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Message: <blockquote data-quote="darkbard" data-source="post: 9570869" data-attributes="member: 1282">"Yes, yes, for the thousandth time, yes!" PRITCHARD sighs in exasperation. "I understand the demands this route will put upon us, Twyll. But you heard the dwarf: I have three days to help resolve his problems on top of this injunction placed upon me by my ... rather deceased and nameless ancestor. Your grueling northern route is my only hope of coming within a stone's throw of that deadline!"You may think me but an urban fop," his mustache bristles as he exaggerates the word, "but I assure you, I can handle my own in the wide open spaces of the countryside!"Twyll looks back at him with those wide, opalescent eyes. It is impossible for him to read any emotion in her."Fine," she says in her muscially accented Commontongue. "Do your best to keep up with me, then. I've trekked these ridges and riverside embankments a dozen times or more over the decades."[HR][/HR]1. Charting Our Course: We choose Option 1, a straight shot along the precarious drop of the ridge line that falls away to the north.[HR][/HR]Twyll's description of the sheer beauty of the landscape north of Neverwinter did not come close to doing the vista justice. Dropping off precipitously to the north, the land unfolds like a series of purple waves receding towards the horizon only to rise again in that great looming mountain, Hotenow. In truth, before his journey from Waterdeep to Neverwinter, his travels in the hinterlands had been scarce enough.She is true to her word, guiding them expertly along tracks no wider than those made by wild game, rising and falling along the ridge; and she sets a wearying pace.Nevertheless, Pritchard feels his spirits soar from the sublime experience, the beauty counterbalanced by a constant fear that any moment they can meet their end with one slip or moment's distraction.His spirits soar, that is, until Twyll leads him across a thigh-deep rill running across their path--unavoidable, she claims--and his new doehide boots are absolutely ruined, soaked inside and out with viscous mud and irreparable. Indeed, he feels them shrinking from the wet even now!When it is time for them to make camp, Twyll leads them into a cave recessed beneath a great rock overhang, where Pritchard grumbles about his ruined footwear, tipping muddy water from one boot as he fishes a worn backup pair of boots from his satchel. Did she smirk ever so slightly?"This cave is dry enough," she says. "We're high above the last oxbow. Hasn't flooded this high since ... well, forever! This is aarakocra territory. They choose their aeries wisely."The night passes rather uneventfully, Pritchard's complaints about his ruined footwear now taking a comic turn that he exploits deliberately to extract the faintest of smiles from his companion. Who knew the fellow had such a store of footwear puns and double entendre![HR][/HR]2. Twyll will Lead the Expedition and Pritchard will Muster the Fellowship.LEAD THE EXPEDITIONWhen you lead your charges through wilderness peril, chart your course, blaze your trail, and scout for danger, roll +Wis. On a 10+, you've led your charges through the first leg without danger; Make Camp. On a 7-9, choose 1:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Something ominous is on the horizon, around the bend, over the hill. Point to it and tell us what you sense.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">An immediate danger lurks, but you are prepared for it. Tell us what it is and how you are prepared.</li> </ul>Twyll's LtE roll, r5,6 +2 WIS = 13! That's +1 forward to Muster the Fellowship.MUSTER THE FELLOWSHIPWhen you see to the morale and supply of your fellowship on a leg of a perilous journey, say how you do, and roll the worst of your allies' +Con or +Cha: On a 10+, you've managed hearts, provisions, and equipment with equal aplomb. On a 7-9, you get them through the worst of it, but choose 1:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Someone is ill of spirit or body; perhaps you due to your burden. They take -1 forward.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Crucial supply failure. Mark 1 Adventuring Gear, 1 Bandage, 1 Herbs & Poultices, 1 Bag of Books, or 5 Coin.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A social conflict arises with a Cohort.</li> </ul>Pritchard's MtF roll, r6,1 -1 CHA (worst of Twyll's CON/CHA) +1 forward from LtE= 7. I choose to mark 1 Adventuring Gear, my ruined boots.[HR][/HR]3. Defy Danger (CON) rolls for Pritchard, r6,4 +1 CON = 11 and for Twyll, r4,3 +0 CON = 7.TWYLL feels the eyes of her companion follow her hands as she removes several small tins from her pack. As the small kettle of water simmers on their small campfire, the drow pours some of what is contained in those tins into her cup: powders of pale green and dull grey, something that looks like dried moss ... because that is what it is. As she pours water over the mixture and stirs it in, she looks up to catch Pritchard's nose wrinkle in distaste at the pungent smell the tisane emits. She lifts the cup to take a sip and smiles in satisfaction."Teh madarq," she murmurs, "a tea made from underground fungi: good for the body and gets the cold out of your bones. Want a sip?" She gives a quiet huff of laughter at the vehement and negative shake of his head.Twyll opts for using another Adventuring Gear instead of the penalty.[HR][/HR]4. Following on Twyll's 10+ LtE roll, TwyllMAKE CAMPWhen you're in the dangerous wild and the dark of night sets upon you, name your campsite to lay down your burdens and roll +Int. On a 10+, pick 2; on a 7-9, pick 1:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You've chosen your site well and fortified it against peril. No danger befalls you in the night (else, it does and you have to Keep Watch)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You scavenge some supply. Gain 2 Adventuring Gear.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Your stewardship moralizes your allies through their respite. Describe how and they take +1 forward.</li> </ul>Everyone mark 1 Ration. Anyone who needs to Recover Hit Points (half) and Prepare Spells can spend 1 xp to do so. If they have an aching Debility or damaged Equipment, they can spend xp 1 for 1 to Resolve Debility or Repair Equipment. If they do, describe how.r4,4 +1 INT = 9. We will take that first option, having chosen the site well and fortified it against peril. And we each mark 1 Ration.Also, I realize full well it is virtually impossible for Pritchard to return to Neverwinter in time to search for (at least leads to) Chompers. But a fellow has to try to honor his bargains!</blockquote>

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