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Story Hour
The Thorns of Winter -(updated 8/1/2023)
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<blockquote data-quote="Nthal" data-source="post: 8415401" data-attributes="member: 6971069"><p style="text-align: center"><strong>Death flies on pale wings</strong></p><p></p><p>My discomfort lessened as I put some distance away from the church and returned to the Jorasco aid station to gather our gear. We didn’t say much to each other on the way. The Blade’s grim face revealed nothing of his thoughts as he strode down the road. Rosa had a small frown on her face but otherwise walked with confidence in her step. Doxx glowered, occasionally turning to look at Adrissa and then shook his head in disbelief. Mobad seemed, bored; flexing his muscles and stretching his limbs expecting to encounter of violence ahead of him. Countering this were the warforged; their faces betraying nothing, although Sage walked in a march, with eyes straight ahead, and Bookshelf mumbled things to themselves.</p><p></p><p>But Adrissa was the one I was watching. We had gathered our things and were headed to the smaller She was quiet, as she had been recently, but there was a determined look on her face. Was it because of Loramica’s confidence in her? Was it an opportunity to enact revenge for her family? Or was it…</p><p></p><p>“Adrissa!” I heard a girl exclaim as we approached that led back to the north. From the top of the gate a girl bounded down and ran towards the surprised Adrissa. She embraced Adrissa warmly, with a bright smile that could wash away the grey clouds that churned above us.</p><p></p><p>“Cyr…cyr…cyr...a?” Adrissa stammered.</p><p></p><p>“I can’t believe it!” Cyra said in excitement. “I heard from the others that you came into town and let in the troops! You helped save us all!”</p><p></p><p>Adrissa stood there her face a mixture of shock and sorrow, unable to speak or express what she felt. She instead gamely returned the hug with her right arm, while her left held out her bow to the side.</p><p></p><p>“We’re all…sorry on what has happened,” she said as she backed off with tears in her eyes. “But please keep us safe. Keep yourself safe. Please.”</p><p></p><p>Adrissa nodded stiffly. I could see her hold back the tears in eyes. I moved behind her, and put a hand on her shoulder.</p><p></p><p>“We have to get moving Cyra,” I said, and the young girl turned to look at me in the eyes, and I watched her jaw dropped, and she released Adrissa, and took a step back nodding.</p><p></p><p>She then smiled and ran back to the top of the gate, yelling, “I’ll keep watch for you Adrissa!” And we walked through the gate way, hearing the various children yell “Goodbye!” and some of the boys yelling, “Go get them!” as the gate closed behind us.</p><p></p><p>After we were out of earshot of the gateway, I looked at Adrissa and asked, “Are you alright?”</p><p></p><p>“I’m a hero to them,” she said softly. “Why couldn’t I have been a hero for my family?”</p><p></p><p>I bowed my head down a moment before I spoke, “I didn’t have a proper family, but I had friend I called a sister.” I saw that Adrissa looked at me puzzled. “I was barely older than you, when she was killed in front of me on the streets as we held hands.” I looked at my hand encased in a fingerless glove. “I look at what I can do now, and wish that I had the strength, the skills…and wish I had them then. But while I couldn’t save her, or take revenge, I realized that the pain was one that I never—”</p><p></p><p>“—Wanted to feel again?” Adrissa interrupted.</p><p></p><p>“”—Never wanted others to feel. We can’t alter the reality of the past, but we can make a difference in the now. I still miss my sister, and it still hurts. But if I can help ease other’s pain or prevent it altogether…I’ll do that.”</p><p></p><p>Adrissa nodded, “I think I understand. Does your…god help with that.”</p><p></p><p>I furrowed my brow a for a moment, “My god gives me purpose and focus, but as a god of death, he reminds us to look at our lives, and other lives around it to give it all meaning. There’s a lot to learn from that.”</p><p></p><p>“This isn’t one of those things that I’ll understand when I’m older is it?” Adrissa asked.</p><p></p><p>“I’ll let you know when I get that old,” I said, and we continued our march into foothills of the Ironroot Mountains.</p><p></p><p>---</p><p></p><p>“So, no sign of our quarry yet?” Rosa asked as we rested. It was near the end of the day already, and had little to show for it, beyond sore legs.</p><p></p><p>“I’m used to tracking criminals…not foilage,” The Blade said annoyed.</p><p></p><p>“He not wrong,” Mobad spat.</p><p></p><p>“What do you know about this area Adrissa,” Doxx asked, unusually respectful.</p><p></p><p>“The higher up, there are supposedly caves,” Adrissa said looking around nervously, never noticing Doxx’s unusual behavior. Supposedly good game, but most hunters avoid this place.”</p><p></p><p>“Perhaps the caves are where we should start, if we don’t have somewhere better to look,” Sage suggested.</p><p></p><p>“Why do the hunters avoid it?” Doxx asked. “There seems to be game here.”</p><p></p><p>“It’s not the game, it’s the predators.” Adrissa said. “They come down from the Ironroots to hunt."</p><p></p><p>Sage looked at the shear rock walls leading upwards. “How? There doesn’t seem to be a lot of paths leading down to this valley.”</p><p></p><p>“They don’t walk down from the peaks.”</p><p></p><p>“You mean they fl---URGK” Mobad grunted. I turned to look at the grey orc, and I was shocked at what I saw. A pair of talons gripped onto his shoulders, supporting the reptilian bulk of a dragon like creature. It roared in delight, and as it did so, a barbed tail erupted from Mobad’s stomach, spurting venom and blood in the open air.</p><p></p><p>“Wyverns!” shouted Adrissa, and The Blade wasted no time and moved firing a pair of arrows at the beast, each striking the beast in the chest, followed by a pair from Adrissa’s bow. Sage ignited his blade and twisted around, to strike a second beast who was gliding in for a silent strike against Rosa. It roared in pain, and snapped at the warforged, its maw gnawing on Sage’s shield. Its tail whipped around and landed in Rosa’s stomach, she screamed as poison was pumped into her small body. Rosa rolled away from the reptile, and I saw her place a hand on the wound, and the pain on her faces lessened. She scrambled out of reach of the tail, which continued to stab at the ground,where the halfling once lay.</p><p></p><p>Bookshelf pointed their finger at the wyvern who now stood on top of Mobad’s collapsed form, and a ray of light struck the wing, causing it to glaze with frost. Its shriek echoed in the valley, while Doxx raced in and swung with her staff, landing three blows in quick succession. It whirled rose into the air and thrust its tail at Doxx. Doxx quickly whirled her staff deflecting the strike, and as she did so a beam of light streaked from her weapon striking the Wyvern in the eyes. It twisted around in pain and moved blindly towards the sound of the whirling staff.</p><p></p><p>I then scrambled over and place a hand on Mobad’s fallen form, and reached out with my light strands, ready to pour energy into him. But as I stretched out with the stands, they slipped around him. I focused harder and tried to knot them, bind them around the wound. I felt the hope drain from me as I realized the truth; that he had already slipped beyond the veil beyond my reach.</p><p></p><p>The others continued attacking the pair of wyverns; flame and frost, and arrows and light from Doxx’s staff. I gritted my teeth and wiped the tears from my eyes, and then threw a pair of strands at the dragon like beasts, causing dark miasma to form and shroud them as I tore at their souls. I wasn’t angry at them; they were acting as their nature required. But it felt unfair as neither Rosa nor I could do anything to save him from the stealthy assault.</p><p></p><p>The Blade and Adrissa each used the trees for cover as Sage and Doxx each took a Wyvern and kept them in place. The wyverns slashed and tore at us with tooth and tail, doing little damage. Bookshelf and I kept up our magical attacks on the beasts, while Rosa focused on healing the wounded. While the wyverns were unable to strike at Sage directly, they made attempts at the rest of us, drawing blood from Doxx and battering Bookshelf. I was stabbed by one of their venomous tails, but I was spared being poisoned.</p><p></p><p>Finally, Sage slashed at his Wyvern and brough it down to earth with a crushing blow from his flaming armblade. At nearly the same time, one of the The Blde’s arrows lodged itself deep in the neck of the second wyvern, causing it to gurgle in pain, before collapsing on to the earth.</p><p></p><p>The air grew still, and Adrissa dropped her bow and moved to the fallen orc. Mobad lay faced forward with his head turned at an awkward angle, while blood poured from a gaping hole in his back. His eyes were open but had rolled upward and from his mouth poured a river of blood and a thick green fluid, that now covered the forest floor.</p><p></p><p>“Why didn’t you heal him!?!” Adrissa shrieked at me.</p><p></p><p>“I…I…tried. His body couldn’t shake off the damaged from his wounds.” I said apologizing.</p><p></p><p>“He’s taken worse!” Adrissa yelled.</p><p></p><p>Sage and Doxx rolled Mobad’s still form over, and Sage shook his head. “The stinger went right through his heart. An unfortunate blow.”</p><p></p><p>“I tried,” I whispered.</p><p></p><p>“Rosa, can you…can you?” Adrissa begged.</p><p></p><p>“I’m sorry, but I…I don’t have that power hon,” Rosa said sadly.</p><p></p><p>“He’s gone.”</p><p></p><p><strong>Session Notes:</strong></p><p>So...the player that played Mobad had to back out of the gaming sessions for personal reasons and it was very clear they weren't going to come back. So he died in a blaze of glory. While the player was new to the game, Mobad's quiet presence was memorable.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nthal, post: 8415401, member: 6971069"] [CENTER][B]Death flies on pale wings[/B][/CENTER] My discomfort lessened as I put some distance away from the church and returned to the Jorasco aid station to gather our gear. We didn’t say much to each other on the way. The Blade’s grim face revealed nothing of his thoughts as he strode down the road. Rosa had a small frown on her face but otherwise walked with confidence in her step. Doxx glowered, occasionally turning to look at Adrissa and then shook his head in disbelief. Mobad seemed, bored; flexing his muscles and stretching his limbs expecting to encounter of violence ahead of him. Countering this were the warforged; their faces betraying nothing, although Sage walked in a march, with eyes straight ahead, and Bookshelf mumbled things to themselves. But Adrissa was the one I was watching. We had gathered our things and were headed to the smaller She was quiet, as she had been recently, but there was a determined look on her face. Was it because of Loramica’s confidence in her? Was it an opportunity to enact revenge for her family? Or was it… “Adrissa!” I heard a girl exclaim as we approached that led back to the north. From the top of the gate a girl bounded down and ran towards the surprised Adrissa. She embraced Adrissa warmly, with a bright smile that could wash away the grey clouds that churned above us. “Cyr…cyr…cyr...a?” Adrissa stammered. “I can’t believe it!” Cyra said in excitement. “I heard from the others that you came into town and let in the troops! You helped save us all!” Adrissa stood there her face a mixture of shock and sorrow, unable to speak or express what she felt. She instead gamely returned the hug with her right arm, while her left held out her bow to the side. “We’re all…sorry on what has happened,” she said as she backed off with tears in her eyes. “But please keep us safe. Keep yourself safe. Please.” Adrissa nodded stiffly. I could see her hold back the tears in eyes. I moved behind her, and put a hand on her shoulder. “We have to get moving Cyra,” I said, and the young girl turned to look at me in the eyes, and I watched her jaw dropped, and she released Adrissa, and took a step back nodding. She then smiled and ran back to the top of the gate, yelling, “I’ll keep watch for you Adrissa!” And we walked through the gate way, hearing the various children yell “Goodbye!” and some of the boys yelling, “Go get them!” as the gate closed behind us. After we were out of earshot of the gateway, I looked at Adrissa and asked, “Are you alright?” “I’m a hero to them,” she said softly. “Why couldn’t I have been a hero for my family?” I bowed my head down a moment before I spoke, “I didn’t have a proper family, but I had friend I called a sister.” I saw that Adrissa looked at me puzzled. “I was barely older than you, when she was killed in front of me on the streets as we held hands.” I looked at my hand encased in a fingerless glove. “I look at what I can do now, and wish that I had the strength, the skills…and wish I had them then. But while I couldn’t save her, or take revenge, I realized that the pain was one that I never—” “—Wanted to feel again?” Adrissa interrupted. “”—Never wanted others to feel. We can’t alter the reality of the past, but we can make a difference in the now. I still miss my sister, and it still hurts. But if I can help ease other’s pain or prevent it altogether…I’ll do that.” Adrissa nodded, “I think I understand. Does your…god help with that.” I furrowed my brow a for a moment, “My god gives me purpose and focus, but as a god of death, he reminds us to look at our lives, and other lives around it to give it all meaning. There’s a lot to learn from that.” “This isn’t one of those things that I’ll understand when I’m older is it?” Adrissa asked. “I’ll let you know when I get that old,” I said, and we continued our march into foothills of the Ironroot Mountains. --- “So, no sign of our quarry yet?” Rosa asked as we rested. It was near the end of the day already, and had little to show for it, beyond sore legs. “I’m used to tracking criminals…not foilage,” The Blade said annoyed. “He not wrong,” Mobad spat. “What do you know about this area Adrissa,” Doxx asked, unusually respectful. “The higher up, there are supposedly caves,” Adrissa said looking around nervously, never noticing Doxx’s unusual behavior. Supposedly good game, but most hunters avoid this place.” “Perhaps the caves are where we should start, if we don’t have somewhere better to look,” Sage suggested. “Why do the hunters avoid it?” Doxx asked. “There seems to be game here.” “It’s not the game, it’s the predators.” Adrissa said. “They come down from the Ironroots to hunt." Sage looked at the shear rock walls leading upwards. “How? There doesn’t seem to be a lot of paths leading down to this valley.” “They don’t walk down from the peaks.” “You mean they fl---URGK” Mobad grunted. I turned to look at the grey orc, and I was shocked at what I saw. A pair of talons gripped onto his shoulders, supporting the reptilian bulk of a dragon like creature. It roared in delight, and as it did so, a barbed tail erupted from Mobad’s stomach, spurting venom and blood in the open air. “Wyverns!” shouted Adrissa, and The Blade wasted no time and moved firing a pair of arrows at the beast, each striking the beast in the chest, followed by a pair from Adrissa’s bow. Sage ignited his blade and twisted around, to strike a second beast who was gliding in for a silent strike against Rosa. It roared in pain, and snapped at the warforged, its maw gnawing on Sage’s shield. Its tail whipped around and landed in Rosa’s stomach, she screamed as poison was pumped into her small body. Rosa rolled away from the reptile, and I saw her place a hand on the wound, and the pain on her faces lessened. She scrambled out of reach of the tail, which continued to stab at the ground,where the halfling once lay. Bookshelf pointed their finger at the wyvern who now stood on top of Mobad’s collapsed form, and a ray of light struck the wing, causing it to glaze with frost. Its shriek echoed in the valley, while Doxx raced in and swung with her staff, landing three blows in quick succession. It whirled rose into the air and thrust its tail at Doxx. Doxx quickly whirled her staff deflecting the strike, and as she did so a beam of light streaked from her weapon striking the Wyvern in the eyes. It twisted around in pain and moved blindly towards the sound of the whirling staff. I then scrambled over and place a hand on Mobad’s fallen form, and reached out with my light strands, ready to pour energy into him. But as I stretched out with the stands, they slipped around him. I focused harder and tried to knot them, bind them around the wound. I felt the hope drain from me as I realized the truth; that he had already slipped beyond the veil beyond my reach. The others continued attacking the pair of wyverns; flame and frost, and arrows and light from Doxx’s staff. I gritted my teeth and wiped the tears from my eyes, and then threw a pair of strands at the dragon like beasts, causing dark miasma to form and shroud them as I tore at their souls. I wasn’t angry at them; they were acting as their nature required. But it felt unfair as neither Rosa nor I could do anything to save him from the stealthy assault. The Blade and Adrissa each used the trees for cover as Sage and Doxx each took a Wyvern and kept them in place. The wyverns slashed and tore at us with tooth and tail, doing little damage. Bookshelf and I kept up our magical attacks on the beasts, while Rosa focused on healing the wounded. While the wyverns were unable to strike at Sage directly, they made attempts at the rest of us, drawing blood from Doxx and battering Bookshelf. I was stabbed by one of their venomous tails, but I was spared being poisoned. Finally, Sage slashed at his Wyvern and brough it down to earth with a crushing blow from his flaming armblade. At nearly the same time, one of the The Blde’s arrows lodged itself deep in the neck of the second wyvern, causing it to gurgle in pain, before collapsing on to the earth. The air grew still, and Adrissa dropped her bow and moved to the fallen orc. Mobad lay faced forward with his head turned at an awkward angle, while blood poured from a gaping hole in his back. His eyes were open but had rolled upward and from his mouth poured a river of blood and a thick green fluid, that now covered the forest floor. “Why didn’t you heal him!?!” Adrissa shrieked at me. “I…I…tried. His body couldn’t shake off the damaged from his wounds.” I said apologizing. “He’s taken worse!” Adrissa yelled. Sage and Doxx rolled Mobad’s still form over, and Sage shook his head. “The stinger went right through his heart. An unfortunate blow.” “I tried,” I whispered. “Rosa, can you…can you?” Adrissa begged. “I’m sorry, but I…I don’t have that power hon,” Rosa said sadly. “He’s gone.” [B]Session Notes:[/B] So...the player that played Mobad had to back out of the gaming sessions for personal reasons and it was very clear they weren't going to come back. So he died in a blaze of glory. While the player was new to the game, Mobad's quiet presence was memorable. [/QUOTE]
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