Agony.

The first thing that Rolf knows is the saturating dull sensation of bone jarring pain.

He opens his eyes…  or at least he thinks he does, though his vision is clouded with a hazy film of color that seems either all black... or perhaps all white... or even all red.

Rolf tries to swallow, but the effort only seems to shift a swollen lump in his throat…  His mouth is caked with dryness that burns all the way back.  There isn’t so much a trace of spittle.

Somewhere near him, Rolf hears the squeak of iron rubbing against wood, then the dull groan of bending oak.  Underneath him, the thick wooden slab jerks away but an inch from his face and shoulders.  Rolf finds he has neither the awareness nor the reflex to stop himself before his cheek smashes back into the boards.

Rolf groans in discomfort.  Someone beside him moans too.  A mans voice.  He hasn’t even half exhaled the complaint however, before a hand has reached over his mouth and muffled the sound.

”Sshhhhhh!”  Terri hisses the sound, her mouth so close to Rolf’s ear that he can feel her breath.

Rolf tries to flex his arms down, anything in the moment to defend himself, though he finds that he only moves a mere fraction of an inch before his motion stops, his wrists cinched motionless by a heavy rope somewhere above his head.

”He can’t know you’re awake!”

Slowly, Terri releases her hand from over Rolf’s mouth.  Taking all of his willpower just to understand her words, the mage managed to fight back the urge to moan all the louder for the sudden contact.

”Here, take this.”  Terri whispers, and Rolf can hear the soft swishing of a waterskin.

He is about to whisper that he can’t see it when he feels the hard end of the bottle against his cracked and broken lips and the thin stream of sweet water curling down into his mouth.

He’s never tasted anything so glorious in his life.

Slowly, the hazy edges of Terri’s face come into view as Rolf spends all his effort half turning himself onto his side.

”Drink as much as you can.”  Terri whispers.  ”I’ve been worried you would die of thirst as long as you were out.  We just need to get you back into fighting shape and then we’ll all just be fine!”

Again, there is a moan beside him, though this time Terri notes it with a similar maternal instinct.

"Gustav!  The water sloshes again as she shifts whatever skin she is holding.  "You're awake too?  Thank God!  We'll be out of here in no time now!"

OOC:  It is 16 January 2006.  Though I imagine Rolf and Gustav have very little idea at the moment what that even means.  Both of you have been in a coma the past 11 days.  Mercifully, Terri has not been, and has been keeping you alive to the best of her meager ability.

Both of you are tied up within the confines of a small, covered wagon.  Strangely, it seems Terri is not restrained.  Feel free to converse as you see fit.  However, understand that both of your characters are at 0 HP.  Any action could make you spontaneously lose consciousness.  You are also significantly fatigued, as neither of you has eaten anything since you have been passed out.

Good luck.

He just tries to process his situation. He doesn't open his eyes just yet, but he hears a voice ... cloudy... but familiar?
It takes him a few moments to place it as Terri's.  That's a positive.
He tries to move his hands to get the hair out of his face and notes the ropes.
That's not good. He tries his feet and legs slightly to see if they are also restrained.
The water pushed into his mouth is a surprise,he swallows it as best he can on his side, sucking from the tip.
Then he slowly opens his eyes a little to see what he can without alerting anyone to his waking.
He feels totally wiped out, his body hurts in so many places. He struggles to remember what has happened.

After being felled by arrows, Rolf doesn't remember really anything over the last eleven days spent in a coma.  He drifts in and out of an emotionless vegetative state bereft of any memory of who is and any awareness of what's going on around him.

Something within him stirs.  A desire to reclaim himself...to reclaim what was lost...to reclaim some sort of justice...regardless of the obstacles that surely lay ahead.

Rolf's bloodshot eyes flutter open as he begins to moan as the pain from his hurts jolts to the forefront.  He looks at Terri flatly and drinks as she commands as he realizes he's thirstier than he's ever been.

Another moan rises in response to his own and he immediately knows it's Gustav.  He smiles weakly knowing he still lives but his brief joy doesn't last long.

"Who is he?" Rolf asks Terri as she mentions someone with noticable distress.

"I need to eat." he adds before she can respond.  The mage is famished and feels incredibly empty.  He is sure it will be some time of resting and eating before he'll be able to even think about trying to escape or anything else.

Silently, Gustav attempts to feel his way about his space, testing his limbs and his eyes.  His wrists are tied with thick rope, which also seems to be secured somewhere, for he cannot seem to pull his hands any closer to his face.  His legs too are tied, though these seem to be only tied together at the ankle, for his bare feet can move together freely as he gingerly tests his knees.

As for the view, his vision stops at the wood sides of the cart, and the hard leather canvas which stretches up over the top.

"Mendell is his name."  Terri whispers the response to Rolf.  "He's a miserable bastard.  Though I suppose he's kept us alive.  I've managed to make him think I can't walk, so he put me in here with you two to make sure neither of you died."

"Oh, here."  Terri says when Rolf mentions about being hungry, as she fishes around the cart behind her.  "I squirreled away a bit from breakfast, here, you can each have some...  Though I'm afraid it's not much."

Terri's voice falls in the last words, her misery evident.  Rolf however, is no less happy as the dried fig is gently placed upon his lips.  The fruit seems almost too sweet to bear.

"Go slow...  And drink more water.  Terri advises, readying the half-finished water bottle for either of the men as they chew.

OOC:  The intent of the start here is to get a feel for the situation the two of you are in.  While eating and drinking certainly will help in real life, it isn't going to affect the game mechanics for now.  I'll allow some regained fatigue and health as time passes, but I would not expect anything drastic.  It will be clear soon (if it isn't now) that this Mendell is not interested in nursing you back to full health.  For now, focus on any information you think you can get, any action or preparation you think would be prudent, and then just let me know when you are ready to move on.

Everything in his body and mind hurts.  Rolf's body is wracked with pain and his mind is a slow moving fog.

Rolf is thankful for the bit of food and water.  He needs nutrients and rest to heal, both of which he fears will be hard to come by.  It's going to be a while before he regains his strength he is sure.  For now he needs to keep his wits about him and learn as much as he can of their situation.

"Mendell it is." Rolf replies to Terri as he chews his food.

"What have you noticed so far?  Have you any word what they plan on doing with us?"

"Um..."  Terri responds tepidly to the question of what Mendell's plans are.

"I'm not sure... but he's mentioned something about selling us.  So best guess he's some sort of shady slave dealer."

Next to Rolf, Gustav begins to strain at his bindings, arching his back up as he leverages his wrists away from each other, trying to slip his bonds.

"Gustav!"  Terri starts, dropping the water skin and leaning forward at a loss for the moment with what she can help with.  But any effort she may have made quickly becomes irrelevant, for even the small effort from the swordsman has caused him to swoon back into unconsciousness.

"Oh bother."  Terri sighs, leaning back and picking up the skin which has spilled some little over the back of the wagon.  "I could have untied the restraints if they had been bothering him.  They don't usually look in on us while we're on the move.  Just when they start breaking things down for the night."

OOC:  Gustav has fallen unconscious due to his low HP and his exertions, though no harm has come from it and he will likely wake normally in the early morning.  Each of you give me two HT Rolls please.  Label the first HP, the second FP.  Succeeding either will recover one point of the respective attribute overnight.  Feel free to keep up the roleplay/questions Rolf if there is more you are looking to find out.

Gustav passes out  and rests...

Rolf lifts an eyebrow slightly at Terri as she speaks.  He can't help but think the woman is either leaving information she knows out, or is feeling a sense of shame at their predicament.  Likely the latter Rolf thinks.

The mage ponders dissecting what happened in their last battle, which was doomed from the start, but decides against it.  Better to try to mend bridges, at least for now.  There will be enough time to discuss events after they escape which Rolf is determined to do.  Plus he simply doesn't have the energy for what is likely to be a heated argument.

Hearing Gustav has worn himself out, Rolf says "At least he hasn't lost his fighting spirit."

At that Rolf's mind turns to other more immediate matters.  He is concerned for what Mendell will do and he fears the worst.

"Terri." Rolf says as thinks through what may or may not happen over the next few days.  "They know I'm a mage.  They will have some plan on keeping me from using magic and I am afraid they will use drastic measures that will permanently disfigure me."

Somberly he adds, "Once they know I'm awake I expect they will take action, and it's likely I will be too weak to respond."

"You had asked for me to save you, but I'm afraid that may be impossible.  If you find a way to escape you need to take it.  Even if it means leaving me behind."

OOC: Rolf made his HP roll.  Missed the FP check.  I'm not sure what else to ask Terri at the moment.  You can fast forward as you see fit.

In any event Rolf will do his best to act comatose for as long as he can.  He has the acting skill so he'll do his best to pull it off.

In a moment of quiet after Gustav settles back to rest, Rolf admits that he may not be able to escape on his own, let alone to help Terri.  He admits to hard truths, and eventually, pleads for Terri to take any chance she has to escape for herself.

If he had any doubts as to her shame, her response leaves them entirely washed away.

"No!"  She says forcefully, turning her head away.  "It's my fault.  All my fault that we're here in the first place.  And I won't leave until we are all safe."

With that, Terri turns and falls into silence.  Despite his own misgivings, Rolf does the same and eventually drifts back to sleep.

The hours drift by in a sleepy haze.  Rolf does his best to play possum, although the act is not far from the real thing.  Despite his wakefulness, his body simply does not seem to be able to recover.  He is exhausted and in pain, and things do not seem to be getting any better.

The next day draws on in a fug of discomfort.  Rolf and Gustav both maintain quiet, Gustav feeling somewhat better despite the circumstances.  Hours slip by as the carriage rolls on, each rock in the road felt through the inflexible wooden frame.

The afternoon passes on into evening and at length the wagon stops.

"But that isn't much at all!"  As Rolf wakes, he can hear Terri's voice now from outside the cart.  "I'm afraid they are both getting worse!  Their breath is little more than a death rattle and I don't see how I'm supposed to keep them alive without anything more than a ladle of broth!"

"We's done this before lass.  Men don't need much to keep living.  You'd be surprised."  The voice is dry and flippant, almost joking.

"Just give her another spoon."  Another voice answers, this one higher pitched and nasal.  "We get nothing for dead men."

"Get nothing for escapees neither."  The first man grunts, though there is a belated splosh of wetness and the clink of wood on wood.

"Thank you."  Terri says quietly, her footsteps echoing as if she's walking in sand.

Then she appears again through the canvas of the wagon, one fist raised as soon as the canvas closes behind her and her face alight with victory.

"Drink up."  She tells both men, handing over the near full serving of thin stew.

OOC:  It's 2000 on 17 January.

Not much progress here.  Rolf I have you failing both of your rolls and Gustav succeeding both of his.  I forgot to mention that your last HT roll for daily healing (before you woke up) was a critical success, and I've awarded you a hero point for it.  Feel free to use it on any of the recovery rolls (or any other skill/spell you can think of).  If you do wish to cast, you'll need to make a will roll at -3 to concentrate through the pain, and any failure will use up your last fatigue point and render you unconscious (as will any succeeded spell I suppose).

If you've nothing for the moment, feel free to roll again, two separate HT rolls, one for FP and one for HP.  Add +1 to your roll to FP for Terri's success in Fast Talking them out of more food.

Does Gustav also benefit fom the extra broth, or does it all go to Rolf (Which is fine with Gustav).

When he awakes, he will eat and drink anything available, then go back to trying to get free. [unless Terri says something].




19:25, Today: Gustav Du Meseries rolled 4 using 3d6 with rolls of 2,1,1.  FP.
19:24, Today: Gustav Du Meseries rolled 4 using 3d6 with rolls of 2,1,1.  HT.

Don't ask me, the Die roller did it!
This message was last edited by the player at 02:26, Mon 08 May 2023.

Rolf waffles between determination to escape, and despair that neither himself, Gustav or Terri will ever be free.  But his spirits are buoyed that Terri is adamant about staying by his side.  Maybe they'll find a way out of this jam they are in just yet.

His body is another matter though.  The lack of food and his injuries are taking a heavy toll on him and show little sign of relenting.  With each toss and turn of the carriage, his body reminds him of the damage he took in their last battle which was significant.  His right leg is a mangled mess and he has no idea how long it will take to heal.  If it ever does.

Noting Gustav continue to struggle he says softly to the man, "Rest.  Not yet."

Otherwise Rolf remains silent and does his best not to ruminate or make any sound in response to his pain, lest his captors know he is awake.  When Terri goes for food after a long days ride he listens intently and notes not one, but two voices.  This he files away for later.

He looks at Terri intently and gobbles up the offered food heartily.  He needs it.

OOC:  Rolf made both his HP and FP rolls.  He's in no condition for any type of exertion so won't try to anything yet.