Doc: yo

Ken (GM): It feels so bad to break your phone

Worse, to live with a broken phone

and AMAZING to get it repaired

fuck our cyberpunk future; wheres my damn data-jack?

Joush M.: Really makes you aware how much you use the damn phone right? It’s not until it is broken

Ken (GM): WAY too much

its also my point of contact phone number. If it was dead people would have gotten a failed to connect, but it was only a dead screen, so they left me messages instead

All came out in the end, and I have a new respect for the thing.

SO how are you fuckers?!

P.P. A.: Can’t complain, and you (aside from smartphone troubles)?

Joush M.: Doing good so far. Shaking off the dust and not looking forward next week though.

Ken (GM): my life is apparently my phone. Cant complain now its back.

whats next week?

Joush M.: A cold snap while I’ve committed to do some outdoor work. I don’t know what I was thinking

Ken (GM): ah yes, the old “past me is fucking with future me again. What a dick”

Fiss intensifies

Ken (GM): OH SHIT

DUCK

YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS

[Bomrek is entirely run by GM at this point, relegated to NPC as the player has bowed out for the time being. If not obvious already, Adolph’s ability to meet times has waned as the sessions continued on. We mourn his passing -Ken]

Ken (GM) WHERE LAST WE LEFT OUR HEROES…

Ken (GM) A dark visitor has left, and the army camp strikes to move! The Erlking has given hard lessons and dark portents, dismissing mortal necessity and imploring the stalk of the hunt! Your men stand ready to face whatever you march them towards, the scorned militia grim and determined. What trials shall you face this morning?



Doc: >inb4 breakfast

Gray: “He said to use the dwarven ways. But how would we use them to reach the castle?” He frowns at Grayhold, hanging in the distance as the towering brute readies his armor. Chainmail covered by a somewhat ragged surcoat, heavy gauntlets, a blade at his waist and a shield hung at his back by a gauge.

Syviis: “Portals I suspect. But no matter…The Darkness leaves a gross enough trail as it scurries away from the Light.”

Bomrek: “I suspect he thinks me a wizard, capable of bending reality to my whims” Bomrek checks his guns for the zillionth time

Syviis resists a ‘toss the dwarf’ joke

Roderick readies his horse and equipment for the march, the whole process becoming routine to him by now

Suðri Skornbrekker concentrates, and attempts to establish a connection with Quicksilver’s shards, to see where the nearest sword is being wielded.

(To Suðri Skornbrekker): Your vision bends and twists, and flies off to the distant floating skies. A sword-bearer takes wing on the wind, flying along the cracked and broken foundations of Greyhold keep. His sword aloft, he flies with it pointed ahead, channeling furious speed enough to magically patrol. His skin is scoured with the wind, cracked and broken, weeping black ichor. His face is a grim menace of hatred. He spies for those below the flying castle

Suðri Skornbrekker rubs his eyes and opens them again.He seems a bit off-balance, but catches his footing. “They can fly,” he says with some annoyance in his voice.

(To Suðri Skornbrekker): They seem to have retreated to the castle. Two days march and the closest one is on the walls



Gray: “Who’s flying?” He ask Suðri, nodding to the comparatively young dwarf.

Suðri Skornbrekker: “Some guy; he was not having fun, though, scarred by magic and darkness as he seemed to be.”

Suðri Skornbrekker strokes his beard. “They seem to have holed up in the castle though, I could not sense any swords elsewhere. I suppose that makes it easier for us. No harm in advancing to Hoddleton, I suppose, but a frontal assault would be… quite unproductive. We should look for an alternative way in; perhaps we can find another portal, or something.”

Roderick: “Hoddleton is a strategic point for logistics and would therefore be a reasonable place to begin searching for a portal.”

Gray nods. “Agreement then. We strike North.” The beastman ranges restlessly ahead, scouting a bit for trouble, still thinking of that Fae lord that had warned them.



Bomrek: “Dont read too much into what I say here; I know how crazy it might sound”

“But…were we too hasty in destroying the portals we saw so far?”

Suðri Skornbrekker: “I am worrying about that too.”

Bomrek: “I mean, theres nothing wrong with blowing up wizard shit, ….” he trails off

Suðri Skornbrekker: “The first one was an emergency, but… it was in the old Dwarven ruins, at least.”

Syviis: “We’ll do a more detailed study of the next one we see.” Syviis nods confidently to her troop

Bomrek mutters to himself “Whats there to study? A ring covered in wizard shit?” Bomrek laughs to himself

Syviis: “In that case you can go first next time, through the Wizarding Anuses.” smiles kindly

Bomrek: “Hehehe fuckin wizards“

Ken(GM): [so off to hoddleton then?]

P.P. A.: [aye]

Syviis nods in elvish

Roderick rallies THE TROOPS

Ken (GM) The men assemble in rank as instructed, and the line of caravans and soldiers begins to trek North; the road through Academ still roughly clear, passage scouted out overnight by your men. Your commander has amassed a solid troupe and they salute to Roderick and his banners



[it will take roughly less than the day to march your men to Hoddleton; The bridge will be encountered by midday though, and thats the first stop]

Ken (GM) Dawn has broken on a cool but clear day; the late summer heat competing with a cool wind that blows on your backs from the Southwest. The scent of cinders and ozone is still on the air as you pass the ruins of Academ.

Suðri Skornbrekker mentions to the party, not so much the troops: “If we do not find another portal maybe we should return to Quicksilver and ask if the creators of the portals left any records or plans, but… do we have anyone who could rebuild them, even if there were any such plans?”

Bomrek: “Again…think nothing of how crazy this is said…”

“But….my armor tells me that YOU could make a gate if you tried…” Bomrek looks exasperatedly confused by the statement. He has a long draw on a pipe after….

Bomrek: “Does that make sense to any of you wizards?”

(From Doc): could Rod instruct the armordwarfs to craft a portal

(To Doc): Thaumatologically speaking, yeah sure. He might take some specific pointers from Syviis on the circle logistics, but its MOSTLY thaumatology theory and a touch of engineering to make a gateway or portal.

Roderick: “If you think you’d be physically capable of producing one… Syviis and I could probably explain its design well enough.”

Suðri Skornbrekker strokes his beard. “Well, my Armour has been… how to put it, ‘sharing knowledge with me’ that… wants to be applied. It is as if I inherited the skills and knowledge of our ancestors, but I have not had much chance to practice it, so I do not know how much this enables me to do.”

Gray nods thoughtfully at that, looking to Bomrek and Suðri, considering the words then calling up Memory. “Can you scout ahead a little? And if you know anything of these dwarven portals..”

Memory appears, and stretches to wing “Of course Gray, I will advance. I know little of the dwarven ways… but I shall see what I can see at least” Memory disappears into the sky, another shadow in the air



Suðri Skornbrekker toys around with a leftover scrap from an earlier experiment. “Thanks to this armour, I can produce pieces of metal in any shape; then I can put them together and create larger mechanisms from them, according to the ideas I received from the past. But with so much magic involved… If this magic runs in streams or something, and can be channeled into tubes and pipes, I could probably do it.”

Ken (GM): [TUUUUBES]

Suðri Skornbrekker: “If it requires more active control or more mysterious materials—crystals, what have you—I am not so sure. But lets us hope that we simply find another intact portal.”

Syviis: “We shall do what we can when we must.” She nods to the dwarf

Bomrek rattles a wooden box nearby “Ive still got a dozen or so of those heartstones you took from the swords, here. These enough human souls to power a gate? Or should we chop up another wizard or two?”

Suðri Skornbrekker: “…if possible, maybe we can find another power source other than souls. Maybe use that lighting in the ruins?”

Gray scents the air like a beast and watches for trouble up ahead, able to add little to the conversation about the old Portal network.

(To Gray): The countryside is changed from the last you recall being here. There is an underlying current of death here. The land itself reeks of it



Suðri Skornbrekker: “On the note of…” he turns to Syviis and Roderick: “You said the stormclouds over Academs were, uh, they had a mind of some kind—and we freed it. Can we call in a favor from it, if need be?”

(To Syviis): ELF LOOOORE

(To Syviis): Plus storm talent

Syviis: (To GM) rolling 3d6 ( 6 + 4 + 2 ) = 12

(From Syviis): that’s a success + storm

(From Syviis): so beat by 5

(To Syviis): Assuming you bartered kindly with it, yeah, a storm elemental would be plenty enough to build a gate for your purposes. Live or dead. You would need about an hour in preparation and ritual to summon one. Then you could negotiate with it for help/kill it and jam it into the device

Gray grumbles thoughtfully at the heavy scents in the air, the lupine beast watching the landscape, wary. “Watch for ghouls. Death scents are in the air.”

Suðri Skornbrekker makes sure his weapons are reach and ready to wield at moment’s notice.

Ken (GM): [THEYRE IN TEH TREES!!!]

~whispering intesifies~

(To Roderick): Any thoughts on the question/gate?

(From Doc): uhh, nothing I can think of. Assuming Rod doesn’t know the answer to Suðri’s question.

(To Doc): Well, sure he’s never wrangled a storm elemental before. But he is a trained wizard. You have skills ~shrug~



Syviis looks up from her own ponderings and readies her bow.

Syviis: “Ahead on the wind, Sir Gray? Or from all around?”

Gray: “Everywhere. It’s soaked into the land itself.”

Bomrek: “So… The humans really are evil then? Their lands are soaked in it?” He surveys the countryside, ruined farms and homesteads “Did it get in the potatoes? Or maybe the wheat?”

Suðri Skornbrekker: “…what we saw in Academs might…” he swallows his words, uneasy at the thought.

Gray: “Death isn’t evil. Be ready” He says with a grumbling growl.

Syviis nods silently, pulling her scarf up over her mouth

Suðri Skornbrekker nods, and readies his laser-musket.

Ken (GM) You remain ready and await the worst… after another fifteen minutes of travel on high alert though, nothing materializes. The countryside rolls down into the valley, the hills spreading out and widening as the river cuts North.

(To Gray): [Secret Tracking roll] The scent catches your nose again. It cuts in and out as you move but you realize after sometime why that is. You’re being hunted, and it WANTS you to know

Gray retains that animal wariness, hunting, scouting ahead as they head for where the Westfield and Northern roads meet at the bridge to Hoddleton. He pauses after a moment, looking upwind with a frown and watching for long moments, waiting until the rest of the group catches up with his position.

“There it is again.. Following us. There’s something out there.”

Suðri Skornbrekker looks into the sky to see if anyone is flying overheard.

Syviis looks for the tell-tale flash of magic among the trees and sky

Roderick turns to Gray. “Anything else you can tell us? No idea where or what it is? ”

Gray: “No. We could try to hunt it in turn, but I’d rather resist that temptation and continue. If it wants a fight it will find us, running after it for hours could distract us from work that needs to be done.”

Ken (GM) the skies are clouded with high fat white bunches, but they move quickly with the wind and only blot out the sky for short moments. No signs of hunters in the winds…



(To Syviis): PERCEPTION

Syviis: (To GM) rolling 3d6 ( 3 + 4 + 6 ) = 13

(From Syviis): thats a match

(To Suðri Skornbrekker): PERCEPTION

(From Suðri Skornbrekker): [7v12 ]

(To Syviis): You search for signs, the skies and hills are clear. You squint and focus; there are remnant auras, dark and smoldering, but weak and old. The ruined farms and lands have been assaulted by magic, but you see no obvious trails or markers of very recent activity…

(To Suðri Skornbrekker): Nice; the ruined farms and steads you pass show signs of battle but old, a week or more. The skies are clear enough, but if something was in the hills…there is enough cover nearby it could be there…



Suðri Skornbrekker slows down his horse and looks forwards the hills, raising his rifle. “…I can’t see well over there, but we should be careful..”

Syviis: “Magic raged through the countryside, but what we are seeing, and perhaps smelling, is the aftermath, not an active battle. I trust Gray’s nose, though… not all that has been killed has stayed dead. We may indeed have attracted attention.”

Roderick nods. “Gray’s reasoning is sound. We should simply stay wary.”



(From P.P. A.): the hills to the west, or the hills on the other side of the river?

(To P.P. A.): The West; the road is winding downhill between the west hills and the river. The scent is coming on the wind, from the Southwest.



THE SCENT OF EVIL

Gray: “It could be deliberate. It might want us to follow… He shakes his head and gestures to the road. “Let’s keep going. We can make the bridge soon enough. I’ll feel better once we have the army east of the river”

Suðri Skornbrekker: “Maybe some people escaped Academs, but were later killed outside of the city?” He looks around and strokes his beard. “I doubt the dead can swim, so the river probably protects us from whatever might lurk on the other side…” he talks to himself, still figuring out what to do.

Suðri Skornbrekker: “Sir Roderick, did you have the map?”

Roderick: “Not on hand, no. Why?”

Suðri Skornbrekker shakes his head. “I just wanted to take a look at the landscape again if there was anything there I’d forgotten, but I really don’t remember any larger settlements between Academs and where we’re heading. Given how the river protects us, maybe we should reinforce our left flank in case anything comes down from the hills, though.”



(From Syviis): I haven’t been RPing it very well, but has Syviis been keeping up with her little side-hobby of map-taking?

(To Syviis): oh shi-!

(To Syviis): roll vs 13?

Syviis: (To GM) rolling 3d6 ( 6 + 1 + 6 ) = 13

(From Syviis): lol

(From Syviis): isn’t that like…my 3rd 13?

(From Syviis): ahh, 12, 13, 13, my dice are very average today

(To Syviis): CONGRATS youre cursed. But you also have a relatively detailed map of the land, annotated from a previous survey. Its gotten a bit scribbly with elf words, but its servicable

Gray nods to that. “I’ll pass on the word for the militia to shift to the left while we march.”

Suðri Skornbrekker nods back, and wonders briefly if he should be sad or glad he cant smell as well as Gray. Smelling death before it gets you is good, but you’d still be smelling death.

Ken (GM): [well, your beard does point out dangerous attacks too…]

P.P. A.: [without the stench though!]



Syviis clears her throat and, after rummaging through her pack, pulls out a small paper and leather bound book and hands it to Skornbrekker

Syviis: “It’s…notated in Elvish, but of course…maps are universal.”

Suðri Skornbrekker: “Oho, much appreciated!”

Syviis: The map is hand drawn, with a lot of detail of the forests, but it does have all the man-made elements noted properly as well

Ken (GM): [a survey of the human lands, with major features marked, and a whole lot of scribbles from Syviis]

Suðri Skornbrekker takes look at the surrounding area. “…Wisfold… or, hm… Ah, I think that says ‘Wesfield’?”He ruminates and ponders “The smell isn’t coming from the Northwest, Gray, is it? That’s the nearest settlement other than Academs, so I figure any enemies would be coming from there to meet us before we reach the bridge… If they aren’t flying or teleporting.”

(To Gray): The scent is on the wind, coming in from the Southwest at your backs.

Gray: “Last time I caught it was when the wind was out of the west and south.” He gestures back in the direction of the hills, frowning a touch. “Nothing out of the Northwest.”

Suðri Skornbrekker returns the book to Syviis with a thanks, and shrugs. “I am at a loss then. Could very well be that something is in the hills, but… well, it would be bad if we were met with an enemy on the other side of the bridge, and then more foes poured down form the hills to cut us off and trap us in the middle of the river.”

Suðri Skornbrekker looks to Roderick: “Should we just move on or investigate?”

Roderick: “Crossing a bridge is always perilous. Investigation would cost time and provide us with no real advantage.”



Syviis smiles, imagining the enemies ahead wracking their brains trying to come up with traps and foes to face us….and here we are worried more about a bridge and a river than the Darkness

Ken (GM): [hah!]

Syviis: “Caution is our ally, but time is certainly not. I’m sure we can strike a proper balance.”

Suðri Skornbrekker: “Very well then.” Uneasy about the unknown threat, Suðri trusts his comrade’s judgement, and doesn’t want to slow them down any longer; though he will be glancing back cautiously along the way.

(To Gray): Tracking!

Gray: rolling 3d6 vs 14 ( 4 + 4 + 6 ) = 14

(From Gray): +4 for Discriminatory Smell might matter here

(To Gray): If the scent is on the wind, and as strong as you’ve sensed, then that means the Hunter is very close.

Gray slows and stops, scowling.. then sighing, he takes a step off the road. “Closer. Much closer now.” His hand touches his sword and he starts prowling off the road. Hunting for where it comes from. He’d wanted to resist the temptation to go hunting, but now it seems it’s time.

Bomrek: “Damned beastman! Slow down and wait for your backup!”

=Ken (GM) The beastman swings round, striking South from the road. A small copse of wood surrounding a hill. Some small farmsteads surrounding it. Marks of arcane battle and burned out homes.

A burned heap on the mound catches your eye, rings of white headstones atop it marking it as a burial ground…

Syviis: “A graveyard? Instead of a cursed Totem? I hope this is a good sign at least the dead are more mundane.”

(To Syviis): There are old magical scorings all over here. Dark streaks of magic



Gray slows, looking back to Bomrek and nodding apologetically, realizing he’d been more antisocial then normal as his hand rest at his sword, the other drawing the shamanic mask over his face. “Graveyards don’t smell like this.” He assures her. Well used to the scents of graveyards.. turned earth, quicklime, under that a faint hint of death deep under the soil. This seems stronger.. and teases him by staying just out of reach.

Bomrek: “If there’s wizards need shooting, you don’t leave me behind!”

Suðri Skornbrekker smiles, and turns around to follow Gray, weapons at the ready.



Ken (GM): [doc? Fiss? The other three seemed ready to hunt the hunter]

Roderick curses in Human under his breath and follows the beastman

Ken (GM): “~FUCK~”

lol

P.P. A.: How do humans curse?

Asking for a friend.

Syviis: Is the battle group following us or are we Hero-Hunting?

Doc: hero-hunting, I would assume

Joush M.: Gray was going to let them continue while he dealt with this. They might call a halt while Roderick isn’t there to lead them, but I think it’s just the PCs going off to hunt right now

Syviis hesitates then commands the sages in the group to set up wards and flares should anything occur.

Syviis bounds off into the trees, joining the hunt

Ken (GM): [“What did she want?” “If we start dying in the dozens, she wants some fanfare. Blow up steve if it happens”]

DYNAMIC ELF EXIT

Joush M.: Somewhere, Steve is being filled with black powder in a beautiful ceremony

Ken (GM): [Steve’s particularily pyrotechnical. He’s not allowed to cook hot meals]

Ken (GM) You excuse yourselves from the marching army; ‘scouting out the back trail’ as it were. Your Dorf commander keeps the ranks forward, guards the West line as you asked, and the acolytes make sure to keep an eye out for anything should the need arise



Ken (GM) The road branches away from the flag and cobblestone of olden construction, and the packed trails immediately devolve to muddy earth. To each side, burned out farmsteads, cottages and huts reduced to slag and ash. The fields lie untended for at least the month. The rumored madness of the kingdom rampant here.

Ken (GM): [some sort of tracking roll!]

Gray: rolling 3d6 vs 14 Perception with Night Vision 5 and +4 to Scent from Discriminatory Scent, or Detect (Spirits) with Precise ( 4 + 6 + 5 ) = 15

Joush M.: Tracking is also at 14, to keep things simple

Ken (GM): hahahah

Ken (GM) Gray sweeps back and forth like a hound with a scent…after all he’s only a standard deviation removed from the description

(To Gray): The spirits are huddled and wary; something powerful spiritwise is here. The marks and trails suggest it’s been here awhile, with game making strides to stay the fuck away. Likely it’s hunting from the mound… The scents are stronger and more distinct. Feline, musky, feminine…

Gray prowls forward frowning, distracting a moment watching a spite that clings to the stone then kneeling, a hand running over the dirt, claws scratching the earth and raising scents as the beast looks thoughtful. “Something hunts here.. Female, but not human.. like a cat. The scents aren’t all new. Our hunter’s been here a while.”

Syviis watches from the woods, trying to see if she can see a trail from a different angle

Ken (GM): Observation ELF!

Syviis: rolling 3d6 ( 5 + 2 + 6 ) = 13

SEE???

wtf….

Ken (GM): what the shiz mang

Ken (GM): youre cursed for 13

Syviis: [I have now rolled 13 3 times in a row]

(To Syviis): You spot many of the signs gray does; there are fresh game marks indicating a pig predator here. His descrition though….ELF LORE

Suðri Skornbrekker looks around, just keeping eyes and ears open. 11v12 (Per)

(To Suðri Skornbrekker): You see the signs Syviis and Gray mark out; you also spot a very fresh footprint in the mud…

Suðri Skornbrekker stops and looks down. “There is a footprint here,” he points out.

“Looks pretty fresh, as far as I can tell.”



Syviis: (To GM) rolling 3d6 ( 5 + 1 + 5 ) = 11

(From Syviis): that’s a nice solid beat by 2 at least

(To Syviis): There is a tale of the spirits of the land; The Huntress is one of them. She is a big damn name though. Mother of all hunters, and fabled suitor of the moon. She’s your prototypical shapeshifter. Common depictions involve tigers, lions and Jaguars.

(From Syviis): mmmm, so we meet the Lord of the Hunt, then now, the Mother of Hunters… hunting seems to be a popular theme today

Gray rises and walks to it, studying the print curiously.

(To Suðri Skornbrekker): It’s about as big as gray’s feet, barefoot, and the toes are pointed with claw marks

(To Gray): It’s about as big as your own feet, barefoot, and the toes are pointed with claw marks

Suðri Skornbrekker: “I’m no tracker, but this looks somewhat bestial.”



Ken (GM) Bavieca is uneasy, and is stamping and snorting a bit

Syviis slips back down from the trees and joins the party.

Suðri Skornbrekker readies his gun, just in case. He looks around while the others are inspecting the footprint closer.

Gray spreads his hand over the mark, measuring it, then the depth. “About my size, clawed… a feline beastwoman, perhaps?” He says thoughtfully, then nods. “We could keep hunting, or we could wait and see if she shows herself or just keeps stalking us from the shadows.”

Syviis: “It seems more than a coincidence we just met the Lord of the Hunt, and now…well…”

Suðri Skornbrekker: “If it is a beastwoman and she is just hunting game, is she even a, or our problem? I doubt the current King cares much about poachers.”

Gray: “We don’t know.” He admits, the beastial man rising to his feet. “Felineoids are fast and silent when they want to be. Unless we get lucky we won’t find one unless it attacks or wants to be found. We might be better served getting back to the road and continuing.”

Roderick: “Do you suspect that she’s watching us now?”

Ken (GM): <.<

>.>

Syviis: “I think we are not the prey…for once.” Syviis looks back to the main road.

Gray: “Yes, I’d imagine so. Roderick? Call out and she may answer”

Roderick nods and calls out in a clear voice. “If you wish to parley, show yourself and you will not be harmed!”

Ken (GM) almost immediately, and answer to Roderick’s challenge! A roar of some great cat calls out over the farmsteads… It issues from the copse of trees surrounding the hilltop mound.

The graveyard calls…



(To Suðri Skornbrekker): IQ!

(From Suðri Skornbrekker): 16v12

(To Suðri Skornbrekker): AWESOME

(From Suðri Skornbrekker): “cute kitten!”

Ken (GM): :3

Suðri Skornbrekker: “This can’t be good.”

Gray calls back. The echoing, bestial howl a match for the feline roar in volume.

Ken (GM): MEW

RAWR

Syviis: [readies her magical, elvish Spray-Bottle of ‘Shut up Cat’ water]

Ken (GM) The call echoes in the air, resounding back and forth. You see a figure on the hillside climb up to the peak, she stands tall shrouded in a cape. A gleam of a silver sword from one hand. She salutes up once to the sky, overhead, gleaming with the sword

As quick as she appears, she retreats down again, quick as a cat

Gray: “Now that is.. interesting.” Gray says thoughtfully, the brute tilting his head to the side and the beast scenting the air. “I don’t know she is willing to talk, Roderick.”



Suðri Skornbrekker looks angry. “A silver sword… looks as though we can’t ignore her after all, but… Suðri Skornbrekker concentrates and uses his SWORDSENSE

(To Suðri Skornbrekker): The image of a man standing on a parapet, sword in hand, looking out across the plains below. The view shows the clouds just below the castle, and he watches for movement. His robes are a ruddy crimson, stained black at the sleeves. His hands on the stone are clawed and tumorous, misshapen and barely hands at all. Long grasping claws reach nearly as long as his sword

Suðri Skornbrekker opens his eyes and looks confused. “The nearest sword I can see is… still back at Greyhold.”

Suðri Skornbrekker: “By a kind of beast-man, however.”

Syviis: “Not all that glitters is gold…and not every shiny sword is silver.”



A Jadeite SIlver Sword

Bomrek: “You think you can call her up again? I should be able to hit her from here if i’m careful…” Bomrek is sizing up a shot from a shooters squat

Gray: “She saw the gun, if she’s clever enough to be a threat she won’t give us another clear shot.” The brute makes a thoughtful sound. “People silver blades for other reason. Killing things like me, for example.”

(To Roderick): You are very sure that the sword gleams silver because it matches your own

A fey-Silver sword

Suðri Skornbrekker calls out: “If you have no business with the villains at Greyhold, we have no business with you. Give us some sign that you will not pursue us, and we will be on our way again.” Suðri Skornbrekker stops shouting and asks his comrades: “Maybe she was hunting ghouls herself, and that was the source of the stench?”

(From Suðri Skornbrekker): wait, when she was saluting to the sky, was this from a spot that could be seen from Greyhold, and how brightly did her sword sparkle?

Gray: “Could be. I don’t know.. but I do know that we’ve lost time here.” He looks to the hill again, then behind them. Searching the area around as if someone might be coming behind them.

Ken (GM) the hills are silent as a cat



Suðri Skornbrekker strokes his beard and turns back towards where they came from, looking towards their army. “She does not seem to be our problem, in any case.”

Roderick: “The sword appeared to match my own. Fae, it would seem.”

Gray: “Fuck” He says thoughtfully to Roderick. “I don’t think we’ve seen the last of her then” He says somewhat grimly before he turns. “Let’s get back to the road.”

Roderick nods. “She had her chance to parley, anything else from us will likely waste a great deal of time. She will be seen when she wishes to be.”

Bomrek looks a little crestfallen, but shrugs it off



Ken (GM): dun dun duuuuuun

Ken (GM): [so heading back to the march?]

Doc: ye

Ken (GM): [fuck you crazy cat lady]

Doc: unless the catlady has other plans

Syviis nods in extra elegant super-Elvish

Suðri Skornbrekker looks over his shoulder, and calls out: “I am Skornbrekker, and we are the—” He turns to Roderick: “What is our army called?”

Gray: “Grayhold Milita, under Lord Roderick”

Roderick: “By whom?” Roderick responds blithely. “The beasts and men of the South, I suppose.”

Gray touches the scuffed and beaten iron mark they’d been given by the Lord Marshall when responding to the call at Oakway.

Ken (GM) the scroll-case is a bit dinged up, but the mark is still secure in it’s leather…

Suðri Skornbrekker returns to calling out into the wilderness: “I am Skornbrekker, and we are the Southern Army under Lord Roderick. Have a good day, and may our next encounter be amicable!”

Suðri Skornbrekker: “Well, that’s all the politeness for today, time to move on.” He turns around, shoulders his arms, and begins to walk back to their ragtag band of beasts and rebels.

Ken (GM) You return to the army, a short jaunt back, catching up to the trailing end supply carts. As your horses pass back to the lead, your men salute to you

Doc: read that too quickly, saw “as your horses salute you”

Ken (GM) they warily guard the West fringe…

Ken (GM): NEIGH

Doc: was deeply concerned for a moment

Ken (GM): FORMAL NEIGHS

Gray waves the men onward, letting them know there’s no hazard they need to stop for as he gets back to scouting, watching out for that feline.

Suðri Skornbrekker: “Keep an eye out just in case, but it does not seem to be any of our business, for once,” he assures some of the men.

Ken (GM) The morning passes on, and as you wind down to the valley the view widens alongside; ahead, the river bends and sways and a wide bridge crosses the gap. Heavy stone plunging to the waters and a broad roadway built in the last age



Syviis makes a few marks on the map, detailing the backroad and drawing a little cat

(From Syviis): got about a dozen minutes left. Let me know if you need any AFK actions sorted

Ken (GM): [mew]

Joush M.: Syviis was just waiting for an excuse to draw a kitty

Ken (GM) The bridge is wide enough for three carts to pass [10 yards] and built with stone arches. The span is nearly a hundred yards long, grounded in high earth on both sides. In the years since it’s cnstruction, the river has not wavered from the shores, plunging underneath deep and steady

Ken (GM) On each side, a small guardhouse stands, added by the king, enough for ten men to live with their duty a quiet one. As your army has drawn near, the scouts report the guardhouse on this side is quiet and appears empty from a distance. They ranged only as close as a muskets shot, to avoid any undue attention



“Orders m’Lord?” The dwarven commander sizing up the situation sternly “Seems to be quiet, but in the work of wizards you really can’t assume…” he trails off, realizing he’s talking to one.

Gray nods. “I’ll take a few people ahead to secure the bridge and make sure it’s safe to cross. I’m glad it’s intact and not in enemy hands, there are few other places to cross the river.”

Roderick nods. “We should occupy the near guardhouse with muskets in order to cover Gray’s crossing.”



Suðri Skornbrekker will be taking a look at the stonework of the bridge, to see if it has been tampered with any.

Ken (GM): DORF-STONE-VISION ACTIVATE!

(To Suðri Skornbrekker): The masonry is superb; at least designed by dwarves if not built by them. The span is barely weathered and your eye gauges it at nearly-exact to true as the day it was built. You suspect interior trusses and buttresses. And they used such complementary stone colors that also provide strength!

Suðri Skornbrekker looks pretty satisfied as he looks and feels the stone, and stays a bit longer than necessary to appreciate the quality masonry. He has no warnings or anything.

Bomrek: ” We need to get this one a sack of coin” the old dwarf scoffs ‘he’s fondling the buildings now…”

Gray nods a touch and starts to the bridge, letting Suori check things out then starting across the long, arched stone bridge.

Ken (GM) The men collect behind you as you organize the operation; the guardhouse looms nearby, a simple building with a sturdy double-door and second storey windows. It resembles a small barn made of fieldstone more than anything else.

Ken (GM) The bridge ahead is clear; no souls about. The rush of water below and the wind in the trees nearby the only sounds.



(To Suðri Skornbrekker): DANGER SENSE

Suðri Skornbrekker ‘s beard-hair suddenly stands erect, as if charged with static electricity.

(To Syviis): perception

Syviis: (To GM) rolling 3d6 ( 3 + 5 + 1 ) = 9

(From Syviis): curse seems broken, that’s a good beat by 4

(To Syviis): You spy, in the middle of the bridge ahead, a mark in the stone, magical. Like a long wire spanning side to side, hanging there. A snare

Syviis whistles and motions for the group to stop “Hold…”

Suðri Skornbrekker: “Wait! Something isn’t right.”

Syviis: “Magic snare.”

Gray stops and waits, watching around then looking to Syviis a moment, letting her explain as he stands wary guard.

Syviis looks elsewhere, wondering if an obvious trap might be distracting from something else

Suðri Skornbrekker props up his ordinary musket in case he needs to shoot at something that jumps out at them.

Syviis steps forward, not too close to the mark she’s found, but close enough to get a better look at the form of the rune

(To Syviis): Its 50 yards out in the middle of the bridge, but from here you can see the thin glow of it. A line of power designed to go off if broken. You see less obvious marks trailing back on the walls of the stone… and a thin trailer leading into the guardhouse, somewhat obscured in the foliage…



(From Syviis): dammit, I’d better get ready to head out man. Any last things needed?

(To Fiss): hopes and prayers. git going; you’re gonna be a plot device for a sec here 😛

(From Syviis): 😛

Doc: the trap got fiss

GM/Syviis peers along up ahead on the bridge, and squints, and points….tracing a line back along the bridge to beside you, pointing at the guardhouse.”The trap springs something in there” she says ominously

Ken (GM) the men take a cautionary step back, away from the guardhouse

Gray nods thoughtfully. “Can we avoid it or disarm it?”

Syviis: “I dont know… the snare is not a physical thing to be stepped over. It might look with magic eyes or hear with magic ears. And I’m not so talented to divine what it does without likely disturbing it…”

Suðri Skornbrekker: “Is it like the one we encountered in the south, where it summoned a demon inside? Although we have killed her twice now, it better not be her again.”

Syviis pales at the mention of her near-doom “Yes, it is very much like that one…”

Ken (GM) The men continue marching up the road behind you, halted at your order but the ranks are tight with men eager for a meal and a break…



Suðri Skornbrekker: “How about we tell the men to rest while we take a closer look at it? Keep some men with pikes ready and pointed towards the guardhouse, of course.”

Bomrek primes his magitek gun, and the whine of power hums in the air like electricity

Bomrek grins

Suðri Skornbrekker: “Or we just trigger the thing and have everyone fire at once at whatever springs up,” he laughs.

Gray shakes his head, but smiles. “Let’s try not to set off the trap.” He says.. but otherwise agrees. “Tell the men to rest while we deal with this.”

Syviis: “What could possibly guard against a thousand men led by us?”

Gray: “Enough red-dust and black powder to wreck one of the arches”

Ken (GM) UNTIL NEXT WEEK

Ken (GM): DUN DUN DUNNNNN

Doc: dammit

Ken (GM): MOO HOO HA HA

I AM PURE EEEEVIIIIIL

Doc: I actually just said “oh you fucker” out loud

Joush M.: Evil cat behind us, wired bridge ahead

Doc: so well played I guess

Ken (GM):

sorry/not sorry

I kinda live for these moments

Joush M.: You wicked bastard.

Suðri Skornbrekker: Wonderful timing

P.P. A.: ^

Gray: “Enough red-dust and black powder to wreck one of the arches”

roundabout starts playing in the background

Ken (GM): well, take your 4 xp you shmungs, while I cackle to myself about next week

P.P. A.: yee

I assume you haven’t watched the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures adaptation then

Ken (GM): OHMY GAWD

P.P. A.: nvm

Ken (GM): YAAAAASSS QWEEN

I was personally thinking of a cut like on Always sunny in Philadelphia

>Syviis: “What could possibly guard against a thousand men led by us?”

>Gray: “Enough red-dust and black powder to wreck one of the arches”

>Everyone is blown up forever

just a black text box cutaway with a deadpan explanation you all died

Gray: Next week on GrimWyrd: A bridge exploding, Suðri fighting off a huge catwoman, Roderick taking a shower.

Ken (GM): hahahahaha

Gray: Or.. “The One Where The Gang Blows Up A Bridge”

Ken (GM): ‘Syviis gets scurvy”

hahahah

P.P. A.: Pah, this bridge is quality Dwarven work, some magic necro-TNT is no match for it

Ken (GM): hint hint