Help not-puppy with opening the chest by keeping a lookout. If he can't open the chest, try to force it by breaking the hinges.
[6][6] You stand tall and keep watch, making sure no evildoer approaches too close. Naturally, your humble presence has attracted several dark forces seeking to halt the progress of your journey. They draw their twisted implements of destruction and charge at the behest of their vicious leader, the shadowy gunman you first spotted!
You are currently being attacked by a Mace Bandit, an Axe Bandit, and an Armed Figure.
...
You have a large greatbow (Attack power: 3 (charged), 1 (uncharged)) (charging takes one turn of preparation)
You have 14 arrows in your quiver (Attack power: 1)
You have an important scroll in a copper cylinder
You have about one hundred Hours
Traits and Skills:
Man of Steel
>Gain +1 positive dice when using melee weapons
>Your opponents get +1 negative dice when attacking you
Fists like Hammers
>Gain an additional +1 positive dice while unarmed
Bow Mastery
>Your targets get +2 negative dice when you target them with a bow
Illiterate
>What's a book?
Amnesia
>You have forgotten many things
Injuries:
none
"Alright, then let's go check the chest first."
Go to the chest and try to get it open.
The chest is protected by a heavily-rusted lock riveted together by hand. The chest itself is made of wood nailed together and bound together by strips of metal at the two ends.
[5][4] You decide that breaking the lock is an easy task, requiring nothing but the use of your javelin as a lever to pry the bolt off. It pops off, transferring its momentum to the lock and flying a couple of inches, making minimal noise.
Inside you find several trinkets of high value, most made of gold, some silver. You find a gold watch, a royal goblet, multiple pieces of jewelry, and what appears to be a ceremonial dagger with serrated teeth and a pommel made from an animal skull.
Meanwhile, it seems your scavenging has drawn some attention...
Shadowy Figure: *shouting*
Do not let them escape!You are currently being attacked by a Mace Bandit, an Axe Bandit, and an Armed Figure.
...
You had a Beech Javelin (Attack power: 3 (thrown), 1 (stab)) (thrown attacks must be recovered)
You had 10 Javelin memories (strong)
You had about thirty Hours
You remember the Lady of Winter (strong)
You remember a giant eye (weak)
You remember many pixies (strong)
You remember a band of Arinthian soldiers (strong) and some bandits (weak)
Traits and Skills:
Forest Ranger
>Gain +2 positive dice when navigating and moving through the wilderness, as well as performing stealthy actions
Javelineer
>Your targets get +2 negative dice when you target them with a javelin
Noble's Education
>Gain +1 positive dice when learning from writing or conversing about literature
Shapeshifter
>You have unlimited strong memories of forest animals
Cynical
>Others will press any advantage...
Xenophobe
>Foreigners always disappoint
Injuries:
none
Archae attempts to apologize, an walks outside again, this time heading to anywhere where there is a map of the city.
[4][1] You leave the inn without further word, and feel something get caughti nside your sandle, pricking your foot. It turns out to be a large piece of quartz that was on the ground, with several edges sharp. Your foot is cut, although not bleeding badly.
Before looking for a map, a beggar catches your attention, as beggars usually do. The beggar is a cripple, sitting at the side of the road. He was not there when you came, so he must have been dropped off at his current position, seeing that his leg is twisted pretty badly.
Meanwhile, you hear a trumpet--it's a detachment of royal troops, proceeding into the capital through the gates. They are accompanied by a pair of high-ranked individuals on horseback, one a Boian duchess in black, open sleeved robe and wearing a long, twisted scarlet neckerchief with many knots and a wide-brimmed light-colored hat with a peculiar blue flower mounted on the rim. The other is a gentleman from Vin, in standard professional attire and garb, complete with a brass-hilted sabre with an ornamented handguard mounted on his belt. it doesn't seem to be a wedding, as those are usually done directly at a barony, not the city.
...
You have a spiny walking stick (Attack power: (attacking head) 2, (attacking other parts) 1)
You have a silverseel falchion (Attack power: (on odd swings) 3, (on even swings) 2)
You remember your time in the wilderness well
You have some sandwiches and citrus
You have a Sprite Trap, labelled with the words "Samantha Magdelene, professor at U.T"
You have about seventy Hours
Traits and Skills:
Mystical Learning
>You can create and cast simple Aganis spells on the same turn
Animal Handler
>Gain +2 positive dice whenever animals are involved, unless you are hunting them
Wilderness Survival
>Gain +2 positive dice for actions involving gathering natural resources, starting fires, tracking, and other survival skills
Photographic Memory
>Magical memories and thoughts last longer.
Cannot Speak
>Silence is golden
One-Eyed
>Your targets gain +2 positive dice if you attack them from a distance
Injuries:
none
"Who fired the pistol? I'm no lawman nor a drunkard, so can ya tell me if that was all that happened? The situation seems a bit strange, see." Leonhard says to the hanging man as he keeps an eye on the recently-arrived young man.
Tense for combat just in case. Try to persuade the Astrologer into spilling out the truth, whatever it might be. In case nothing of note happens, slowly move closer to the closet to check what Klein just found.
The recently-arrived young man heads off without so much as a spoken greeting.
[1][4] The Astrologer seems notably displeased.
Astrologer: Come on old chap! I'm hanging here and all the blood's a rushing to my head here! You've gotta help me first.Klein walks up you your leg and meows incessantly. You favor the cat and investigate the closet, finding the bartender supine and unconscious with a dented book next to his head,
Principles of Warfare, by the Vaykor explorer and naval captain Sophos Menkereti. The room itself appears to be a small office, rather than a closet, with a small desk in one corner and a stool hidden under. Two shelves line the side walls, although several seem to have fallen in the scuffle. You find a distinctive bullet hole in one of the books on the left side of the closet, with the bullet surely enough lodged inside.
The bartender's keyring seems to have been pulled apart scattering its contents across the floor.
The Astrologer's pistol pulled out of the room by Klein fits the bullet. A perfect match. The barrel is also still warm to the touch.
Outside, you hear trumpets and drums, the distinctive sound of a Vinnish military parade. You can hear it from the window, but the sound also comes from downstairs more loudly, so the band is probably marching in front of the inn.
...
You have a Zweihänder slung on your shoulder (Attack power: 4) (can only be used offensively every other turn)
You have a Katzbalger (Attack power: 2)
You have an arquebus (Attack power: 3) (Your opponent gets an extra positive die to dodge)
You are wearing light plate armor (incoming attacks lose 1 attack power if over 1)
You have about one hundred and fifty Hours
Traits and Skills:
Charisma
>Gain +1 positive dice when speaking with others and persuading them
Veteran
>Gain +1 positive dice to defense rolls, and your enemies gain +1 negative dice to their defense rolls
Swordmaster
>Gain +1 positive dice to attack rolls with long, bladed weapons
Sharpshooter
>Your targets get +1 negative dice to their defense rolls
Noisy
>You get +1 negatice die to stealth, and an additional +1 negative die if you are wearing armor
Old Pains
>In cold weather, without thick clothing, you get +1 negative dice to all actions
Injuries:
none
I watch and wait, seeing where these two go.
[4][6] The two men approach an office with the phrase "Dr. Elaine Wunderbach" etched on a plate. A sheet of of paper has the text "in observatory" scribbled out in ink.
Clergyman: Ah, it seems she is making some observations.
Noble: She is an astrologer too?
Clergyman: No, Elaine has permission to use the University's facilities as a senior member of the staff. Her work
Noble: That's a shame.
Clergy: Hm?
Noble: Let us carry on, shall we?
The clergyman points to the ceiling and leads the noble outside and up a ladder to the observatory, where the Doctor is indeed seated, scrawling on some notes. The observatory itself is just a telescope mounted on a flat part of the room, at the second highest point on the entire university. Unfortunately, the wall blocks a part of the sky.
The telescope itself is a
curious device, a long tube mounted on a movable bipod, which funnels light into a cubic frame of wood with a canvas on the back. The operator uses the lenses to project an image onto the canvas, which would then be recorded by pen.
Dr. Wunderbach sits on a chair next to the the astrophysical contraction, apparently reviewing some notes about the moon and the patterns on its surface.
Wunderbach: Did you hear about the crisis?Clergyman: A crisis?Wunderbach: Several important records were taken from the hall of the astrologers. They were secret records reserved for only the guildmaster and his close associates, but quite important nonetheless. The press is giving the matter a lot of coverage.Noble: Oh please, the general public cannot be bothered by such things.Wunderbach: Perhaps. But the presses are set. Printing begins tommorrow.Clergyman: Hmm... Doctor, what is it that you are writing about?Wunderbach: A couple of prints of the moon. I'm comparing old Vaykor sketches with my own observations, and there seems to be a discrepancy of some sort.Noble: Well they didn't have telescopes back then, did they? I say, it should come as no surprise that the old inferior records fail to match up.Wunderback: Have some imagination. What if Helix is not the only world that is populated?Clergyman: Well it's a great big desert, isn't it? That's the consensus. And we know our own desert to be quite the paradise.Noble: That sounds preposterous.Clergyman: It's a possibility that the Church has considered. If there is evidence of activity on Orthos it is our duty to make contact. Either they are savage barbarians to which we can bring the light, or we can benefit mutually from an exchange of ideas.Noble: Oh please, are you suggesting we can build a ladder up there and...Clergyman: Okay, that's enough.The three begin to discuss the Noble's skin condition. It appears that while he appeared pale in the dark, his skin is now dark with scars and bruises. A man of war, no doubt.
Traits and Skills:
Secret Powers
>DoOOoobillidabidydappidydap dipigillidydapda!
Current Stat Modifiers:
+0/0 positive dice to attack rolls
+0/0 negative dice to enemy attack rolls
+0/0 positive dice to defense rolls
+0/0 negative dice to enemy defense rolls
Injuries:
none
It is the 3rd hour after noon, and the Twin Suns are obscured by a cloudy blanket.
Author
Topic: Pastblasters - Adventures in Wizardry (Turn 55) (Read 91244 times)