Adventure 2: Spring Is A Time Of Plans And Projects

[Pulpatoon]

Following the glimmer of magical sparks, Bürd digs through a thick carpet of fungus, tearing great, crumbling handfuls of the stuff up and tossing them over his shoulder. He reaches a rotted floorboard, but the sparks are deeper, still. Prying up the board, he finds a stash space, thick with dust and disuse. Inside is a bundle of folded hide. The sparks are coming from inside the bundle.

Smoke is starting to fill the little cottage.

[Pulpatoon]

Good work, everyone. I'm very happy to be gaming with such creative, generous collaborators. Also, I can do all sorts of horrible things, now, and blame it on the gods.

[MonkeyWrench]

Good work, everyone. I'm very happy to be gaming with such creative, generous collaborators. Also, I can do all sorts of horrible things, now, and blame it on the gods.

Thank you for indulging in us Pulp!

I mean, if we don't take the opportunity to delve into the unknown, how can we call ourselves adventurers!?

[KingOfCowards]

Simon nods at Bürd without emotion. He is still trying to wrap his head around what happened, and he takes a seat on a stump as they wait for the dwarf to finish his business.
In the end he seems much happier than he ought to be, almost like he is honored by what the old gods have chosen to accomplish in his presence. "Amazing...", he can be heard whispering to himself every few minutes.

[mb.]

Bürd grabs the bundle and springs up to dash out of the cottage! When he's under the open sky again, and away from the flames and smoke, he'll sit down on the ground, lay the bundle down in front of him, and unwrap it. As he does, he says to the others, "th'cottage is lousy wi' filthy magic, like th'ol' tree were, but this here has a far more pleasant taste, an' were precious to Zeke," then murmured "may 'is light burn un'er th'mountain."

[mb.]

A little world-building aside:

Deep under the halls of the dwarves are catacombs, full of long shelves, which are in turn full of fist-sized gems, every one of which glows with the unearthly light cast by a small but intense flame flickering within. These are the Halls of Remembrance.

Whenever a dwarf dies, a family member crafts a stoneheart for them, imbues it with some measure of their essence, and brings it to the Halls to rest in eternity as near to The Heart of the Mountain as the dwarves have dared delve. Any dwarf who knew the deceased can immediately recognise their stoneheart, and take some solace in its presence.

Dwarves fear only one thing more than not having their stoneheart brought to the Hall after their demise: that once crafted and placed in the Hall, its light dies, and they are forever forgotten.

[KingOfCowards]

"It strikes me as odd that we saw no sign of Zeke. We saw a zombie bear, a woman, and two dogs, but nothing I would identify as Zeke himself. Maybe he did run off after-all."

[mb.]

Bürd laughs, "y'kin be right sure if my shack were fillin' up with evil shrooms I'd be runnin' off, an' right speedily, but yer right lad. We ain't seen Zeke an' kinnae know what befell him." Bürd looks lustily down at the contents of the bundle...

[Pulpatoon]

Inside the hide bundle is:

a heavy sack full of copper coins (500 cp)

ten small ceramic vials—some are cracked, some unstoppered, some sealed but empty. Only one is still sealed and swishes with liquid weight. It sparkles with magic to Bürd's eyes.

5 well-crafted arrows. They are distinctive-looking, made from matte white wood with bright blue fletching. These also register as magic.

A very old book. Its pages are brittle and hard to turn. The title page reads "Cosmographia." The inside is full of dense verse that is extremely difficult to parse (INT roll required to get even a vague sense of what the verse is about). Non-magical.

[mb.]

Bürd thumps the sack which clinks, "that's what a few zombies 're worth friends!" He shakes the vial, "an' this 'ere's somethin' special, though I kinnae say what." He holds up the arrows, "these 're right beautiful, but I kinnae say I've got a use for 'em. Anyone wantin' em? An' you're lookin' like a reader Simon. Are y'wantin' th'book 'ere?"

Bürd stands and straps the sack onto one of the ponies, pockets the vial, and indicates the others should take what they want of the rest.

[Pulpatoon]

Genna says, "Those're Ol' Brahm Hayle's arrows, I rec'gnize the feathers. Brahm was Azekiel's grandad. Famous good with a bow. Best hunter in all of Olfdene, is the way the old folks tell it. Won a lord's cup in a contest, once."

[KingOfCowards]

Simon takes the book hesitantly and starts flipping through the pages. He's never been much for books, in fact he's never seen one outside of Ravenguard's library. But he recognizes this being ancient text, and "Cosmos" reminds him off the heavens, so he hopes it contains something about religion.
INT Check (9): [1d20] = 8

Despite being the mage of the group, my guess is Simon's actually the least book-smart of everyone here.

[mb.]

"Kinnae read nowt but th'runes m'self, but never had no need f'r longlegs scrip' neither. But if'n yer thinkin' it might be of value lad, bring it back t'Herebury; I reckon th'castle folk'll be wantin' t'ave a look. As fer th'arrows, yer never knowin' when who might be needin' 'em." Bürd rolls them up in the hide and straps them to the pony too.

He turns to the group, fists on his hips, "y'all are a right mess lads. Y'kinnae be hikin' back t'town in this state, kin ye? I'm thinkin' we're needin' shelter fer now, an' that afore the light's leavin' us. Shall we get t'buildin' Simon? An Genna, y'd be a love an' help us, wouldn' ye?"

[KingOfCowards]

I think its Marcus that needs to be carried.

[mb.]

Ooops, you're right. I was only half paying attention when I wrote that. I've edited it above to something that makes more sense.

[Pulpatoon]

Genna, who is clearly less comfortable with the company than she was before the blood ritual, looks reluctant to stay, but the better angels of her nature win with a sigh of resignation. She points over the ridge. "If we head up there, we should be out of the fire's range—I 'cpect it'll burn itself once it eats up th' grass and Azekiel's cottage. Nothin' but rock f'r it to spread to.

"But we might want to cut some striplings an' whatnot here, an' take 'em with us. It's pretty bare."

Simon:

You get that the book is about observations of the heavenly bodies, couched in obscure verse and complex metaphors. It is a peculiar, obsessive book, focused on minutiae, such as the relative positions of one star to another, or measuring the tiniest changes in a given stars luminosity. Considering that there are much bigger, more dramatic aspects of the stars—like which god's influence they fall under, and the tumultuous relationships between those gods—these details seem extraneous and peculiar. There are, however, some very pretty illuminated pages, with brilliant blue paint and specks of gold leaf.

[mb.]

Bürd nods and stomps off to take his axe to whatever trees he can find, and starts building a wood pile up on the ridge. "Un'er the mountain we got no use for weather. What're y'thinkin' lass? Will th'night be clement enough fer sleepin' rough, or will we needin' shelter or summat?"

[Pulpatoon]

Genna pulls out a knife and begins expertly peeling strips of bark of the trees, and then using the strips to lash the trees together. "We can make a lean-to. It'll keep the wind off us, and hold enough warmth to keep us comfortable for the night."

Within minutes, a crude shelter has been erected, and the wounded moved into it. Genna says, "Who wants t' start the fire, an' who wants to rustle grub?"

[mb.]

"Ain't no hunter, but I'm knowin' fire if I'm knowin' anythin'." Bürd gets a pile of logs and twigs together, and with a chunk of flint strikes some sparks off of his axe into a pile of dry grass. In a few minutes a merry blaze is going. He hacks up a few stumps and plonks himself down on one of them, warming his hands until the food turns up.

[KingOfCowards]

Simon can look for food, he'll take along his hunting bow, but I'll not think his chances are good if it is already getting dark.