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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nephis" data-source="post: 9597237" data-attributes="member: 20459">[IN THE TIME BEFORE BETRAYAL] Heart pumping with nervous excitement, BRIDGET (TWYLL) follows her friends – adventurous Allys, bold Llewella, and their follower, timid little Dilys, as the young delinquents sneak away from their prescribed studying of the local flora. Both Allys and Llewella have been badgering her for days to adventure with them down one of the more forbidden tunnels, the ones that purportedly lead toward Delzhoun, toward lost Gauntlgrym. Finally, Llewella’s murmured taunts that she is too scared have broken Bridget’s resolve, and their adventure begins.“Will we know which way to go or even how far we should go?” she asks their “leader,” delicious fear and anxiety evident in her voice. Llewella merely shakes her head and gestures with her fingers for Bridget to “hurry up!” while Allys’s finger urges her to “hush!”After what seems ages and many, many confusing turns, following paths both upward and downward, they stop at a particularly confusing intersection: five different tunnels, including their own, one travelling upward, one sharply downward, one with a less steep downward slope, one seemingly level, and their own, which brought them up to this juncture. Llewella and Bridget both scan the offerings with wide eyes, seeing nothing to indicate the direction they should go. Allys now hangs back with Dilys, her previously adventurous spirit having dimmed significantly. They both now lurk behind Bridget, fingers grasping at her friend’s sleeve, eyes darting here and there at any sound.And it has become very cold: their very bones are beginning to ache. Colder than it should be? Or is it their fear that is causing the freeze?Bridget looks back the way they have just come, then forward into all passages, following the slightly older Llewella’s moves. When Llewella cocks her head, she mirrors that gesture and listens carefully to any sounds that might hint at their best advance. Whispering, she asks her friend if she has any clue … at all, but Llewella seems to not hear her, staring forward.Hearing an unexpected footstep behind them, down the tunnel out of which they recently traveled, Bridget sees glowing red eyes and smells fetid breath. Quickly she understands that they have been followed by something, but by what she does not know.Llewella, following her gaze, gasps out, “Werewolf! Blehddiait! Run!” and quickly follows her own advice, choosing the corridor leading upward. Bridget briefly watches her leave them behind before returning her attention to those who had been sheltering behind her and who have just become the most vulnerable and attainable prey to their stalker.She thrusts the girls behind her again and takes out the very sharp silver dagr secretly gifted her by Rhodri on her last name day. In a wavering voice, she tells the beast to “get!” Astonishingly, seeing the sharp weapon in her hand, it does, thrusting past her and following the path lately taken by Llewella. With a cry of horror, Bridget follows, grabbing Allys’s hand and urging the girls to follow.The trio quickly lose their way even further, time passing as they are guided along by false leads, ghost sounds, and pure wishful thinking. Eventually they do find evidence of their friend in a piece of distinctive clothing, but that is all. And eventually – somehow – they find their way home.Several weeks later, during the “gather” of the next full moon, Llewella returns, as canny as ever, as clever as ever, and now stronger, vengeful. She finds her three friends studying – as once they all did together. After the young drow sputter out their joy at her longed-for return, the prodigal raises her hand to stop their flow of words.In fact, it is not the gesture which stops her words, but the hand itself: it is unusually large, the nails unusually long, the digits unusually … hairy.“You left me behind!” she accuses them, “but don’t worry: I will not do the same!” Their friend-now-blehddiait leaps forward, transforming as she does so, elongated jaws snapping, that grotesque hand grasping.Allys is quick to leap back, as is little Dilys, but Bridget stumbles in her haste. Llewlla-werewolf grabs her loose pantaloons. As Twyll’s two friends grab arms to pull her back, the blehddiait tears the cloth she has captured. Bridget scrambles up, and they take off for safety, racing against each other for safety.However, as they have almost reached that safety, they hear a call behind them. Turning, Allys and Bridget see a figure standing almost in the shadows, smiling evilly at them. The alpha blehddiait. Hanging from his outstretched hand is the limp figure of Dilys.“We’ll be back for you,” he sneers before disappearing from sight, Llewella now tagging behind, sneering as she too disappears.For an instant Allys and Twyll both shiver in reaction and stare hopelessly after them.Then they both shriek as one hand grabs each of them and pulls them inside. The hands belong to Rhodri, and they sob out what just happened, revealing their truancy and the aftermath.Later, as he listens grimly to their stories, Bridget’s brother kneels before the hearth of the kitchen, putting various herbs into a kettle of water. When his concoction has had a chance to brew, he gives the tea  – which he explains is a combination of wolfsbane and cardamon – to the girls to drink. While nothing will ever take away the horror of losing two of their friends, it does have the desired effect of calming their chattering nerves and warming the chill in their bones, a chill they now realize that they have been experiencing ever since their forbidden sojourn.—[IN THE PRESENT TIME] Seeming more calm than her insides would actually prove,  TWYLL tamps the ache of old memories and instead uses those memories as a filter through which to examine their present situation: what here will best aid them now?—DISCERN REALITIESWhen you study a situation or person, looking to the GM for insight, roll +WIS: on a 10+, ask the GM 3 questions from the list below; on a 7-9, ask 1; either way, gain +1 forward on your next move that acts on the answers.<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">What happened here?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">What is about to happen?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">What should I be on the lookout for?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">What here is useful or valuable to me?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Who or what is really in control here?</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">What here is not what it appears to be?</li> </ul>r3,5 +2 WIS -1 Debility = 9, one question: What here is useful or valuable to me? Gain +1 forward on your next move that acts on the answers—Though neither of them had time to examine the book of fairytales reclaimed from the Nameless One in any depth, PRITCHARD did, at least, thumb through it a bit. “Forewarned is forearmed,” after all! Any so-called fairytale holds all sorts of useful information, even if masked in the trappings of myth … as the reputed location of the resting place of Neverwinter’s Ninth demonstrates.So at the sudden shifting and heaving of soil and foliage, the diabolist frantically searches his memory of any creatures from legend and fancy mentioned therein, or elsewhere in his studies, rumored to burrow beneath the earth in such desolate places.SPOUT LOREWhen you consult your accumulated knowledge, roll +INT: on a 10+, the GM will tell you something interesting and useful about the topic at hand; on a 7-9, the GM will tell you something interesting—it’s on you to make it useful; either way the GM might ask, “How do you know this?”r5,3 +2 INT = 10. Something interesting and useful about that burrowing creature, please!For what it’s worth, I’m hoping this turns into a three-front conflict and we can shape the fiction in such a way that Pritchard can use his new Move Firebrand to convince the Uthgardt barbarian Werewolf that it’s a very good idea to tackle this other threat before turning its attention to us.PRITCHARD realizes with certainty this disturbance can only be one thing: a Deathborne Shambling Mound. The passage–not from the book of fairytales but rather from Trafficking with the Diabolical, A Treatise of Methodologies Ancient and Modern–recalls itself, “... the mixing of life and death and tragedy can, within the locus of waxing necromantic energies, create undeath, the unnatural borne from the natural, a Thing of desiccated plant detritus and bespoiled earth known as a Deathborne Shambling Mound. Like many of the unliving, such creatures cannot cross flowing water, for the waters of life are disruptive to such undead, unbinding the energies that animate their form.”As Twyll’s eyes settle on the creature rising from the earth, she gasps, “What creature is this that looms in the shadows, recoiling from the flowing tributary?”Pritchard tells her and notes her observation is correct: the water wards the creature off.Okay, Twyll’s inquiry is regarding what is useful in combating this thing rising from the earth, so I’m answering with my choice of what it is (the first) and adding in the answer to Twyll’s Discern Realities question: that the tributary itself is useful; its flowing water defeats such creatures. Twyll gets +1 forward acting upon this information. (Originally, I was going to go with the moonlight described in the scene (sacred to Selune), but I felt that, while consistent with the scene against the Wight, wherein light provides functional warding, this is already known to us via the success of Spout Lore (vicious fire and divine light).) This adds another dimension to the scene.Supernatural dread and despair permeate the steep slope of the gully and environs as the creature begins to rise from the unholy earth. PRITCHARD almost retches at the combined malice and rot. But rather than withdraw from that baleful presence, he seizes an opportunity, for the brand upon his breast senses the despair and suffering animating the Deathborne Shambling Mound … and compels the diabolist to claim that for his own use!Steeling himself against this supernatural horror, Pritchard moves closer to it, away from the cliff-like embankment of the gully.When he is near enough, he feels the brand burning with hellfire and begin to pulse rhythmically.DEFY DANGERWhen danger looms, the stakes are high, and you do something chancy, check if another move applies. If not, roll...... +CON to endure or hold steadyOn a 10+, you pull it off as well as one could hope; on a 7-9, you can do it, but the GM will present a lesser success, a cost, or a consequence (and maybe a choice between them, or a chance to back down).r5,4 +1 CON = 10. Success!BURNING BRANDWhen you feed on the passion burning within a sapient creature (close), you fuel the fire and brimstone smoldering in your brand; mark 1 charge as the brand feeds off their burning passion, tempting their soul to dark acts (to a maximum of 3): <s>O</s>OO—TWYLL trails slowly after Pritchard, stopping in the shade of a tree. This moment of respite before what surely will be an all out clash is intended to give herself a chance to tamp down some of her horror and dread. More importantly, it allows her time to observe her surroundings while she herself is hidden in the shadows and see how she can use them to her … She glances at her travelling companion bravely, foolishly stepping closer to the thing and amends her mental narrative … their … best advantage. She will not move too far from the safety of the water this creature dreads, but here–at one with the darkness–she can better plan her attack.—Twyll first uses the shadows to remain hidden until she chooses to reveal herself. Then she sees what she can use of her surroundings to their best advantage.CATLIKEWhen you carry a light load (Load -6) and move with care, you make no noise.When you keep still in shadows or darkness, you remain unseen until you draw attention to yourself, move positions, or attack. CHAMELEONWhen you use your surroundings to avoid suspicion or trouble, roll +WIS: on a 10+, hold 2 Guile; on a 7-9, hold 1 Guile and the GM reveals an Unwelcome Truth that cannot be resolved by spending Guile. You may spend Guile, 1-for-1, to:+ Move about or maneuver unchallenged+ Withstand direct scrutiny or questioning+ Direct suspicion or attention elsewherer3,1 + 2 WIS - 1 Debility = 5; mark XP</blockquote>

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