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Old 02-22-2020, 02:47 AM   #123
coronatiger
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Trondheim, Norway
Default Session 30 (2020-02-15)

Thoughts on May 10th

Leopold and Va’lyndra resumed their studies at the knowledge guild, and Ilzo and I decided to go to the adventurers’ guild to find something to do. On the way there, we heard a town crier announce that the Tamburin army was on its way, expected to arrive in three days. We turned around and sought out Leopold and Va’lyndra instead.

A sense of urgency suffused our party, and Va’lyndra tried to get information out of her superiors at the guild, but they clammed up. They did tell her that she could leave town if she so desired, and allowed her to borrow a book about magic.

Concerned for Olivia, I insisted we bring her along when we went to the adventurers’ guildhall. The guild master, a human, was staying, at least for now, but informed us that many members had left. Most were going south, towards Urdon, likely continuing back east along the main road. The guild master didn’t have any news regarding the auction.

Ilzo decided to fill his room at the Red Mansion with stones, ammunition for his sling. Olivia and I retreated to our own room to talk. Neither of us wanted to endure the impending siege, but I was looking very much forward to the auction. Maybe we could send the others ahead and slip away after the auction? “You might be able to sneak through the lines, Mattea,” Olivia said, “but not with horses and a heavy load. And I’m not as stealthy as you are. You wouldn’t leave me behind, would you?” Her lips trembled and tears welled up in her eyes at the idea. I pulled her into a hug and stroked her hair, swearing I’d always be there to protect her.

We stood in silence for a while, arms around each other. Olivia’s breathing steadied, her bosom pushing rhythmically against mine, tantalizing. Suddenly inexplicably heavy, my hands slid down her back and settled on her bottom. Her sudden shove took me completely by surprise, and I tripped over the side of the bed, landing heavily on the mattress. Olivia pounced and tried to pin me down, but my combat reflexes took over, and I rolled out of the way and bounced on top of her when she hit the bed. I teased, “My, my, are we feeling playful?” and soon had her squealing with delight.


Thoughts on May 11th

Guild master Gunnar had no more information for us this morning, but we found another party of adventurers who had seen a ritual site. Leopold marked it on our map.

We decided to leave town before the hostile Tamburin army arrives, so Olivia, Ilzo and I went to the market to buy travel rations. Prices had gone up, as expected, but we got what we needed.

We looked in on Karl Morgenstern, but the high human had left town with his family. I received instructions regarding who I could report to if I remained in Garuk, as well as an address in Surd where I could send letters.

Gathering up our companions and our belongings at the Red Mansion, we rode south along the coast. Leopold found huge footprints in the soil when we stopped for a meal at midday. Ilzo and Va’lyndra agreed that the tracks were one day old.

We camped on the open plains; Olivia camouflaged the camp as best she could. Va’lyndra insisted that Leopold should put away his books when it was his turn to keep watch. I repeated what he should do if anything came to eat us: Activate the light spell on Surkalpi and raise the alarm. If the danger wasn’t imminent, he could instead try to wake us quietly.


Thoughts on May 12th

Nothing ate us in the night, so we traveled onwards. We reached the dangerous forest that separates Garuk and Urdon, which Olivia and I explored with Lady Karita, Magnar and Kine last year. Neither Ilzo, Leopold nor Va’lyndra had been here before, and I told them we needed to watch out for blobs. Both Ilzo and Va’lyndra were familiar with the creatures, but I had to explain to Leopold about them, how they dropped onto your head and choked you to death. They’re afraid of fire, and Lady Karita had a repellant, which Va’lyndra had hidden inside a tree outside the checkpoint to the mines, and which we forgot to retrieve when we brought her out, unconscious. Darn! I told Leopold that the blobs come in two types, and that one of the varieties was harmless plant-eaters. Now, was that the red ones, or the green ones?

We rode single file, with Va’lyndra in front, her magic shield floating above her head. No blobs fell on us, but we entered an area full of red ones that spooked the horses, and we had to backtrack for a while, for the horses refused to go on.

When we exited the forest, we passed a wooden sign that told us we had traveled on the private land of someone named Balder. Ah, well… No harm was done, and we had seen no trace of habitation. We rode a little further before making camp.


Thoughts on May 13th

We reached our destination late in the afternoon, crossing the bridge spanning the river with Urdon proper on the south bank. The bridge guards recognized me, of course, and welcomed us to town. Our usual inn was filled up with adventurers and other refugees from Garuk, but there was one room left, with four beds. Now, there were five of us, but Va’lyndra easily deduced that we only needed four beds. However, the look Olivia gave me told me that she wasn’t sleeping in a room with men. I told the others to take the room if they wished, but Olivia and I would seek accommodations elsewhere. We found room in another inn, a tiny closet that we could have for free as long as I performed each night.


Thoughts on May 14th

Olivia and I went over to the other inn to have breakfast with Ilzo, Va’lyndra and Leopold. Then we visited the adventuring guild. Master Gnomus was still there, but with the sudden influx of adventurers from Garuk, all available quests had been snapped up already. Many of our colleagues talked about going to the plains between Urdon and Surd, to do something about the trolls that were disrupting the railway construction.

I convinced the others to remain until after the summer games. We agreed to meet from time to time until then, to make plans for after, but otherwise decided to each do our own thing. Leopold and Va’lyndra planned to study, and Ilzo surprised me by declaring that he intended to study as well. I would prepare for the summer games and perform at the inn, I told the others. Rocking the bed with Olivia was also on my mind, but that wasn’t any of their business.


Thoughts on May 15th

We met for breakfast. Ilzo wanted to fight trolls, but the rest of us weren’t as eager. It’s one thing to stumble across a burgh lion or a bunch of goblins or kobolds while seeking a meaningful objective, and having to fight. It’s quite another to go monster hunting.


Thoughts on May 16th

Good news emerged from the guildhall today: The auction has been moved to Urdon. I still have the list of items for sale, and discussed it with the others. I can bring the others as guests to the auction hall, so I don’t have to remember everything they want me to buy for them. I was a little worried for a minute that Va’lyndra would try to outbid me for a particular quiver of arrows that I had my eyes on, until I remembered that I would have to place the bids for the others, being the only Veteran ranking adventurer among our party. I trusted Olivia could keep me from overbidding myself.


Thoughts on May 17th

In between practice sessions and performances, I’ve tried to locate Karl Morgenstern, guessing that he’d come here to Urdon before possibly continuing towards Surd. My assumption was correct, but I was unfortunately too late; he had moved on towards the capital already. I had hoped he would stay for the summer games, but he apparently had urgent business in Surd. Luckily, he had provided me with an address there, where I could send a letter once we decide what to do.


Thoughts on May 18th

Olivia and I met the others for dinner today. Leopold had heard that the fighting in the south of the continent was over. I assumed that the undead had been defeated, and that Virendia’s allies were now free to provide additional support against Tamburin. More worrisome were the rumors of a plague come to Surd from the Old World. Olivia keeps two potions of disease block that I acquired at the guild, but they only last for a day each, not enough to keep us safe if we decide to go back east.

In the north, the Tamburin army must have besieged Garuk by now, so that’s not an agreeable direction to travel. Ilzo mentioned going home to warn his tribe about the army that he thought were likely to kill or enslave them. Leopold and Va’lyndra didn’t think that the army would enter the wilderness; Tamburin would focus on objectives of military or commercial value. Va’lyndra recalled that on our last trip south, when we picked up Ilzo, someone had stolen a holy artifact from the temple of Elendus (before we could take it) and disappeared to the north. Maybe Tamburin had an interest in old relics? We pored over the map Lady Karita had made and decided to make a round trip of the temples we hadn’t had time to visit last time. We could even look in on Ilzo’s tribe on the way. I remembered that we need to gather the relics in order to contact Chaos to learn how to restore balance in the world.
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You don't need to spend 100 CP on Status 5 [25] and Multimillionaire [75] to feel like a princess, when Delusion [-10] will do.

Character sheet: Google Drive link (See this thread for details.)

Campaign logs: Chaotic Pioneering / Confessions of a Forked Tongue
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