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Message: <blockquote data-quote="BookTenTiger" data-source="post: 8637874" data-attributes="member: 6685541">The Wyvern's Horn, Part 3: The Wyvern's ReturnBarndt eyes the ruins, the night sky, the towering columns of trees. He does not see the wyvern. Again his eyes are pulled to the horn glowing in the Green Child’s hands.Barndt readies his wooden spear. He focuses on the horn and pulls the spear back.(Face Danger - Miss / Match - Pay the Price - Your action has unintended consequences - Action / Theme - Remove Family.This Action / Theme roll was astoundingly appropriate and heartbreaking.)Just before Barndt releases the spear, he sees another figure lit by the dancing green lights. It is a tall, skinny man, dressed in traveler’s furs, tied to a large stone block. The green light drains from the captive, like blood coursing through invisible veins. Even from this distance, Barndt recognizes the man. It is his brother, Bastien.Barndt's focus is pulled from the horn. His spear clatters into the ruins, far from the Green Child. The boy turns his face towards Barndt, sees the hunter immediately. Like Pendry, the child’s eyes are masked by the green wings of a wyvern. “Bearmark barbarian!” the child cries. His voice is high, yet lacks any innocence of the youth. “You are a fool to face me alone!”The child says something in a language Barndt does not understand, a language seemingly inhuman, and Bastien cries out. His eyes flicker open. When he sees his brother, a greater agony pulls at his face.“Barndt! Run!”He screams again as the green light pours from his mouth, his eyes, wounds tearing open in the flesh of his arms and chest, light pouring out, arcing through the air, sinking into the horn. The light fades. Bastien’s head hangs. His eyes are open, unseeing. His mouth hangs open, silent. He is dead.Persimmon howls. Barndt howls. Without thinking, he charges the Green Child.(Enter the Fray - Miss - Burn Momentum - Weak Hit - Take Initiative)Barndt reaches for the Green Child, attempting to lift him into the air. The child laughs and ducks. He flicks his fingers, and green arcs of energy catch Persimmon mid-air as she lunges.(Secure an Advantage - Miss - Pay the Price - a friend, companion, or ally is put in danger.Companion Endure Harm - Strong Hit - +1 Health)Persimmon drops, but lands on her feet. She skitters to Barndt’s side, confused as the spectral forms of giants appear again. They fill the ruins, green ghosts pulled through time, standing atop their own graves.“Ignore the light,” Barndt commands. “Find the child!”(Face Danger - Weak Hit - -1 Momentum)Persimmon sniffs the air and charges straight through the giants. Barndt follow, his hair lifting as he passes through the light, his skin singing with static.The Green Child stands atop the stone block to which poor Bastien is tied. He brings the spiral horn to his lips. Barndt leaps, his arms out, reaching, reaching for the horn, dreading its call.(Face Danger - Miss - Pay the Price - It is Stressful - Endure Stress - Miss - -1 Momentum, Shaken.Here, my Stress dropped to 0. I took on the Shaken debility. Poor Barndt!)It is too late. Barndt scrabbles up the stone block, but the child dances away. His lips purse, his cheeks puff up, almost comically. The night is torn by the low, undulating call of the horn.In the silence following, there is the sound of wings. Somewhere in the dark, somewhere among the stars, above the treetops, the wyvern heeds the call. Barndt feels the wyvern’s talons already in his flesh. He feels the wyvern’s teeth already in his throat. He is a dead man, in this dead stone temple built by giants. Soon he will join his brother.The Green Child smiles up at the giant. They both stand upon the stone. Persimmon circles below, growling and whining.“I can’t wait to see you get devoured,” the child laughs.The Green Child raises his arms, and ghostly green tendrils sprout from the stones, encircle Barndt’s ankles, his wrists.(Clash - Strong Hit - Find an Opening)Barndt reacts without thinking. He steps forward, breaking the spectral bonds, and slaps the child across the face. The Green Child’s eyes go wide, bright within the dark green tattoo. Barndt stand up to his full height. He is a giant, compared to this child, but he is not bound to his service.From behind, the child hears a deep growl. Persimmon has scrambled up onto the stone. Her lips are pulled back, revealing long yellow fangs. Her orange fur stands on end, grisly in the strange green light.Barndt raises a massive foot and kicks at the child’s chest.(Strike - Miss - Pay the Price (companion) - HarmfulI can’t believe I missed this one. I even had a bonus from my doggy companion. Based on the rules of companions, when I’m using a companion ability and I pay the price, the consequences go to the companion.Companion Endure Harm - Weak Hit - Battered and Cannot AssistI’ll be honest, I was heartbroken here. I went to bed right after this and fell asleep wondering what was going to happen!)Barndt hears the wyvern’s scream too late. Suddenly it is there, a flash of green scales, the slap of wings catching the air, the long tail snaking away as it returns to the darkness.Persimmon is gone.Barndt hears his hound whining and barking as it is carried away in the wyvern’s talons.(Turn the Tide.Okay, Turn the Tide is supposed to be used only once per combat. It’s a special move you can use to regain the initiative. Basically whenever I get a Miss or Weak Hit, it means that the enemy is acting and I’m reacting. When I Turn the Tide, I regain Initiative and get a little bonus, though I put myself at risk because I can take on worse consequences if I Miss.I’d totally forgotten that I started combat by Turning the Tide. Oh well!)“No!” Barndt cries out. He stumbles backwards, catches himself before he tumbles over the edge of the block.The Green Child laughs, “It is said that the giants chained the wyverns, used them to ride the skies. So it shall be again! I am the new master of the temple. I am the master of the wyvern! And I shall be your master too! Surrender, barbarian!”The temple swirls around Barndt. He sees his brother, tied to the stone at his feet. He thinks of Maroshka, of the hunters who will return to a village ravaged by the wyvern if he fails. He thinks of the child he had pulled from the wyvern’s claws.“No,” Barndt says.He reaches down a pries a chunk of loose stone free from the block. He lifts it, swiftly, towards the Green Child!(Strike - Strong Hit. FINALLY!)The Green Child’s head whips back. He whirls back, falls from the stone block to the temple floor.Barndt roars and leaps down. The rock falls, pulled by his weight, propelled by his strong arms, his anger, his fury, his heartbreak.(End the Fight - Weak HitOkay, this was a close one! When you roll to End the Fight, you are trying to beat the numbers rolled on two d10’s with the amount of progress made against your enemy. Basically I had 5 marks against my enemy. So if I rolled 5 or above on the two d10’s, I would fail. I managed to get under 5 on one of the d10’s, which meant a Weak Hit.On a Weak Hit, you still succeed in ending the fight, and you choose a consequence. I looked over the list and chose Marked for Vengeance. Honestly I felt like I was cheating a bit taking it. I was low on Health, had 0 Spirit… Little did I know it would come into play later on!)There is the sound of the stone striking flesh. And a resounding clap of stone on stone.The green light flickers, and fades.Barndt hears a rustle in the woods. There is a flicker of starlight. Eyes watch him. He hears figures in furs silently stalking back into the forest.The poachers of Wolfcrag. Barndt has been witnessed, killing the Green Child. He has been marked. Wolfcrag will take its revenge, he knows. But what else does Barndt have left to lose?(Reach a Milestone - I have killed the wyvern’s master.)The child’s horn lies on the stone foundation of the temple. Barndt picks it up. It seems a small thing, now, in his great hands. Such a small thing that can hold such overwhelming power.Barndt cuts his brother free with his fishing knife. He drags the body out of the ruins, and lays Bastien down on the soft forest floor. He would rather his brother feel the embrace of earth, the soft touch of leaves and grass, than the cold, ancient temple stones.Barndt searches the night sky for the wyvern, for his hound. He sees nothing, hears nothing.Barndt raises the horn to his lips.The horn calls out across the ruins. Barndt thinks of Persimmon, and blows again. Somehow he must command this wyvern to return his dog. It is the only piece of his brother he has left, a gift from long ago, an eternal friend in his brother’s absence.(Compel - Miss - Makes a demand that costs me greatly.One of the items on my list of milestones was bringing a token back to Bearmark. I decide this is the price Barndt will be forced to pay.)Barndt hears the wyvern wheeling down from the night sky. He sees only an absence, a shadow across the stars, as the wyvern lowers itself on outstretched wings, and lands, surprisingly delicately, on a great stone arch.Barndt’s eyes adjust to the darkness. In the starlight he can see the orange body of Persimmon clutched in the wyvern’s talons.Barndt raises the horn overhead, splayed across both open hands. He steps forward, slowly.The wyvern barks. Its wings rustle, then pump the air. Its body lifts from the arch, dragged by the beating of its wings. The wyvern reaches forward with a claw and scoops the horn from Barndt’s hands. He feels the talons graze his palms. Persimmon drops to the temple floor.The wyvern continues to hover, its body bobbing, its tail snaking back and forth. It snatches up the ruined body of the Green Child, then with huge, thunderous wingbeats, lifts upwards. As it rises above the ruins it begins to circle, spiralling wider and wider above the treetops, vanishing into the night.Barndt kneels down and runs his hands over the body of Persimmon. The dog is unconscious, but breathing. He lifts Persimmon into his arms, gently, as he used to do when she was a sleeping puppy.Barndt pauses over the body Bastien.“I love you, brother.”He leaves Bastien on the forest floor. He knows that by morning the body will be gone, undone by so many scavengers, woven by insects into the very fabric of the forest. Bastien will be in the soil, the trees, the singing birds and wandering bears. As the wind ripples through the branches, the rustle of leaves will be his kind voice.Barndt walks into the darkness beneath the trees.(Fulfill Your Vow - Weak Hit.When I roll a Fulfill Your Vow, I use my number of Milestones as my score. I did not succeed on two milestones- Separate the master from the wyvern, and Bring a token back to Bearmaw. So I only had three milestones as my score!On a Weak Hit, I gain experience, but my quest is not done. I rolled on the Action and Theme tables to generate an idea. I got Reduce Power. This seemed very appropriate, given the wyvern’s destruction of the Great Hall earlier in the game.)By the time Barndt emerges from the Woodwall, the sun has risen low in the eastern sky. It is another cold, clear winter day. His heavy breath billows about him, like fog shrouding a mountain.Persimmon has woken, but remains in Barndt’s arms, too injured to walk.Bearmark has changed. The Great Hall has been reduced to its stone foundation. The beams that held up the high roof, the logs that made up its walls, have all been taken away. They now stand in a perimeter around the village, ends sharpened.Crossing the bridge, Barndt sees Cadigan standing with a few villagers. They hold farming tools in their hands, blades raised as if ready for war.Cadigan’s jaws work at some bitter hern, and he spits on the ground before muttering, “Hunter, you’re not welcome here anymore.”“What is happening?” Barndt asks.“The gods have sent us a sign! The Red Widow and her hunters have lead us astray. She leads a pleasure hunt as the wyvern stalks our children.”Barndt’s body sags with exhaustion. It is a great effort just to summon his voice.“It was Wolfcrag- they control the wyvern! I slew their mystic in the Woodwall. Let me through!”(Compel - Weak Hit - Action / Theme - Weaken Weapon)Cadigan stares at Barndt, his jaws gnashing.“Hm… the hunter’s unarmed. Stay that way, and you can come through.”Barndt passes through the village. People avoid him, whispering and pointing. He finds the refuge of his hut, and collapses to the floor before his hearth. With weak hands, he stokes the fire, adds wood, and allows himself to grieve.Midday, a shadow crosses his doorway. Barndt has been tending to Persimmon’s wounds, and his own. The small hut smells of sweat and blood.Someone clears their throat. It is Cadigan, with another villager.(Ironlander Name, Description, Goal - Tallus, Disabled, Find Redemption)Barndt recognizes Tallus, a village smith who at one time was a legendary hunter. Half his face now bore a terrible web of scars, and his empty eye socket was concealed beneath a leather strap.The two squat near Barndt and the fire. Cadigan absentmindedly rubs Persimmon between her eyes.Tallus, his eye on the fire, says, “I hear you fought Wolfcrag in the Woodwall.”Barndt nods.“It was they who summoned the wyvern? Do you have any evidence of this?”Barndt sighs, “I did, but… I lost it. It was a horn. There was a… mystic who used it to control the beast.”Barndt catches the two elders exchanging a suspicious glance. Cadigan clears his throat, and adds, “As I told you, he reacted strongly to the pain herbs I gave him. He said he was, well, seeing things.”Tallus shakes his head. His scars shine in the firelight.“Fighting between the clans is not the way of the gods. For too long Maroshka of Redwillow has tended to the hatred between Bearmark and Wolfcrag, keeping the embers hot, the flames dancing. It cannot last. We must seek peace between the clans.”Barndt shakes his head.“You did not see what I did. They seek the ruins inside Woodwall, the power of the giants.”Tallus rubs at his one good eye. He sighs, “I do not want to hear of magic. I do not care if they are casting spells to make the rabbits talk and the trees sing in the moonlight. I only care about peace, about our people. I am willing to give Wolfcrag what they want, so that our children can be safe from harm.”“They will want my head,” Barndt says, “for slaying their mystic.”Tallus nods.Barndt continues, “And they will want Maroshka as well.”Cadigan clears his throat, drawing their glances. “This brute saved a girl’s life yesterday,” the old man says. “That’s got to count for something.”Tallus stands. Looking towards the open doorway and the village outside, he says, “I will let you leave Bearmark unharmed. You and Maroshka are not welcome here. Neither are her hunters. We will find a new way to live, without the need for spears and spilled blood.”Cadigan pats Barndt on the shoulder as he and Tallus leave.“Tough break, kid. Give Maroshka my best.”Barndt sits for a while, silent, his hand on his sleeping hound. With a sudden violence, he takes the iron fishing knife from his belt and buries it into the hardpacked soil floor of his hut.“I swear I will protect your life, Maroshka.”(Swear an Iron Vow - Warn Maroshka her life is in danger - Weak Hit)Maroshka is somewhere out there, following the elk on their long journey through the Hinterlands. Barndt will find her. He will warn her, and tell her all that happened in the Woodwall. It will have been worth it. The cuts on his leg, his injured hound, his brother’s death. It must be worth it. Maroshka will see.Barndt takes an iron spear from the wall. He picks up Persimmon, who whines pitifully as he sling her over his shoulder.The hunter walks out of his hut and through the wary village. He is alone, again.To be continued in Adventure 2!</blockquote>

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