Darkness.

It is a slow-dawning awareness that comes over Lisa Rufbin, not visually per se as she can see absolutely nothing amidst the crushing blackness, but certainly tactilely.

The first thing she is aware of is a dull throb that seems to build gradually from her temples, quickly swarming the rest of her body, spreading like a disease into her ears and down her jaw, through her chest and into her abdomen and hips.

Lisa clenches her and grunts, pushing down with her hands to move herself, rotate herself, anything.  Perhaps it is an experiment to see if any physical action will bring relief.  Her right hand pushes against cloth and soft flesh while her left hand and back touch only hard and dusty stone.

"Easy."

It is the whispered voice of Rudyard, the thickset caravan master that had hired Lisa all those days ago.  How long had it been?  What time was it?  Where was she and how had she gotten there?

The single word of the man and the thoughts racing through her mind seem to being to the forefront a whole, new world of sound.

Soft, slow, dripping water.  A harmony of slow, shallow breathing.  The hollow sound of dead air.  And slowly, building from an indiscernible murmur overtop the thrumming pain in her ears, she begins to hear the sounds of voices.

Not words, not just yet, but the voices of two men, muffled and echoing, barely audible though the tone of their speech does not seem to indicate they are trying to be quiet.  Instead, the words seem to rebound a thousand times, passing through doorways or other barriers before arriving upon Lisa's ears as mere fractions of themselves.

Lisa pushes aside the pain for a moment and concentrates on the words.  The mental exercise seems to both bring respite from her injuries as well as bring the conversation into something of a focus.

"Leo doesn't give a damn about your prisoners, and frankly you're missing the point!"

The voice is crisp and feminine, cut with the ice of anger.

"This is about righting wrongs, about addressing the failures of the border wars.  It's about showing the empire that until we cull the rot without our border there is constantly a risk it will continue to spread like a disease within them."

"It's about a fat paycheck."

This second voice is low and gruff but unyielding, a deep baritone that reverberates more slowly and clearly.

"Frankly, I don't give a damn about your or Leo's ideals.  But so long as Mendel keeps paying us for the goods like he does, you won't get any fight from us.  Just don't ask us to believe in your garbage and we won't have any troubles."

An extended silence draws on for several moments...

"You disgust me..."  The first voice finally responds.  "I'll be back when I have word from Hamish, we're not worried yet, but this may be another opportunity for you at least, if that's the way you think of it."

"We're always looking for more opportunities."  The second voice responds with a laugh.

No more conversations seem to come, though Lisa can hear sharp, echoing boot steps fading away into silence.

After several moments, Rudyard finally responds to Lisa's movements.

"Ye'all right then?"  The man's voice is soft and genuine.  "Gave us a bit of a scare you did.  Especially after Conal didn't make it."

OOC:  Welcome Lisa!  After much waiting, here, finally is your intro thread.  For the moment, everything is in complete darkness.  You have no idea the time, and generally only know that it's early January.  You know that your caravan was ambushed on the 3rd, though you don't know how long you have been unconscious.  Presumably, you were knocked out somewhere in the fight in Chapter 28 and have not awoken since.

Please make a ST-3 roll for me.  For each point that you fail by is 1 point of damage that you took in the fight that has not yet healed.

As per our earlier discussion, you have no personal gear, though you do have normal clothing, so there is no concern for modesty.

She takes in a long, slow breath, "OOOouch! My ribs!"

Lisa slowly, carefully walks her finders around, felling the area around her. "Um so do you know where we are? And what's going on? How long have I been out? Oh, sorry, Rudyard, are you alright?"

Gathering more of her wits she sniffs the air. And listens.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:45, Wed 02 Mar 2022.

"I'm fine."  Rudyard responds with a small chuckle before going on to answer the rest of Lisa's questions.  "We're not too far off the road.  Some caves a day or so out of town, never seen 'em before.  I can't say for sure what's going on apart from we've been taken prisoner, probably ransomed with all the convoy.  I guess the sign that they're keepin' the most of us alive is encouraging, but I'll not be holding my breath for things to get moving.  Don't seem like they care too much for us apart from food and water the once since we put in here about a day ago.  Don't much like us talking though.  It's fine to keep it low when there's nobody close like this, just make sure you keep it down when they're around."

As she listens, Lisa feels around what she can with her hands.  The ground beneath her is cold and moist, a gritty stone surface that seems to have been smoothed out over time.  A few feet to her left is another body, which elicits a sleepy grunt as Lisa pulls her fingers away.

As for sounds, apart from the murmurs of breathing, there is little to go on.  The sounds of conversation have died away outside and all that is left is the hollow staleness and cool air.

OOC:  Keep working the conversation and discovery phase as much as you wish, I still owe you a final wrap up on your character sheet.  Hopefully I'll have that done by the time we're ready to move on.

"Hsst! Rudyard! Any idea who Leo, Mendel or Hamicsh are? Or anything about border wars?" Lisa asks. "Borders between where and where?"

***
When Rudyard flls silent agin Lisa feels around a bit more hoping to find something that'll pass as a weapon, whether soemthing sharp or just a broken broom handle.

***
When all falls quiet, Lisa tries to her ribs less sore with a secretly cast Minor Healing, but to no avail so she rests.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:29, Thu 03 Mar 2022.

"Never heard of 'em."  Rudyard responds as Lisa asks about the three names, Leo, Mendel, and Hamish.

"As for the Border Wars, many as not call 'em the Frontier Wars.  You may know 'em that way, though I'm not sure many cared on the other side of the Blackwood.  They was between Megalos and Al-Wazif about ten years ago.  Lot of people around here still have sore feelings over them, Bannock falling was sort of a black eye for the empire..."

The rustling sound of footsteps outside brings Rudyard to a quiet.  The boot steps grow louder, and Lisa is happy to have a brief respite from the darkness as she sees a slow building warm glow approaching from the sound of the footsteps.  Not wanting to waste a single ounce of light, Lisa immediately starts taking in the details around her, starting from the direction of the approaching light.

Slowly, the room begins to come into focus, or rather a cave...  for the walls, ceiling, and floor seem to be a simple unanimous piece of rough-cut stone.  There is only one entrance or exit that Lisa can see, just in the direction of the approaching light.  However, the way is blockaded with iron bars fit into the stone, with a jail door and thick-looking lock smithed into the barrier.

Around the corner, a single torch finally reveals itself, the glowing flame illuminating the most of the room along with it's holder, a rough-looking middle aged man wearing seasoned and war-torn leathers, a short-handled axe hanging from his belt.

"I thought I mentioned..."  The man starts, his speech slow and his eyes poisonous as he takes in the room with a long, sweeping gaze.

Lisa too, takes in her surroundings, she takes in a total of twelve forms.  She recognizes Rudyard right next to her, who sits up propped against the wall, as well as Erwin, who lies face up, bandaged heavily across the chest, his expression a grimace though his eyes are closed in a fitful sleep.  This must be almost the whole of the caravan she surmises, though all are adults...  none fit the size of the little boy Runt who had stowed away.

"...There wasn't to be any talking."  The man finishes with his eyes on Rudyard, who returns the gaze defiantly.  "If I need to come back again, I'll be bringing my crossbow...  Then we'll see if you get my point."

The man turns, and Lisa uses the last fleeting moments of light to scour the ground around her, searching for any sort of a weapon.  In the last moment, she catches the shadow of a fist-sized rock and reaches for it as the light dies away completely.  It's not much for a weapon, for there is no blade or lever to speak of, though it weighs almost a pound, and is much harder than her fist.  In a pinch, Lisa is sure that she could throw the stone with some effect, or else hold it in her hand while trying to bash a guard's head in...  though she doesn't imagine it will be of much use against a crossbow, especially with an iron jail in her way.  For now, she must bide her time.

---

The next hour or more slips by in the impenetrable darkness.  Lisa hides her stone, pressing it behind her hip so that it will not be easily seen by the guards, but so that she'll have access to it if she needs it at a moment's notice.  She isn't overly concerned about being found out, but the threat of being shot with a crossbow keeps her intent on keeping her risk to a minimum.  Left to the interminable midnight, Lisa bides her time.

Apparently that is enough for the guards, who do not reappear, at least until their next visitor arrives.

Lisa's first sense is of scuffling feet and high-pitched muffled groaning.  Another man's voice rings out, strained with effort.  "Do that again and you'll regret it!"

Thunk!

The dull, meaty thwack is accompanied by a soft, feminine groan, and a few more scuffled steps before the torchlight comes back.

"Get back!"  The man from earlier, the one threatening violence, shouts as the warm torchlight approaches...

OOC:  For your awareness, I'm a stickler about healing spells and failures, so you are at -3 to cast minor healing on yourself until tomorrow.  Your scrounging roll managed to acquire you a small stone, about a pound, which will increase punch damage by 1, or can be thrown using the throwing skill, or at DX-4.

You have recovered your fatigue from spell casting, though hunger is beginning to gnaw at your belly, and you will quickly start losing fatigue that way.

Stopped here just to see if you wanted to take any opportunities.  If not we'll keep fast forwarding.

Edit:  I also forgot to mention that you got a warm welcome from the cast of characters in their OOC thread.  I have you separated out (alas, I've had enough people unintentionally spilling things between threads that affects the outcome of the game that I'm trying to hedge against it) but I promise I'll put you in there as soon as there isn't anything left you know that would be hugely beneficial to them and vice versa.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:37, Fri 04 Mar 2022.

While all is quiet Lisa edges closer to the heavily bandaged Erwin and feels for sign of life, either breathing or pulse..

Unless Erwin is patently dead, Lisa tries to do a better job quietly healing him than she did herself.

======
OOC: Not really used this spell before, but I'd assumed it was only at a penalty after a successful casting on a given target. Good to know.
Fine to fast forward.
In passing, I'm pretty scrupulous about not reading where I shouldn't. I find it too much effort to try and keep straight what the char shouldn't know/act on. If there's an OOC thread in which I can say "Hi" back, then please tell me what it's labelled and I will. To be clear, I haven't read anything that you haven't explicitly told me to. If I can't say "Hi!" back to the others, please would you do it on my behalf? Thanks! :)
This message was last edited by the player at 10:59, Sat 05 Mar 2022.

As the torchlight approaches closer, Lisa shuffles herself closer to Erwin while staying in a seat, putting a hand on his body as she murmurs a few quick words.  There is just enough light that she makes quick work of the spell, and it's complete before the torch becomes visible from behind the wall.  Erwin makes a soft groan of relief in response.

"Keep it back!"  The gruff voice says as three people step into view.  One has a thick black beard and is holding a crossbow, strafing the whole cell with the weapon as his eyes shift meanly between captives.  The man wears heavy leathers with an iron guard on his left forearm.  The second person is a woman, clearly another captive, for her weight is sagging forward, barely held up by her own feet.  She wears a stained and simple cloth shirt and heavy leathers on her legsThe torchlight makes clear a swollen red bruise all across her right jaw.  The wound just bleeds, sending a thin trickle of blood down her chin where it beads, threatening to drip down to the floor below.  The last to enter is another man who holds the woman by the back of the collar.  His body is mostly blocked by the woman, though he too seems to wear simple armor and has some scabbard or club that hangs loosely from his hip.

"Back!"  The gruff man with the crossbow snarls, pointing his weapon directly at Lisa, who seems to be the only one in the room who is sitting up at the moment, everyone else is either lying down or propped up against the back wall.

The command doesn't seem to slow the three's approach however, for before Lisa can make any real action, the man continues.

"We're opening up the cell!  The first one of you to make a move takes a bolt through the shoulder blades!"  And he takes his right hand off the trigger, lowering it a set of keys that he holds about his waist...

OOC:  I made a response for you in the OOC.  It isn't an issue of trust at all.  I'm sure that you wouldn't intentionally spill anything, the problem usually occurs when people are just making a comment or an observation that they don't realize affects the other thread.  As I said, in this case it's just easier to make a very temporary split between the characters, thanks for understanding.

As for the healing - I think most GM's rule it the way you are saying, you get 1 successful heal before your skill gets reduced.  However, that's not the way I read the rule and I haven't found anyone that's had an argument to convince me otherwise.  I think it does do a decent job of putting a check on magic users, who can tend to be a little unbalanced in a low fantasy campaign like this.

Ok - You can see 3 people.  Two men you can assess as thugs, and another that seems to be another captive.  You are about 7 yards from the door of the cell and in a sitting position.  If you wish to make any action, assume you have a few seconds to do so (or to prepare) while they open the door.  If you do not wish to make any action, just let me know and we'll keep moving.

Your healing spell for Erwin was successful, though it has definitely eased some of his pain, it hasn't drastically changed his situation.

Lisa dismisses the idea of using Apportation on the keys of the bearded guy when he leaves the cell; the distance is just too far for her. She sighs and hopes for food tomorrow.

======
OOC: 3 or 4 on the Teleportation was too remote. OK, we can keep moving.

With a steely grating sound, the man with the crossbow opens the cell just wide enough for the other man to shove his captive through.

The woman shrieks with surprise as she stumbles headlong into the cell, her blonde hair spilling forward as she crashes down to her knees and elbows.

"You bastards!"  She shouts, turning her head to face her captors even as the man with the crossbow grabs the iron door again and closes it with a clang before turning the key back in the lock.

"Take it easy love."  The man with the crossbow croons, thrusting the key back into his tunic as he regrips his weapon in a haphazard fashion.  "No need to get yourself worked up.  No sense in taking a bolt because your pride is hurt."  The man's voice drips with mock sympathy.

The girl spits out a thick wad of spittle laced in red which spatters across the floor just below her face.

"See?  Already better, isn't it?"  The crossbow man croons in his deep baritone before stepping back away from the cell, the light of the torch slowly fading back and out of sight.

"Fuck!"  The girl shouts.  Though Lisa half expects another outburst from the crossbow man, instead, she hears a few unintelligible murmured words, followed by a raucous laugh from the two men leaving, though they don't return or chide their new prisoner for the outburst.

OOC:  Ok.  You sat back while the new prisoner came in.  Here's your chance to initiate conversation or anything else you can think of for the short term.  Let me know if you just want to keep moving.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:42, Wed 16 Mar 2022.

"Hssst! Over here!" calls Lisa. She shuffles across to make way for the new prisoner, gently guiding her in if need be.

"i'm Lisa. Did they you hurt you much?"

As the last of the light fades from the cell, Lisa gestures the woman over, though it becomes clear quite quickly that the other isn't moving.  Instead, she stoops on elbows and knees, her body shaking as her fists draw together like leaves curling up in burning flame.

Lisa decides to make her own way over instead, initiating a conversation with their new inmate.

"I'm fine."  The two words are spat with anger.  And though the room now has faded to a complete darkness, Lisa can feel the woman still shaking in rage, her head dropped between her forearms on the ground.

The tense moment doesn't last long though.

"Sorry."  The woman adds, the venom now drawn out of her voice, instead replaced with an empty hollowness.   "I'm Terri.  I'm not mad at you...  Just myself.  It's all my fault.  I froze.  I couldn't seem to do anything until it was too late, and I'm better than that."

"You'll want to keep your voices down."  Rudyard whispers from across the room.

"Rudyard?"  Terri's voice is shocked in response, all her attention going not to the meaning of the words but to the identity of the speaker.  "Rudyard is that you?  Are you ok?"

"Enough!"  The shout comes from the room beyond in the voice of the man with the crossbow.  "Shut your damned mouths if you know what is good for you!"

"Shhhhh!" whispers Lisa, gently patting Terri's shoulder. "This way." She puts an arm carefully around the newcomer and helps her back so that Lisa is stationed between her and Erwin.

She waits until the bully with the crossbow seems to have receded. Then she whipsers into Terri's ear, "Now, being quiet, please. Actually, how are you really? May I check you for dmaage? And what have you seen going on outside?"

Terri seems to hesitate for a moment, though after a moment of silence from the guards, she allows Lisa to bring her back in the cell slowly, feeling her way with her hands until they make their way near the back.

"I'm ok."  Says in a stoic voice.  "My face hurts like a son-of-a-bitch, but I've seen worse, and I doubt anybody has bandages down here."

To the third question however, Terri seems slightly more confused.  "What's going on outside?  I was part of a group trying to find and rescue the caravan prisoners...  us I suppose, but I got left behind to watch the horses."  Lisa does not need to use much imagination to hear the clear annoyance in her voice.

"The others were clearing out one of the caves at the far end of the gulley...  Though Hamish," she spits the name, "came up from behind me and tackled me to the ground.  I managed to slash him in the ear, but I got this back for it."  Though the darkness is complete, Lisa imagines Terri is pointing at the angry red splotch across her jaw.

"He dragged me here...  I didn't get a whole lot of details...  it's a short cave system.  Just a right turn, some stairs, and a guard post.  I think I saw a total of about seven of them?  Though I bet there is more.  There were definitely some other twists and turns that I couldn't tell where they went."

"Well, we're the prisoners, so you've found us!" whispers Lisa. "I can check your jaw if you want, see if there's anything nasty going on in there. Anyway, the gate door over there has a solid lock on it. Are you any good at picking locks? Or got anything that could be used to pick one?"
This message was last edited by the player at 11:31, Tue 22 Mar 2022.

Terri lets loose a small laugh at Lisa's positivity at Terri finding the captured crew.  "Yeah, I suppose that's something right?  I suppose you can my jaw if you want.  It's awful dark in here though, and I think it's just mostly swollen.  I don't think anything is broken, but if you think you can do anything you are welcome to it."

When the conversation turns to picking locks, Terri responds in the affirmative, but slowly.  "I'm no master thief, but I've picked a lock or two when I've needed to.  I don't have any picks on me though...  Is there anything here I could use?  And I'm not sure I'd be able to anyway in this darkness.  Is the only light the torches that the guards bring by?

OOC:  If you want to check out Terri's jaw, roll a perception based First aid roll -10 for total darkness.  Alternatively, you can opt just to heal her, though she insists that she'll be ok, and it doesn't seem like it's affecting her talking.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:34, Thu 24 Mar 2022.

"Hold still," Lisa whispers as she lightly runs her hands over Terri's face, jaw, neck and shoulders. She takes longer than strictly necessary, bizarely enjoying the contact.

She fails to heal Lisa (and is unskilled at First Aid.)

"Haven't found anything yet.So far, yes, just what they bring."

======
OOC: If time has passed (I think ten minues regains 1FP) since healing the unconcious fwloow then perhaps Lisa has regained some FP.
17:05, Today: Lisa Rufbin rolled 9 using 3d6 with rolls of 2,3,4.  Minor Healin 11 (on Terri).
I didn't specify so I'll go with just giving Terri 1HP back.
i just spotted that I aready tried and failed to heal her. I'd forgotten that.

This message was last edited by the player at 17:15, Sat 26 Mar 2022.

"Oh, are you a mage?"  Terri asks as Lisa casts the spell of minor healing on Terri's jaw, though unfortunately the spell fails.

"That's great!"  She intones.  "I've known a few of them through my travels... we may get out of here yet!"

The girl sits up abruptly, and Lisa has the mental image of Terri straining her eyes to see something, anything in the complete darkness.

"So how do we get out of here?"  She asks finally, hope and frustration now intermingling in her voice.

OOC:  Sorry for the horrible lag.  Multiple things all coming together at the same time including taxes, every day kids sports, a chaotic and random work schedule and a newish puppy who seems to think that me working on a computer is a complete waste of my hands.  I'll try and do better.

At this point things are up to you - your options are to 1. Make a plan to escape, 2. Wait until something presents itself, or 3. Anything else you can think of.  Just let me know what you want to do so that I can fast forward if it's called for.

"Well, only just. And no one else knows.  I've been hiding. Our secret. Please?" she whispers. "And I have no idea why but I feel I can trust you." She gently squeezes her new friend's arm for emphasis. "What sorts of things are you good at?"

After listening to Terri's response she adds, "I'm not sure how we can get out of here. I'm open to suggestions, Terri."

And then, "Goodness, I'm hungry. Don't suppose you've got anything I can eat?"

======

OOC: It's fine, I understand.

Don't have a plan yet, except to try and be real friends with the new arrival. Maybe melt the lock. Or find a secret way out. Or set fire to something on the other side of the barrier.., I guess, option 2, hope something turns up. Maybe folks looking for her..
This message was last edited by the player at 16:40, Fri 01 Apr 2022.

"Of course!"  Terri responds when Lisa asks her to keep her secret.

"Um..."  Terri starts off slowly when asked what she is good at.  "I was a cook on a sloop a long time ago.  We mostly were sailing anti-pirate runs, but I got pretty good at sailing and a bow...  Since then, mostly outdoorsy stuff, tracking and the like."  She pauses for a moment.  "I've talked my way out of a few tight spots...  I've got to say I can spin a story pretty well."

When Lisa asks for food, Terri laughs softly.  "Not unless you want to eat poison.  They took all my weapons and my bag and my mail, only thing I've got left are my leather pants and a couple of bottles of poison I had stashed away.  Nasty stuff, came from these bizarre giant half-bee half-people things."  Lisa can feel Terri shudder with the memory.

"I'd been saving them for an arrow I really needed to put somebody out, but I suppose they might come in use here?"

"Lots of stuff I'd eat, but preferably not poison. Well, guess they didn't search too well. Reckon I'd have found 'em," retorts Lisa, trying to make Terri smile despite the gravity of it all. "When we're out of here, you can cook me up something nice and I'll get the wine. That's if I ever have some coin.. Anyway..so, will your friends, other friends, come looking?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:50, Fri 01 Apr 2022.

"I'm sure they will."  Terri offers back in a small voice, though with those words she falls silent.

OOC:  Waiting on the other group at the moment (who have been waiting on me up until about 10 seconds ago) for timeline realignment.  Feel free to take action if needed, but I need to know what the are doing before I move too far forward here.

Lisa badly wants to be friends with Terri. Feels like they've clicked.
She sits next to Terri, hip to hip.
Maybe rest will make her feel better*.
Maybe Terri won't pull away from her.

If Rudyard makes another peep, Lisa whispers, "Is there anything around that might be usded to pick the lock?"

Otherwise, it's sit and hope, with a fallback plan to create mayhem with a fire on the other side of the bars.

======
OOC: *Regain FP.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:57, Tue 05 Apr 2022.

When a moment presents itself, Lisa asks Rudyard in a whisper if there is anything to pick the lock.  "We're all picked clean lass."  Rudyard answers and again the room descends into silence.

Lisa thinks as she waits, trying to rest her body while also weighing her options, which seem few.  The most promising it seems, is that Terri's company may yet be coming their way...  that or setting fire to whatever gets close enough for her spells to work on.  Even then she would likely have to move towards the entrance to make a real play for escape.

But Lisa's thoughts are not long, for within only a few minutes there is ruckus of shouts and echoes breaking across the silence.

"Niall!  Niall, they're fucking here!"  It's a fresh voice, in the sort of high tones where it is difficult to distinguish if it is a man or a woman speaking.

"I know."  The gruff voice of the crossbowman responds.  "Hamish was taking care of them, should be a while yet before we have to really worry."

"No!"  The first voice shouts back in a nervous warble.  "No, they're fucking here, the god damned minotaur is stepping up the path as we speak!  It's a fucking minotaur Niall!  It's going to eat us alive!"

Lisa feels Terri sit up abruptly next to her.

"Damn."  The crossbowman, Niall answers back in his gruff voice, taking a moment before he answers back, though now his voice is throughly annoyed.  "Pull yourself together you nit!  There's only six of them!  Keep shaking there like a babe and I'll throw you out on your own as a distraction!."

There's a brief moment of stilled voices, though Niall quickly continues.

"There's nothing special about them.  If the guard doesn't know yet, then warn them.  Get everyone out of the commons too, even the injured, nobody's sloughing off this fight.  Put the three on duty with Aiken and Harding on the west side of the entry hall, the rest on the east side, Willson and I will come with you.  Wait until they they start moving down the entry hall and we'll shoot a volley into em before we rush in, got it?"

"They're here!"  Terri squeaks from next to Lisa.  "What are we going to do?"

OOC:  Thanks for the patience.  Ball is back in your court with a little bit of added information.  It does not appear that the gruff Crossbow man has left yet, but it sounds like he will soon.