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[10ebbor10]

If you're talking about the Old Ways modifier, what that does mechanically is give you a -1 to 1-3 rolls and a +1 to 4-6 rolls - confidence and faith allow you to press the advantage, but also make it difficult to cut your losses.

Ah,...

Nooo, never explain dem modifiers!

Otherwise they gonna number their way to victory!

Ah yes.

Now we know that in order to win, we need to roll well.

[chubby2man]

A Uh oh

[Harry Baldman]

You make a break for the Princess and then the portal. She shrieks and makes a token effort at resistance to maintain plausible deniability, but runs along with you regardless...

6

The armored figure of Sir Ludovic charges toward you as you break into a sprint toward the gateway, his sword coming loose to cleave one of your few remaining agents in half. He roars and surges toward you, and you push the Princess toward him at first - he pauses and gives you time to come around his other side and shove a poisoned dagger into his relatively unprotected armpit - one of his arms flops uselessly and he nearly lets go of his sword before you shove him into the rift. Screams, but no sounds of supernatural mutilation. Good sign.

You look at the Princess and dodge an arrow that draws blood from the tip of your ear, and briefly glimpse the impending shadow of the Vesperlund spymaster over the corpse of a trusted adjutant before you dive into Princess Annika and both of you begin to tumble through the rift, falling through primordial darkness. You shut your eyes as shadows begin to flit past them and scream prayers to the Hidden God to drown out the silence pressing into your ears, until eventually you land...

... or, rather, find yourself elsewhere, standing perfectly upright, arms still locked around your companion. She asks if you'd like to let go of her now, and after opening your eyes and taking a look around, you cautiously acquiesce.

The Hell of Ten Thousand Needles reminds you a lot of a forest of redwood pines, stretching out as far as the eye can see. It is a fairly good forgery of one, in any case. The pines look more or less right, and although the sun is red and possesses a very obvious bestial pupil glaring down at you and the sky's color is a very off shade of cyan, it otherwise looks not particularly disturbing, though you notice that everything around here seems to grow on very fine quartz dust.

She would have thought Hell a lot less temperate than this, Princess Annika notes. Do you have any idea where this book might be?

A) Do not linger. Move along until you've found something, let providence be your guide.
B) Try to recall the sparing descriptions of the place you've read, and also the principles governing hells in general.
C) You're a guest here. Might as well announce yourself to the powers that rule over the place.

[10ebbor10]

Hell of Ten Thousand Needles

Heh, that's clever.

Though it should be noted, that the average pine tree has many, many more needles than 10 000.

C

[Aseaheru]

C, its only polite after all. Besides, if the book was so tiring for its author its probably a bit of a pain for this places boss.

[Prophet]

B It's best to know about this place before we do anything else.

[chubby2man]

B Best to be sure before we call ourselves out or something.

[omada]

Best... all that the people above said.

[Harry Baldman]

Are you going somewhere or what, Princess Annika begins to ask you.

6

You tell her to shut it in the most polite possible terms, and begin to exposit, as you know is right to do when inside a hell.

Demons, you begin, are very peculiar creatures, often called manifestations of lies and deception. This you know from your own scholarly exploits to be a fanciful exaggeration - demons are creatures based around stories, and those who find themselves at the center of them. Every demon seeks a hero of their own story, because heroes of their own stories make for excellent allies. That's why rituals matter so much to them; they're an expression of the commitment and drive that makes a truly great partner.

A hell, by extension, is a demon's personal playground, untethered from notions of space and often time as well. A hell is an unformed story that coalesces around its visitor, made up as it goes along. You know how this one begins, in an otherworldly pine forest accompanied by the Princess of Vesperlund, pursued by the trained hounds of the Kaiser. And you know how it should end, with the Book of Hez-Shalhoub in your hands.

But before you get there, the master of this place, the Duke of Pride and Longing, will demand adversity, and plenty of it. With your first move you can determine much.

So it's like a weird game of pretend, Princess Annika proposes. And yes, you say, except the costs will be quite real.

A) The other Spymaster's pet sorcerer will make their presence known, and you will do battle among the trees. She will fly, but you will have good cover.
B) You will be pursued by the forest's terrifying fauna, and you will be separated from the Princess. In doing so, a way forward will present itself.
C) The Duke of Pride and Longing itself will come to guide you, promising much but giving nothing until you are ready to give back in turn.
D) You will meet Sir Ludovic wounded, poisoned and raving alone in the mystical wilderness. He will make the Princess question her commitment to you, but will pose no other threat.

[Prophet]

C We have nothing to fear. For the Hidden Gods our are patrons. We shall do what must be done. For we are willing to give anything and everything for our gods. Death, pain, and misery are nothing before the glory of the divine ones!

[NRDL]

C We have nothing to fear. For the Hidden Gods our are patrons. We shall do what must be done. For we are willing to give anything and everything for our gods. Death, pain, and misery are nothing before the glory of the divine ones!

[chubby2man]

D Showdown with a rival in hell itself

[heydude6]

D

He's weakened, we can kill him.

[Harry Baldman]

Roll for decision: 2 -> C

You point the way and lead on, deciding to seek the master of this place. If he does not possess the Book of Hez-Shalhoub, he would at least know where it may be found. You listen to the wind and follow the faint sound of wailing.

The sky darkens and the lonely howls grow increasingly desperate as you approach the Duke's court, where you are greeted by a delegation of hungry shadows offering small favors for minor sacrifices, all yearning to obtain a little piece of you or the Princess before you proceed to their master. Luckily, you know better than to give them the time of day, and find yourself descending into a barrow lit with faint green light that flickers, making your shadows play on the walls and leaving a gentle compulsion in your limbs to dance along with them.

Deep underground you find the Duke, sitting on his primeval throne made of juniper, a desiccated corpse with teeth like diamonds and eyes like fireworks. He leans forward with a resounding creak, his cloven hooves charging the room with uncomfortable static electricity as they touch the ancient stone floor.

You have walked into his court of your own free will, and have shown that you desire his assistance.

You are about to speak, but he raises a finger suddenly. Do not insult him with explanations. He knows who you are and why you are here, Vaskir Sitar of Ortfast. Your path is intriguing, but do not presume yourself unique - the Book of Hez-Shalhoub has been sought here and elsewhere since it was created, and the knowledge it contains has been the subject of quests for many centuries before. Tell him why he should not take your soul here and now. What could you hope to offer him?

A) Offer him dividends - you are able to walk places that he never could. If you achieve your task and return to Ortfast, a favor could no doubt be arranged.
B) Offer him the Princess - she stands at a very important crossroads, and with a demon at her back she could become greater than you could ever hope to be.
C) Offer him a spectacle - you will hunt down your adversaries in this Hell without his help to prove your worth, and in return receive the book.
D) Offer him nothing at all - you speak with the authority of the Stormrider, and before his voice all fiends must bow or face his mighty hammer.

[NRDL]

A