The Last Pilgrimmage

[Manbearcat]

Lucann jumps on the horse behind Dame Naquel, grabbing her about the waist in order to brace his impact. In elvish he whispers, "I shall tell him you fought with the heart of an elf - when you surrender me to his custody." He drifts and to common and speaks aloud so all the knights can hear him: "Besides I could never speak the words 'Be brave and scorn all cowardice' if I did not live by them."

You can have 1 preparation for that Bolster. Spend it on this fight for any one roll.

An affirming cheer resounds through the small group at your words and they say in unison "Be brave and scorn all cowardice!" The downed knight defiantly picks his battered body off the ground and pats the side of his dead horse. Spitting blood he says, "If we die today, the Storm Lord will tell of our glory in a thunderous ballad over the city."

A smile creases Dame Naquel's face and she whispers to you, "Well spoken." Before she drops her visor she says to the remaining knight, "Sir Baumgartner, Sir Adler's trusted steed has fallen but he yet draws breath. Speed him to the enemy." Her head swivels to the back of the wagon, "Andor, ready your bow and take out those archers." Looking at the few laborers she says, "The rest of you...heed Lucann's words..."

As he looks upon the battlefield that is to come Lucann receives a vision from Sehanine - Dame Naquel is standing atop the Arms Master with blood on her sword and a single tear on her cheek.

The Lady Knight pivots the horse, readies her sword, and charges you both headlong into the staggered line of oncoming men. She is aiming directly for the Arms Master and his flanking infantry. One of the archers manages to get his bow up before you cross his face. Before he can let fly his arrow, another buries deeply in his chest, taking him from his horse.

As your charge sets you upon the men, a sound begins in her throat and it turns into a thunderclap "aaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAH!" When you can see the whites of their eyes (near), one of the two flanking infantry pulls a throwing dagger from his boot and chucks it end over end at you on the back of the horse.

The two men are within Reach of each other and Arms Master Dunderman. In order to get up close and personal and put that blade to work (H&S) you're going to have to Defy some Danger first! On a 7-9, either the horse eats the throwing dagger or you're good but tell me something about the terrain that may turn into an immediate problem for you.

 

[Campbell]

As the throwing dagger darts toward him, Lucann grabs a hold of Dame Naquel tightly about the waist and leaps to avoid the dagger. Elf and half elf manage to come away unscathed. The poor horse is not so fortunate. With nothing else in its path the dagger finds its home in the horse's neck.

Once he is certain Dame Naquel is alright, Lucann turns his attention towards the miscreant who threw the dagger at him. There is violence in his wild eyes. Lucann speaks to the dishonorable curr: "You have accosted an ordained priest of the Lady Sehanine. You have interfered in the affairs of a knight of the Iron Tower on official business. Worse - you have killed her horse. This means you must meet your death. I pray that your Storm Lord judges you worthy even if I do not."

Lucann charges towards the man with reckless abandon. He is going for the kill - even at the risk of his own life.

[sblock=" Moves"]
Defy Danger(Dexterity)2d6+3=8
Hack and Slash2d6+4=7 (Preparation Used)
Damage 1d10+3d4=11 (+2d4 for Exterminatus)
[/sblock]

[MENTION=6696971]Manbearcat[/MENTION] - Looks like the dice wanted to make this more interesting. Let me know if I included too much in the post. I'm still trying to get used to the back and forth without an established action economy.

 

[Manbearcat]

Lucann charges towards the man with reckless abandon. He is going for the kill - even at the risk of his own life.

[sblock=" Moves"]
Defy Danger(Dexterity)2d6+3=8
Hack and Slash2d6+4=7 (Preparation Used)
Damage 1d10+3d4=11 (+2d4 for Exterminatus)
[/sblock]

@Manbearcat - Looks like the dice wanted to make this more interesting. Let me know if I included too much in the post. I'm still trying to get used to the back and forth without an established action economy.

[sblock]Hey mate. No that is all good. You'll get the hang of it as its very intuitive. Its basically driven by two things:

1) Fiction-First. Moves (player and hard and soft GM moves) follow the moves (and their action resolution) and the fictional positioning of those prior moves.

Also,

2) Surely inspired by 4e and Laws' Heroquest, the fiction and moves are meant to pay heed to the keywords embedded in the system. Take a look at this fantastic article: http://www.latorra.org/2012/05/15/a-16-hp-dragon/

So you're going to need to Defy Danger (the game's catch-all for saving throws or generic resolution of certain efforts) if you want to close to melee with someone who has a crossbow (Near) trained on you. You may have to do it twice (dynamically...with a new situation after the first) in situations where you're under bow-fire (Far) in an open field. Otherwise, you might Defy Danger to cover and then do some other stuff to get to melee range. Similarly, you may have to Defy Danger to get beyond someone's polearm/spear (Reach) when you want to get to Close or Hand Range. You may also need to Defy Danger to get out of Hand range (like in a grappling/close skirmish) to get the fight back to Reach so you can use your spear. I hope that makes sense.[/sblock]

As to the above, everything is good. However, due to you rolling a 7-9 on H&S, I'm going to need you to Defy some Danger (Str or Con probably unless you have something else in mind). I'm not going to deal damage outright because the situation doesn't warrant it. You slew the guy outright but there is still going to be some form of counterattack due to the circumstances. I'm just going to go with the lowest environmental (1d4) + 1 (due to the extra guy involved), mitigated by your armor. If you get a 10 + on DD you're good. If you get a 7-9, your complication is that (1) you take that small environmental damage (1d4 + 1 mitigated by your armor) and (2) you're on the ground, in a heap with a dead guy and another guy trying to restrain and disarm you. See below for the rest.

With furious and deft bladework, you easily pass your adversary's defenses. As you see the light leave the eyes of the man you've just run through with your longknife, he reactively reaches up and gets a (strong) handful of your robes. Simultaneous to that, you feel something closing on you from your flank and the other mail-clad guard throws a shield into your ribs while his other hand attempts to control your wrist which clasps your weapon. He shouts, "In the name of the king, I command you to relinquish your weapon and stand down! No more blood!"

Over the clatter of your immediate fray, you hear the metallic sounds of the heavily armored Dame Naquel and the city's Master of Arms circling each other and testing each other's steel with an intermittent clash.

Master of Arms: "Shut up you fool, there will be nothing but bloodshed for these outlaws. You put that steel you've been trained to handle to work or by Gods, you're next! Defying the king's direct decree is a capital offense! And they've shed blood doing it! Villains that don't come quietly take the full extent of the long arm of the law! We are that arm! No do your job damnit!"

Dame Naquel: "You drew first blood you murderous bastard. And you have no jurisdiction here. The Iron Tower is tasked with justice and peace outside your walls. If you will not stand down, as Kord is my witness and with the power vested in me by the Knight Commander of the Iron Tower, I will put you down."

Master of Arms: <spits> "You are no knight...you're a silly girl who plays at swords...and piss on your Iron Tower. Now shut up and meet your doom..."

Another roar from the Dame and a clash of metal.

The man locking horns with you is growling and grunting, attempting to overpower you.

What is going on beyond your immediate area is difficult to discern but you are both in a fight for your lives!

So, to sum up. I need a Defy Danger (Str or Con probably), unless you have another trick up your sleeve. If you get a 10+, you're good. You disengage or whatever you wish and proceed with your next move. If you get a 7-9, roll 1d4 + 1 and subtract your armor. You'll be in a bloody, up-close and persnoal scrap, but you'll have your weapon and you can H&S because its a Hand weapon. If you get a 6-, up your damage taken to 1d6 + 1 (mitigated by armor), you're weapon is knocked free and a few feet away, and you're going to be on the bottom of a brutal grapple. You'll need to figure out what you want to do and make your move. And then you'd mark XP.

 

[Campbell]

Lucann grits his teeth as the knight's shield batters into his ribs. As the knight grabs ahold of Lucann's weapon arm, our elven hero brings his forearm to the knight's neck - exerting enough pressure to free Lucann's blade. However, this knocks both man and elf off balance enough that they fall to the ground with Lucann in a guard position. In order to stop the knight from seizing control of the melee Lucann brings his weapon to bear, holding it against the knight's exposed neck.

Lucann looks the knight squarely in the eyes and speaks:"I do not wish bloodshed any more than you do, but I cannot surrender my weapon or my person to you. I have already given my oath to the Dame Naquel that I would surrender myself to the Iron Tower. As a priest of my people, I am subject to divine rather than temporal law. If I have wronged the people of your lands it is up to those who speak for your god to decide."

[sblock=Mechanics]
Defy Danger (Strength) 2d6=7
Damage Taken 1d4+1-2=0
Parley 2d6+1=5

hp 22/22
XP 1/13

Hard Move incoming.
[/sblock]

 

[Manbearcat]

Lucann looks the knight squarely in the eyes and speaks:"I do not wish bloodshed any more than you do, but I cannot surrender my weapon or my person to you. I have already given my oath to the Dame Naquel that I would surrender myself to the Iron Tower. As a priest of my people, I am subject to divine rather than temporal law. If I have wronged the people of your lands it is up to those who speak for your god to decide."

[sblock=Mechanics]
Defy Danger (Strength) 2d6=7
Damage Taken 1d4+1-2=0
Parley 2d6+1=5

hp 22/22
XP 1/13

Hard Move incoming.
[/sblock]

On the periphery of your senses, you hear a metallic CLACK followed by a meaty thump and a sudden gasp. Dame Naquel has taken a heavy backhand by the Arms Master. Her helmet is rolling across the ground but her head remains on her shoulders, her thin chain coif shrouding much of her face but what you can see has blood spilling from it. She attempts to get to her feet but he is on her in a flash. Her attempts to bring her sword to bear are futile as he steps on her chest and raises his polearm over his head for a killing thurst...

But the deep sound of a horn is heard from whence you all came, back towards the gorge and the city. Several riders, maybe 20 or so, have transited the earthen rift somehow, bannerman leading out front. Their thunderous hooves hammer the ground, carrying the city's defenders with frightening speed. They will be upon you in perhaps a minute.

The man you are holding looks down at the perfect steel you have at his throat and says "You'll get no mercy from them if you kill me in cold blood. I suggest you take my offer..."

The Master At Arms is also bleeding profusely from his mouth and an unfriendly gash on his forearm seeps blood in earnest. Standing over the Dame, he turns when the mighty horn calls. You can see him smiling an awful smile...which is taken from him almost as quickly. Suddenly he looks to the sky above him and puts his hands in front of his face. He moves his polearm this way and that and averts his eyes as if he is trying to defend against some terrible and relentless bird of prey, "No....NONO GET AWAY FROM ME! AAAAAH..." He screams and falls back as if something is tearing at his eyes. But there is nothing there.

A disgusting wet noise. A gutteral gasp for breath that will not come. Master of Arms Dunderman's body is the sheath for Dame Naquel's sword as he accidentally falls upon it. As he slides down the blade he spits blood and looks astonished. Whatever he saw in the sky is the last thing he will see.

Dame Naquel screams. She rolls out from under him and quietly breaths, "nonononono...not like this...not like this." She tries to stem the flow of blood but he is clearly dead.

The battlefield goes silent and the crushing sounds of the hooves and the call of the horn recedes from the minds of all present. Dame Naquel is standing atop the Arms Master with blood on her sword and a single tear on her cheek.

Alrighty then! You're up. What are you doing?

 

[Campbell]

Alrighty then! You're up. What are you doing?

Lucann looks upon the solitary tear edging down Dame Naquel's cheek and is overwhelmed. He sheaths his blade for her sake and falls to his knees. He calls out in elvish: "Sehanine - Misstress of the Forest that dwells in the Heart of the People this cannot be the end. I still have oaths left to be fulfilled. In my presnt shape I cannot do what you have asked of me. Show me who I must become in order to bring about the Accords you, Correlion, and Kord forged so long ago."

Once Lucann stops speaking his eyes take on a brilliant emerald glow. Sehanine answered her servant, but the effect is too much for Lucann to bear. He collapses, lost in communion with his goddess.

[sblock=Mechanics]
Cast A Spell - Revelation 2d6+3=8

[MENTION=6696971]Manbearcat[/MENTION] I'm choosing the other trouble consequence for rolling 6-9.

XP: 1/13
HP:22/22
[/sblock]

 

[Manbearcat]

He calls out in elvish: "Show me who I must become in order to bring about the Accords you, Correlion, and Kord forged so long ago."

Once Lucann stops speaking his eyes take on a brilliant emerald glow. Sehanine answered her servant, but the effect is too much for Lucann to bear. He collapses, lost in communion with his goddess.

[sblock=Mechanics]
Cast A Spell - Revelation 2d6+3=8

@Manbearcat I'm choosing the other trouble consequence for rolling 6-9.

XP: 1/13
HP:22/22
[/sblock]

The physical world shimmers and ultimately fades. A new one appears in its place. The same...but different. The blues are bluer and the greens greener. Sounds are oddly heightened but distorted at the same time.

Lucan's eyes are drawn to a beating of wings. Hovering over the fallen Master of Arms is a prismatic, but clearly illusory in the real world, bird of prey, its talons and beak wetted by blood. It beats it great wings and circles back to regard the oncoming stampede. Another great beat of its colorful wings sends it exploding it forward. It flies barely overhead of you, buzzing your ears with the sound of its figment wings slashing through the air. It continues to fly another 75 yards to a small copse of trees on a bluff that will overlook lowlands should you continue on that way. It ascends momentarily, then dives, disappearing into the earth.

"Lucann, Lucann, wake up! They're nearly upon us! We have to get to the wagon! Lucann!" Dame Naquel is standing over you, holding your shoulders as she shakes you and shouts in your face. As your eyes, ears and head clears, the rampaging hooves are so very close. When your head cranes, the riders are maybe 250 yards away and in full gallop. The horn blasts and the archers ready bows, the heavy infantry lowers polearms and spears.

What is Lucann doing? Whatever you're doing, its probably going to involve Defying some Danger given their proximity to you!

 

[Campbell]

What is Lucann doing? Whatever you're doing, its probably going to involve Defying some Danger given their proximity to you!

Lucann is surrounded and has no time for thought or skulking. He motions for Dame Naquel to follow and rushes forward to the copse in his vision unsure of what he might find there, but it has to be better than the fate that awaits him and Dame Naquel if they stay here. While he retains his elven grace, Lucann is still rushed and leaves obvious signs of the path he is taking. Lucann is sure of one thing - no human would dare follow an elf into the primal forest. Of course, this would not be the first time Lucann has erred today.

As he makes his way to copse, Lucann keeps a watchful eye on Dame Naquel, ensuring that he does not lose her in the shuffle. This surely slows his progress, but he'll be damned if she gets left behind.

[sblock="Mechanics"]
Defy Danger (Dexterity) 2d6+4=7(+1 forward from Revelation)
Aid(Dame Naquel) - Bond+1 2d6+1=8

hp 22/22
xp 1/13
[/sblock]

 

[Manbearcat]

Lucann is surrounded and has no time for thought or skulking. He motions for Dame Naquel to follow and rushes forward to the copse in his vision unsure of what he might find there, but it has to be better than the fate that awaits him and Dame Naquel if they stay here. While he retains his elven grace, * Lucann is still rushed and leaves obvious signs of the path he is taking. Lucann is sure of one thing - no human would dare follow an elf into the primal forest. Of course, this would not be the first time Lucann has erred today.

As he makes his way to copse, Lucann keeps a watchful eye on Dame Naquel, ensuring that he does not lose her in the shuffle. ** This surely slows his progress, but he'll be damned if she gets left behind.

Clashing of metal. Screams of pain. Clattering hooves. Death. Its all around. The small group is overrun. The first knight was face-down in the dirt long before. The second is skewered on the business end of a polearm with all the weight of a galloping horse behind it. The men on the wagon take several arrows apiece. Lucann can see Oathkeeper's perfectly honed edge glinting in the sunlight, still half-wedged underneath cargo on the back of the wagon. Everything...left...behind. * Even the precious care of light footfalls typically taken by an elf in the wilderness is lost. A rider takes note.

As the two lone survivors make their way to the copse of trees, the proud, plate-clad warrior cries out in despair, her mailed fist grasping towards her fallen brethren. ** She fights against the pull of the elf, "Let me die with my men...NO...let me die...this is where I belong!" His insistence and her resignation speed them along nonetheless.

The top of the bluff is almost transited. The copse of trees is just ahead. But the rider's horse is upon them. He lowers his weapon and sets it for charge, intent on ending the life of the last living Knight of the Iron Tower on the battlefield. The elf can easily be taken prisoner then.

What is Lucann doing?

 

[Campbell]

Once Lucann believes they have made it to a safe point he turns to Dame Naquel. He speaks in a soft, yet challenging tone in elvish: "I know that you wish death and may yet get your wish, but not if I can help it. Death is an easy, airy thing. There is beauty in it. A good death brings with it a sense of nobility, but such notions are human notions. The people's lives are not their own to do what they wish with. We have a freedom to live in ways that neither eladrin or human can, but it is our duty to live. Everyday we must make the choice to truly live, to cast aside our own nobility to protect what we hold dear. As both a human and one of the people you have a unique choice. You can bind your heart to human nobility and embrace death or embrace life and all the spirits of the world."

As Lucann finishes his verbose pontificating on the nature of life and death he turns to see the human chasing after them. He calls out in common to the man: "If you mean to use that weapon I would be careful. I do not wish to see more blood spilled on this day. Your blind lust for glory has led to enough of that. I have a proposal for you - follow me and Dame Naquel into the forest and see what the Lady Sehanine wishes for me to see as I commune with the spirits of nature. If you still believe I am worthy of detainment after that you can arrest me, and I will come peaceably."

[sblock="Mechanics"]
Interfere with Dame Naquel 2d6+1=10
Intent here is to color her outlook towards her elven nature and resolve the bond: The half-elven warrior maiden is soft, but I will make them hard like me.
Parley with human knight2d6+1=11

Leverage is peaceable arrest if he remains unconvinced by Sehanine's message for Lucann, and his life but Lucann only hints at that.

hp 22/22
XP 1/13
[/sblock]
[MENTION=6696971]Manbearcat[/MENTION] It looks like Lucann has turned into a bit of a dick now that my dice rolls have improved.