Episode 73
Does the Husk attack?
(Somewhat Likely | 1[d10]) No, and...
Interesting. I think it knows that Myrddyn is a potential danger to it.
The husk of a man stared at the sword then at Eilwen, its dark eyes probing every inch of her and then back to the sword.
“Myrdden is mine!” it rasped with a touch of petulance in its voice.
But Eilwen saw that it kept its distance from her.
She held the sword up in front of her.
“Edris,” she finally breathed. “That was your name, wasn’t it?”
“Was... or is... it matters not to one as timeless as I,” it preened.
Then it motioned a hand in a flicker of rune making and whispered a word, and the bone walker jerked as if on a line and skittered in front of Edris, blocking the route to him like a shield, the scimitar-like forearms crossed in front of it. “Give it to me, young one, and I’ll let you live.”
For all intents and purposes the combat with the Bonewalker has ended at this point. If it starts over, we’ll do a new Enter the Fray. However, about fifteen undead zombie like warriors began to lumber to their feet.
As he spoke, around them, the corpses one by one began to stagger to unnatural life, puppets on strings.
“Kiari,” Eilwen managed to get out between clenched and trembling teeth, speaking to the woman alone. “Get Valerie and her children to safety. Head south towards Bleakland. I’ll try to catch up.”
If Kiari heard her, she made no sign.
“Give me the sword, or I’ll flay your skin from your flesh one small strip at a time,” it said.
“Kiari!”
“The dead are rising...” the other woman groaned. “And this...this thing stands before me. We are surely doomed!”
“Kiari! You are a warrior of renown and a warrior sworn to my crown. Will you heed your oaths!?”
That seemed to jolt the other woman into action. “Yes... yes! Take the children and Valeri south. Yes, my queen!”
“Then go! Everyone, run!” Eilwen shouted. “Follow Kiari!”
“The sword is mine!” Eilwen shouted in defiance and darted north. She would have gladly given it to him if he would have quietly gone back to his home under the mountain, but he was not the sort to be trusted.
Do any of the undead try to stop Kiari and the others?
Edris is cunning, but he really wants the sword. I’ll say Somewhat Unlikely.
(Somewhat Unlikely | 9[d10]) Yes
“Stop them!” Edris hissed pointing one bony forefinger on each hand at the departing group that ran south and Eilwen who ran north!
Does the full group of Zeds go after Kiari’s group?
(Somewhat Unlikely | 5[d10]) No
The bonewalker leapt after Eilwen with an uncanny eagerness as did most of the shambling corpses. The bonewalker dashed at her on all fours as it churned up the earth.
Is it fast enough to leap in front of her before she can get away?
(Somewhat Likely | 1[d10]) No, and...
The thing slipped on a patch of slippery mud, giving Eilwen the time she needed to get some distance from it.
“Stop them!” Edris screeched, and one of his hands pointed in Eilwen’s direction as it muttered a curse and drew a rune. A tree near her exploded, sending wooden shards slippery with sap at her.
Face Danger + Edge
5 = 3[d6]+2
8 = 3[d10]+5[d10]
A weak hit.
She dove to the earth, rolling in the soft ground, shards of pinewood sprayed over her. Pine needles came up with her, and she rolled to her feet and continued running. A few of her arrows broke or fell out of her quiver when she rolled to her feet.
(Minus -1 supply now 4/5)
She saw over her shoulder Halig and his companion had managed to get away before a few of the shambling dead managed to get between Kiari’s group and freedom. The dead’s faces bore no expression. They moved jerkily, emotionless puppets, arms outstretched, reaching and grasping.
Can Kiari easily defeat them and get the group away? Given that she’s a skilled warrior...
(Likely | 9[d10]) Yes
Kiari’s reflexes kicked in, and she spun her spear, sweeping the legs out from under one shambler, and it fell onto its back; then she spun and slammed the haft of her weapon into the chest of the other with a bone-cracking crunching sound. The spear haft broke some of the corpse’s ribs, and the thing stumbled backwards over a log, flailing and windmilling its arms. A few others who also tried to follow after them, in turn tripped over the fallen creature.
Kiari’s eyes searched the trees and then met hers for a brief instant.
“Run...” she said and raised her sword to the other woman and willed them both to run. Though her legs felt chilled and leaden from the cold fear that consumed her heart, she forced them to move.
...
How long she ran, she wasn’t sure. But she had so far managed to stay ahead of the bonewalker. She ran quickly, but she knew that wouldn’t be enough. She, the huntress, once again became the hunted. The thing was tireless, but she wasn’t. She would need to rest soon. She paused and looked back through the stands of pine trees, the moonlight drifting down between the trees. Was that it? She couldn’t tell. Perhaps it was just her imagination.
She saw a stream, leaped over it to the north, then suddenly halted and used her sword to cut off a piece of her cloak. She smeared it with some of her sweat and grime and dried blood and tossed it in that direction.
Then she made her way back to the stream and quietly began to move upstream to the east. If it hunted by scent, that might help.
This is Secure an Advantage with wits
8 = 5[d6]+3
2 = 1[d10]+1[d10]
Whew. A strong hit with the match. She’ll take 2 momentum. Now 3/10.
Some heartbeats later, the thing darted past her hiding position, its nose low to the ground. It suddenly stopped in a spray of dirt and pine needles, nearly rolling over as it saw the cloth. It put its face to the cloth, as if snuffling it? Eilwen wasn’t sure. She studied it as she rested, crouched behind a screen of branches. She breathed through her mouth, slowly taking deep measured breaths and trying to keep her bursting heartbeat from alerting it.
Its head peered around the trees. Then its head swung back to the ground, and it darted off to the north, loping up and over the slope ahead of it, disappearing from view. Eilwen breathed a sigh of relief.
I think the positive narrative twist here from the match is that she loses it for good and Edris as well, at least until the fiction dictates otherwise.
I’m going to ask one question, because I think it’d be interesting. Do more of Yormid’s soldiers happen to run a foul of this thing?
(50/50 | 1[d10]) No, and...
I guess it’s moving way too quickly for that.
She vaguely considered searching for Toothbite, but if Edris were still around, it wouldn’t be safe. She decided against it. She could look for it when she came back for Yormind.
For another fifteen minutes, Eilwen slogged through the water to hide her scent before moving over to the south bank and jogging with wet boots toward the west and south. As she moved quickly through the forest, her careful eyes tried to find what she hoped she’d see.
Then she saw it. A small piece of rough green cloth tied to a tree branch. She ran her fingers over it and smiled. Kiari’s mark. She jogged to catch up.
...
When Eilwen jogged into view holding her side an hour later, everyone grabbed their weapons, and Valeri and her children’s faces were ashen with fatigue and fear
“My Queen,” Kiari asked with concern, jogging over to her and grabbing her shoulders, looking her over. “Are you hurt?”
Eilwen leaned against a tree, took deep breaths but shook her head.
“Glad I am that you have returned,” Valeri said with a tired smile and she came over to Eilwen and they touched foreheads.
“I’m glad you’re safe, my friend,” Eilwen said once she regained her breath. “You too, Gethyd.”
The young man nodded at her, but said nothing, his eyes hooded, his face haggard from fatigue and white with fear, as were the faces of his siblings.
This counts as another progress on the Vow milestone.
(Getting out of the Redhall region and avoiding the undead etc counts as another milestone on Get Valeri’s Family to Bleakland - Troublesome now 6/10)
Valeri and Kiari looked relieved that Eilwen had returned.
“What was that new thing--that horrible man-thing in the tattered clothes?” Halig asked her, his voice betrayed a small tremble, and he scanned the trees behind her before looking at her again. Eilwen didn’t blame him.
“Someone... some...thing, I met once before,” she finally got out after she regained her breath.
“You took its sword?” Kiari asked.
“Not I. Well, not from him. Uzak had it somehow. I took it from Uzak when I slew him in battle.”
“Who’s Uzak...?” Halig asked.
“A rival who dared to question my right to the kingdom,” Eilwen said. “A power-hungry raider who with his warband tried to enslave these lands under his iron fist. He is no more. But Edris... He remains a problem.”
“Yormid would have shown him a thing or two,” Halig said.
“Perhaps,” Eilwen said. “But I doubt it. Edris is a powerful mystic, maddened in his lust for more power and dominion. Until now, he lurked under his mountain home to the north. It was he who made this sword,” she held up the Sword of Myrdden, its blade glowing with its sickly light. “It belonged to my ancient ancestor.”
Samlet sat with his back to a boulder, his chest heaving still from the long run, his face pale and slack but he leaned away from the glowing sword. “I thought we were dead...I cannot run another step.”
“My Queen, we dare not stay long,” Kiari said, leaning towards her, her hand gripping her spear in a deathgrip. “That thing could return at any time. We must keep moving!”
“The children cannot go much further, Eilwen,” Valeri said.
“Nor I,” Samlet groaned.
“What of those corpses that rose and tried to stop us?” Halig asked.
“They are slow, and under the thrall of Edris,” Eilwen said. “I think they require his attention to maintain his hold over them. If he’s bringing them with him, he will not be able to travel quickly, nor much in the light of day, I think. He is a creature of shadow and loss. I think we have some little time to rest. Not hours, but perhaps enough for some food and drink.”
“Eilwen,” Gethyd approached, his brow furrowed in thought. “That Edris. He came from one of those shadow doors, didn’t he? Is it not like what you did?”
“I think so,” Eilwen confirmed. “There was a rift in the sky.” She wasn’t willing to admit that she thought she had opened that rift.
“If we could travel quickly through that realm in a matter of hours, could it not do the same, and get ahead of us.”
“Perhaps,” Eilwen admitted. “But it’d have to know the proper pillars, and it would have to get past the shadow monsters.”
“Somehow, I don’t think they’ll be a problem for him,” Gethyd scowled. “You said he’s a powerful mystic, what if--”
“There’s little we can do about it in any case,” Eilwen said, ending the conversation, not wanting to talk about Edris any more.
They all sat and ate a quick meal of dried meat and berries. Eilwen pulled out some bandages. She asked Valeri to help clean the wounds she couldn’t easily reach.
Secure Advantage with wits, adding +1 for her bond with Valeri.
5 = 2[d6]+3
9 = 4[d10]+5[d10]
A weak hit. Take +1 momentum. Now 4/10.
They worked together in silence, Valeri helping to tend to Eilwen’s wounds.
Heal move. Since she’s healing herself, she’s rolling +iron.
4 = 3[d6]+1
10 = 7[d10]+3[d10]
A weak hit. She loses 1 supply, now 3/5, but she gets 2 health back, now 3/5.
“Thank you for bringing Gethyd back to me,” Valeri said quietly, wrapping a bandage around a wound in Eilwen’s forearm. “I know you tried your best to save Edyard. It must have been bad for you. I’ve seen your face whenever we mention his name. But don’t worry, Eilwen, I know it’s not your fault that he...didn’t make it,” Valeri said.
Eilwen said nothing. She looked away and clenched her fists and felt her fingernails press against her palms. She couldn’t hold in the involuntary groan that wriggled out.
“I’m sorry, is the bandage too tight?” Valeri asked.
“It’s fine,” Eilwen said. “Thank you for your help. We should keep moving.”
“Are you sure? You look battered and worn. Perhaps I could--”
“It’s fine,” she said again and stood up abruptly.
The other woman had a resilience Eilwen didn’t understand. But it was more than just resilience. How could Valeri be so...kind? If she only knew what Eilwen had done...
Surely the other woman’s heart must be wrenched in two at losing her husband, surely she screamed inside with fist raised to the heavens in an angry, futile accusation of the dead gods. Eilwen saw the sorrow and the loss in the other woman’s eyes, but she also saw a strength and acceptance that she envied.
“Eilwen?”
“I said it’s fine. We must keep moving,” Eilwen said. “Gather up your children. It’s time to move.”
But she knew it wasn’t fine. If Valeri knew, she would hate Eilwen, would curse her name to the heavens for killing her husband. Eilwen couldn’t bear that.
Would she ever be fine again?
Nope. Not until she can Sojourn and get some rest and recuperation and clear that darn Shaken condition.
Does the Husk attack?
(Somewhat Likely | 1[d10]) No, and...
Interesting. I think it knows that Myrddyn is a potential danger to it.
The husk of a man stared at the sword then at Eilwen, its dark eyes probing every inch of her and then back to the sword.
“Myrdden is mine!” it rasped with a touch of petulance in its voice.
But Eilwen saw that it kept its distance from her.
She held the sword up in front of her.
“Edris,” she finally breathed. “That was your name, wasn’t it?”
“Was... or is... it matters not to one as timeless as I,” it preened.
Then it motioned a hand in a flicker of rune making and whispered a word, and the bone walker jerked as if on a line and skittered in front of Edris, blocking the route to him like a shield, the scimitar-like forearms crossed in front of it. “Give it to me, young one, and I’ll let you live.”
For all intents and purposes the combat with the Bonewalker has ended at this point. If it starts over, we’ll do a new Enter the Fray. However, about fifteen undead zombie like warriors began to lumber to their feet.
As he spoke, around them, the corpses one by one began to stagger to unnatural life, puppets on strings.
“Kiari,” Eilwen managed to get out between clenched and trembling teeth, speaking to the woman alone. “Get Valerie and her children to safety. Head south towards Bleakland. I’ll try to catch up.”
If Kiari heard her, she made no sign.
“Give me the sword, or I’ll flay your skin from your flesh one small strip at a time,” it said.
“Kiari!”
“The dead are rising...” the other woman groaned. “And this...this thing stands before me. We are surely doomed!”
“Kiari! You are a warrior of renown and a warrior sworn to my crown. Will you heed your oaths!?”
That seemed to jolt the other woman into action. “Yes... yes! Take the children and Valeri south. Yes, my queen!”
“Then go! Everyone, run!” Eilwen shouted. “Follow Kiari!”
“The sword is mine!” Eilwen shouted in defiance and darted north. She would have gladly given it to him if he would have quietly gone back to his home under the mountain, but he was not the sort to be trusted.
Do any of the undead try to stop Kiari and the others?
Edris is cunning, but he really wants the sword. I’ll say Somewhat Unlikely.
(Somewhat Unlikely | 9[d10]) Yes
“Stop them!” Edris hissed pointing one bony forefinger on each hand at the departing group that ran south and Eilwen who ran north!
Does the full group of Zeds go after Kiari’s group?
(Somewhat Unlikely | 5[d10]) No
The bonewalker leapt after Eilwen with an uncanny eagerness as did most of the shambling corpses. The bonewalker dashed at her on all fours as it churned up the earth.
Is it fast enough to leap in front of her before she can get away?
(Somewhat Likely | 1[d10]) No, and...
The thing slipped on a patch of slippery mud, giving Eilwen the time she needed to get some distance from it.
“Stop them!” Edris screeched, and one of his hands pointed in Eilwen’s direction as it muttered a curse and drew a rune. A tree near her exploded, sending wooden shards slippery with sap at her.
Face Danger + Edge
5 = 3[d6]+2
8 = 3[d10]+5[d10]
A weak hit.
She dove to the earth, rolling in the soft ground, shards of pinewood sprayed over her. Pine needles came up with her, and she rolled to her feet and continued running. A few of her arrows broke or fell out of her quiver when she rolled to her feet.
(Minus -1 supply now 4/5)
She saw over her shoulder Halig and his companion had managed to get away before a few of the shambling dead managed to get between Kiari’s group and freedom. The dead’s faces bore no expression. They moved jerkily, emotionless puppets, arms outstretched, reaching and grasping.
Can Kiari easily defeat them and get the group away? Given that she’s a skilled warrior...
(Likely | 9[d10]) Yes
Kiari’s reflexes kicked in, and she spun her spear, sweeping the legs out from under one shambler, and it fell onto its back; then she spun and slammed the haft of her weapon into the chest of the other with a bone-cracking crunching sound. The spear haft broke some of the corpse’s ribs, and the thing stumbled backwards over a log, flailing and windmilling its arms. A few others who also tried to follow after them, in turn tripped over the fallen creature.
Kiari’s eyes searched the trees and then met hers for a brief instant.
“Run...” she said and raised her sword to the other woman and willed them both to run. Though her legs felt chilled and leaden from the cold fear that consumed her heart, she forced them to move.
...
How long she ran, she wasn’t sure. But she had so far managed to stay ahead of the bonewalker. She ran quickly, but she knew that wouldn’t be enough. She, the huntress, once again became the hunted. The thing was tireless, but she wasn’t. She would need to rest soon. She paused and looked back through the stands of pine trees, the moonlight drifting down between the trees. Was that it? She couldn’t tell. Perhaps it was just her imagination.
She saw a stream, leaped over it to the north, then suddenly halted and used her sword to cut off a piece of her cloak. She smeared it with some of her sweat and grime and dried blood and tossed it in that direction.
Then she made her way back to the stream and quietly began to move upstream to the east. If it hunted by scent, that might help.
This is Secure an Advantage with wits
8 = 5[d6]+3
2 = 1[d10]+1[d10]
Whew. A strong hit with the match. She’ll take 2 momentum. Now 3/10.
Some heartbeats later, the thing darted past her hiding position, its nose low to the ground. It suddenly stopped in a spray of dirt and pine needles, nearly rolling over as it saw the cloth. It put its face to the cloth, as if snuffling it? Eilwen wasn’t sure. She studied it as she rested, crouched behind a screen of branches. She breathed through her mouth, slowly taking deep measured breaths and trying to keep her bursting heartbeat from alerting it.
Its head peered around the trees. Then its head swung back to the ground, and it darted off to the north, loping up and over the slope ahead of it, disappearing from view. Eilwen breathed a sigh of relief.
I think the positive narrative twist here from the match is that she loses it for good and Edris as well, at least until the fiction dictates otherwise.
I’m going to ask one question, because I think it’d be interesting. Do more of Yormid’s soldiers happen to run a foul of this thing?
(50/50 | 1[d10]) No, and...
I guess it’s moving way too quickly for that.
She vaguely considered searching for Toothbite, but if Edris were still around, it wouldn’t be safe. She decided against it. She could look for it when she came back for Yormind.
For another fifteen minutes, Eilwen slogged through the water to hide her scent before moving over to the south bank and jogging with wet boots toward the west and south. As she moved quickly through the forest, her careful eyes tried to find what she hoped she’d see.
Then she saw it. A small piece of rough green cloth tied to a tree branch. She ran her fingers over it and smiled. Kiari’s mark. She jogged to catch up.
...
When Eilwen jogged into view holding her side an hour later, everyone grabbed their weapons, and Valeri and her children’s faces were ashen with fatigue and fear
“My Queen,” Kiari asked with concern, jogging over to her and grabbing her shoulders, looking her over. “Are you hurt?”
Eilwen leaned against a tree, took deep breaths but shook her head.
“Glad I am that you have returned,” Valeri said with a tired smile and she came over to Eilwen and they touched foreheads.
“I’m glad you’re safe, my friend,” Eilwen said once she regained her breath. “You too, Gethyd.”
The young man nodded at her, but said nothing, his eyes hooded, his face haggard from fatigue and white with fear, as were the faces of his siblings.
This counts as another progress on the Vow milestone.
(Getting out of the Redhall region and avoiding the undead etc counts as another milestone on Get Valeri’s Family to Bleakland - Troublesome now 6/10)
Valeri and Kiari looked relieved that Eilwen had returned.
“What was that new thing--that horrible man-thing in the tattered clothes?” Halig asked her, his voice betrayed a small tremble, and he scanned the trees behind her before looking at her again. Eilwen didn’t blame him.
“Someone... some...thing, I met once before,” she finally got out after she regained her breath.
“You took its sword?” Kiari asked.
“Not I. Well, not from him. Uzak had it somehow. I took it from Uzak when I slew him in battle.”
“Who’s Uzak...?” Halig asked.
“A rival who dared to question my right to the kingdom,” Eilwen said. “A power-hungry raider who with his warband tried to enslave these lands under his iron fist. He is no more. But Edris... He remains a problem.”
“Yormid would have shown him a thing or two,” Halig said.
“Perhaps,” Eilwen said. “But I doubt it. Edris is a powerful mystic, maddened in his lust for more power and dominion. Until now, he lurked under his mountain home to the north. It was he who made this sword,” she held up the Sword of Myrdden, its blade glowing with its sickly light. “It belonged to my ancient ancestor.”
Samlet sat with his back to a boulder, his chest heaving still from the long run, his face pale and slack but he leaned away from the glowing sword. “I thought we were dead...I cannot run another step.”
“My Queen, we dare not stay long,” Kiari said, leaning towards her, her hand gripping her spear in a deathgrip. “That thing could return at any time. We must keep moving!”
“The children cannot go much further, Eilwen,” Valeri said.
“Nor I,” Samlet groaned.
“What of those corpses that rose and tried to stop us?” Halig asked.
“They are slow, and under the thrall of Edris,” Eilwen said. “I think they require his attention to maintain his hold over them. If he’s bringing them with him, he will not be able to travel quickly, nor much in the light of day, I think. He is a creature of shadow and loss. I think we have some little time to rest. Not hours, but perhaps enough for some food and drink.”
“Eilwen,” Gethyd approached, his brow furrowed in thought. “That Edris. He came from one of those shadow doors, didn’t he? Is it not like what you did?”
“I think so,” Eilwen confirmed. “There was a rift in the sky.” She wasn’t willing to admit that she thought she had opened that rift.
“If we could travel quickly through that realm in a matter of hours, could it not do the same, and get ahead of us.”
“Perhaps,” Eilwen admitted. “But it’d have to know the proper pillars, and it would have to get past the shadow monsters.”
“Somehow, I don’t think they’ll be a problem for him,” Gethyd scowled. “You said he’s a powerful mystic, what if--”
“There’s little we can do about it in any case,” Eilwen said, ending the conversation, not wanting to talk about Edris any more.
They all sat and ate a quick meal of dried meat and berries. Eilwen pulled out some bandages. She asked Valeri to help clean the wounds she couldn’t easily reach.
Secure Advantage with wits, adding +1 for her bond with Valeri.
5 = 2[d6]+3
9 = 4[d10]+5[d10]
A weak hit. Take +1 momentum. Now 4/10.
They worked together in silence, Valeri helping to tend to Eilwen’s wounds.
Heal move. Since she’s healing herself, she’s rolling +iron.
4 = 3[d6]+1
10 = 7[d10]+3[d10]
A weak hit. She loses 1 supply, now 3/5, but she gets 2 health back, now 3/5.
“Thank you for bringing Gethyd back to me,” Valeri said quietly, wrapping a bandage around a wound in Eilwen’s forearm. “I know you tried your best to save Edyard. It must have been bad for you. I’ve seen your face whenever we mention his name. But don’t worry, Eilwen, I know it’s not your fault that he...didn’t make it,” Valeri said.
Eilwen said nothing. She looked away and clenched her fists and felt her fingernails press against her palms. She couldn’t hold in the involuntary groan that wriggled out.
“I’m sorry, is the bandage too tight?” Valeri asked.
“It’s fine,” Eilwen said. “Thank you for your help. We should keep moving.”
“Are you sure? You look battered and worn. Perhaps I could--”
“It’s fine,” she said again and stood up abruptly.
The other woman had a resilience Eilwen didn’t understand. But it was more than just resilience. How could Valeri be so...kind? If she only knew what Eilwen had done...
Surely the other woman’s heart must be wrenched in two at losing her husband, surely she screamed inside with fist raised to the heavens in an angry, futile accusation of the dead gods. Eilwen saw the sorrow and the loss in the other woman’s eyes, but she also saw a strength and acceptance that she envied.
“Eilwen?”
“I said it’s fine. We must keep moving,” Eilwen said. “Gather up your children. It’s time to move.”
But she knew it wasn’t fine. If Valeri knew, she would hate Eilwen, would curse her name to the heavens for killing her husband. Eilwen couldn’t bear that.
Would she ever be fine again?
Nope. Not until she can Sojourn and get some rest and recuperation and clear that darn Shaken condition.
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