off with my shortbow out maybe halfway between the cart and the muscle-y part of our group.
Akane: Zedeja is not muscle-y! Only prepared by spells.
Ariel: I just mean I'm letting the tougher people stay up front.
Sasha: That's Quackers. He'll be up next to Glim-Glam with his longsword and shield ready.
GM Elle: Glim-Glam waits for a bit and then yells again. "Grim-Grum! Come out from my house! Now!" Not long after that, you hear the sound of immense footsteps from around the curve of the rocky hill. Grim-Grum stomps angrily into view. "Why is there this yelling? Just use manners and knock!" Glim-Glam replies, "No knocking for me at my own house! Pack your goods and leave, or these punies and I will mash you!"
Sasha: Quackers isn't real happy about being called a puny, even if it's accurate from a giant's point of view.
Hettie: Dilfriida might normally be more thin-skinned about it, but she does feel more than a little puny at this point, now that she's been reminded of her other brush with Grim-Grum.
GM Elle: Grim-Grum looks at all of you like you're fleas and says, "Ha! Punies to help you? Very lowly, Glim-Glam." Then he stares at you more directly and says, "Wait ... these punies owe me a donkey!" Then he looks at your cart, sees the two donkeys there, and charges in that direction, roaring. Let's get out the initiative deck and shuffle it ... and ... pass it on around, please.
MSG: 8.
Claire: 2!
Ariel: I got the 3!
Sasha: Boo. Quackers is on 9. Somebody had better swap with me!
Akane: 4 for Zedeja.
Hettie: Ah ... well, I think you get your wish, Sasha, because Dilfriida definitely does not want to keep this 1.
Heddy: Looks like I'm going on 7.
GM Elle: That leaves 6 for Glinssa, 5 for Glim-Glam, and Grim-Grum last on 10. So you trade cards with Sash, Hettie?
Hettie: Actually, we're supposed to be backing up Glim-Glam, aren't we? I'll trade with her.
GM Elle: She actually wants to let her cousin make the first move, so she trades with him.
MSG: I don't know if I like that move ...
Ariel: I know I sure don't.
Sasha: I like it even less.
GM Elle: Grim-Grum charges directly toward the cart with his eyes on the donkeys. That puts him right up next to Filvius, but using the Dash action consumed his action for the turn, so he can't attack.
Claire: I'm still really close to needing to make a CON or WIL check to not pee myself.
GM Elle: Well, it's your turn next, so feel free if that's really what you want to do.
Claire: I'm going to move away from him with an Evade roll to avoid giving him a free attack. I succeed on a five and move over here to take a shot with my sling. 11 is just what I need to hit! Wait. I just looked at my character sheet to see the damage on my sling and realized I don't have one. I bumped my sling skill up to 11, but it looks like I never bought a sling. That means I didn't even get that rabbit I rolled for back when we were camping out near the inn.
Akane: Foolish elf! Even a junior mage should be more prepared!
Claire: I guess I was just getting out of harm's way, then. That makes it Fidu's turn.
Ariel: I back a little ways away and shoot him with my bow. Made it! Only 4 points of damage, though.
Akane: The turn of Zedeja! She cautiously moves closer to this enemy giant.
Hettie: Yuck. Dilfriida's up now, and there's no ally close enough to the giant for me to use my Backstab ability. Recklessly, she rushes up to the giant and stabs at it anyway. 9 is a hit for ... 10 points of damage.
GM Elle: Grim-Grum didn't seem to notice Fidu's arrow, but he notices that and roars angrily.
Akane: Never anger a giant, halfling!
GM Elle: Glinssa is next and Dashes her maximum speed away from the giant. She's not getting paid enough for this. Brandywise?
Heddy: I'm paralyzed with fear at the giant towering over me. I trade with Sir Quackenscrump.
Sasha: That's more like it! Quackers rushes into melee! I'm going to use my Ill-Tempered ability because I'm ticked that he's going for our donkeys, even though I'm the one who gave him the idea of charging travelers a donkey in the first place. I roll with a Boon ... get a hit ... use my Dragonslayer ability on him because even if he's no a dragon, for some reason it works on him as long as he's a monster ... 18 points!
GM Elle: He roars even louder. Dolora?
MSG: I'll move up and try pounding on him with my club ... a hit, for 15 points.
GM Elle: All right. Brandywise's turn again.
Heddy: Can I do the trade thing again to let Glim-Glam go first?
GM Elle: No, only once per round.
Heddy: In that case I'm just going to dash over where Glinssa went and call out encouragements to the group from the sidelines.
GM Elle: That actually counts as helping if you target a specific character and they act in the same round. Helping gives them a boon on their roll.
Heddy: Oh! Then I'm encouraging Glim-Glam to show her cousin what's what.
GM Elle: Unfortunately, because she's a monster, she doesn't have to roll for attacks. So she just uses her spear to inflict a Crushing Blow on Grim-Grum for 21 points and tells him he'd better run or he's done for. He's looking very beaten-up at this point. Initiative again.
MSG: 4.
Claire: 1.
Ariel: 9!
Sasha: 6.
Akane: 8.
Hettie: 10.
Heddy: 2 ... at least I'm early enough to shout encouragement to someone who has to make a roll. 
GM Elle: Glinssa on 7, Glim-Glam on 3, and Grim-Grum on 5. Claire, Filvius is up.
Claire: I'm really hoping Cousin Giant takes Glim-Glam up on her offer. I'm trading my 1 card to Grim-Grum.
Ariel: Nooooo!
Sasha: Well, I'll get a free attack on him if he tries to run without Evading.
Akane: Where is a knight's honor?
Sasha: Hey, he's still a borderline monster from my point of view.
Akane: But his cousin may be angered!
Sasha: Well then, she should have told us not to kill him.
Akane: Hm. Valid.
GM Elle: Grim-Grum drops to his knees and surrenders. He looks humiliated, as well as badly bruised and bleeding. "Where did you get these fierce punies, Glim-Glam? Don't kill me, punies!"
Sasha: Damn it. That makes it pretty hard for me to justify chopping into him.
GM Elle: Glim-Glam tells him to clear out his things from her place and go find somewhere else for his lair. She tells him the Tower of Sighs isn't occupied any longer. He complains that he doesn't like the marsh smell, but agrees to go. 
MSG: Well, that's a relief.
Ariel: I feel kind of bad for how much we beat him up. That was a lot of damage all in one round.
Sasha: We're beasts.
Akane: And again Zedeja did not get to brawl with her spellings. Giants should be stronger! At least by one more round.
Hettie: Dilfriida has no complaints about how quickly he went down.
Heddy: Brandywise has even fewer.
GM Elle: All right. That's a good place for us to end the session, then. Experience questions! Participation? Yes. Exploring a new location ... no, unfortunately. Defeating a dangerous enemy, definitely. Hmm ... overcoming an obstacle without violence?
Ariel: Yes! We avoided the extra effort of going to Outskirt for pigs!
GM Elle: I'll count it. As for weaknesses ... plenty of knowledge competition from Dolora and Filvius, certainly laziness from Fidu. Anti-monster sentiments aplenty from Quackenscrump ... really, I think it's obvious everyone gets that mark for the session.
MSG: Nice job as always, Elle!
Ariel: Especially with that mathing. I was impressed!
GM Elle: Thanks. Next time, then.