Turn Eighty Four Gather materials for a campfire. Light campfire. Rest and examine cave closer in the shine of its flickering light.
"...tch. In the end, the only person I can rely on is myself... 's how it's always been. Should never have assumed it was going to change though that bunch anyway..."So says Medha as she stumbles about in the dark in her miserable cave, smelling of stinky kobold sweat and blood, and worse, gathering bits of broken wood and other likely flammable objects into a nicely shaped mound. She scrapes about in her inventory for something to put a spark to her nicely shaped mound, chk chk chks away with a flint, and then, suddenly: whoosh! – bang go Medha’s eyebrows; fffshooom! – bang goes Medha’s hurriedly gathered firewood; ooooof! – bang goes Medha’s flickering light in an explosion of slightly too flammable object.
"...Bugger..."She sits down for a second, and decides to examine the cave closer in the shine of her cold sweaty fingers. She runs them up and down the walls, up and down the length of the kobold dormitory. Aside from a few more bits of firewood, a few bits of damp rags – what passes for kobold bedding – and a large saucepan, she doesn’t really find much. The room is no more than 30 foot in either direction. The door at one end is heavy, and seems to be made of rock.
"Feck this," mildly swears Tackov, some distance away from Medha’s ex-eyebrows.
"Let's stop here."Bukkar need heal, comes a grunt from their friendly barrel,
Let's stop here."But comrades! What… what could I be forgetting?
....MEDHA!"Some are less enthusiastic, and it soon emerges that a trio of the adventurers are in favour of forming a veteran sleeping party, hardened and ready to venture forth into the deepest depths of sleep.
"Oh, right, Medha. I wondered where she went, honestly. I hope she doesn't hold it against us that we left her alone like that.""Oh, she’s a… competent… woman? Independent person?""Hmm.""You’re right! I shall fly immediately to the rescue! I imagine my hair will flow in the wind in a particularly seductive manner! I shall be like a bat, gliding across the night!""I'll stay here, thank you very much. Don't want to run into those kobolds again before getting a good rest.""Oh, all right then. Well.""The witch? Hmm... How many people can that squid hold?"Tackov never gets a verbal answer: before he knows it, Lady Foxglove swoops down on him like a gloriously maned bird of prey, twirls him by the arm, and slaps him down on the back of her squid.
Operation Rescue Tacky Witch is go!
A few seconds later the squid slows down as Foxy Foxglove pulls up on the bridle, turns round, smacks Tackov across the face, and instructs him to hold on elsewhere unless he wants her to push him right bloody off.
Back at the campsite, the resting trio rest, with considerable success and no small application of skill. Despite no specific instructions regarding standing watches through the night, the night passes without incident, and slightly odd things happen to time in order to keep things going.
Whilst Tackov and Foxglove glide through the night, whilst Medha singes off her eyebrows, Bukkar, Whiz, and Gervedder sleep soundly, and some of them wake to the sunrise and the crowing of a nearby cockerel.
"Hmm," hmms Gervedder, not for the first time this turn,
"It’s quiet. Too quiet."He pauses for a second whilst Whiz and Roñardo look at him, a slight trace of concern on their faces.
"The lack of heavy snoring reverberating in an enclosed space can mean only one thing..."He walks over to Bukkar's barrel; he flips open the lid.
It's empty.
"We need to find the nearest gutter...""Crap."
Nearby, time also passes, and so do Lady Foxglove, and Tackov, and Lady Foxglove's flying warsquid, above the ground a short distance below. They get about what Foxglove figures is probably half way back up the mountain when she awakes with a sudden jolt.
"Oh, I say. Asleep at the bridle. Tackov, I need to pull over and rest."There's no answer.
"Tackov?"There's a light snoring; she turns round to smack him another time in the hope of shutting him up.
He's not there.
"Tackov? Bloody wizards."But there
was a light snoring, she thinks, unless she's hallucinating in her tiredness. There
is a light snoring.
Odd.
Eventually she looks downwards.
Ah.
"You saved him? Good gods. Well, well done Lord Eric, both for catching the sleeping eejit and for putting up with his... sleep-groping... And... goodness. Is that dribble? Well, the question is: durst I continue dri- er, flying in such a state of fatigue?"
Back at the mountain, Medha's pitch black inspection of the rock door, put off for some hours by an impromptu and unplanned doze, is suddenly restarted with a jolt.
That... that very definitely seems to be some kind of scratching at the door.
No, it's more... it's a kind of scratching mixed with occasional jangling. Medha approaches to look, and realises there's a keyhole in the door, invisible in the dark except for, well, except for the dim light that seems to be shining through it. There's a jangle and then a kind of scratchy clunk and the light disappears; a jangle and a clunky scratch and the light disappears again; it happens maybe six or seven times before Medha thinks-
"Crap."Somebody is trying a series of keys in the door.
Everyone who slept healed extra. Quite a nice colourful turn to look at.
Current Players:Name: Tackov Cedtry
Class: Level 3 Gusty Wind Mage
Status: +1 missile defence. -1 to melee. Naked!
Health: [HP: 60/60] |
Severed Guts!Abilities: Magical Typhoon I,
Wind Blast I,
Wind Blast II,
Wind Step I,
Squishy,
Sissy Slap FightInventory: Minor Mana Potion x1,
Scroll of Beginner’s Fireball x1, one memorised use of:
Gee, Mr. Whiz, You Sure Are Fast! Mouldy Wizard Hat, bits of guts (own), You Bastard the Mangy Donkey,
Cloak of Camouflage, 112 Green Farthings, 17 Yuros, Several heavy rocks, Some ribs, saucepan, Fancy Clothes.
Name: Whiz
Class: Level 3 Whiznificent Whiz Wiz(ard)
Status: +1 to lower leg defence. -1 to social interaction. +1 to balancing.
Health: [HP: 85/85] |
Giant Rat’s Tail!Abilities: Red Carpet,
Shield I,
Gee, Mr. Whiz, You Sure Are Fast! Gee, Mr. Whiz, You Sure Are Fast II,
Obviously a Powerful Wizard,
It’ll Make You Blind!Inventory: Crossbow, Unlimited Quiver,
Raider’s Dress of Shin Protection, 37 Yuros,
Middling Mana Potion x1, Cutlass, Three daggers,
Minor Health Potion x2, +1 Bolt of Accuracy x4, +1 Bolt of Burning x3, +1 Bolt of Paralysis x2,
Carrying Serf x0 (not currently mounted).
Name: Medha Correo
Class: Level 3 Alchemist Curse Crafter
Status: +1 to gut defence. +1 to chest defence.
Health: [HP: 61/85] |
Draconic Ribcage!Skull Spider Health: [HP: 25/25]Abilities: Craft Curse Grenade,
Opportunistic Attack I,
Curse Crafter,
Curse of the Fool,
Wandering Asshole,
Curse of the Curse CrafterInventory: Dagger, Half a dress, 71 bandages,
Neckless of the Ribless, Dagger, Lock picking kit,
Iron Cuirass, 211 Yuros, Crossbow,
Brittle Jagged Groinbone Dagger of Good, 4 vials of human blood, 6 vials of kobold blood,
Grenade of the Fool x0, Serpent's Benediction plant x1, Faery-weed x1, A Shiny Stone, Bottle of Dragon Blood, a six foot plank of wood, a rune dagger,
Curse of Being Stepped Upon! Name: Gervedder Vietzo
Class: Level 3 Damaged Opportunistic Messenger
Status: +1 to gut and chest defence. +1 defence if moves.
Health: [HP: 60/85]Abilities: Just a Brainflesh Wound,
Nimble Feet,
This Messenger Delivers,
Make Way for the Messenger! Important,
Stop For DirectionsInventory: Crossbow, Unlimited Quiver, 2 bandages, 2 Yuros,
Iron Cuirass, Crossbow, Gerald the Mule, Two weeks rations and a bedroll,
Apprentice Herbalist's Manual,
Herbalist's Containers x5, Large Cork x1.
Name: Lady Foxglove Vainglorious the III
Class: Level 3 Glamorous Ravenhaired Crusader
Status: Extra-presentable! +1 to head, chest and groinbone defence.
Health: [HP: 85/85]Abilities: Ravena’s Ear,
Silent as a Raven’s Wing,
Opportunistic,
Honeyed Tongue,
Vain,
Self-RelianceInventory: Minor Health Potion x2, Crossbow, Unlimited Quiver,
Masterwork Helm,
Flying Warsquid,
Lance, Sword,
Mercenary Squidrider Uniform,
Masterwork Poledancing Pole,
chainmail lingerie, 34 Yuros, 10 bandages, Decent provisions (day) x5, Live eel x699, Red dragon-scale vest,
Curse Grenade of the Slimy Eel.
Name: Bukkar Crangrom
Class: Level 3 Sprayin' Ragin' Mage
Status:Health: [HP:50/85] |
The Vomiting!Abilities: Rage Flight,
Rage Lazors I,
Ass of the Flaming Foot I,
Lightning Fist I,
Always Looking For a Fight,
Always HungoverInventory: Sword of Severing! Crossbow, 400 Green Farthings,
Large Sealed Bling Barrel, Large Cork x1, Dragon Body Parts Covered in Bodily Fluids (quantity-small), pick.