Runt's chest heaves as he crouches down at the edge of a water shrub, just at the edge of the wide but shallow river at center the canyon.

Adults were so short sighted sometimes.

Runt had mentioned what seemed like several times that they still hadn't gotten the animals and wagons back from the caravan, and they hadn't found Conal.  And it didn't seem like anyone else cared.  Even Rudyard, who'd lost his whole wagon, simply told Runt that he should "appreciate that he was alive and just get over it".

That was when Runt started hanging around the back of the group, his wary eye on Sajaa and Lisa, who seemed to be overprotective beyond what was good for them, or at least what was good for Runt.  He waited until they got into a particularly vigorous discussion, then hid himself.  He waited as the group continued to plod along...  and when they were out of sight, he made his break for it.

And so now Runt was back, hiding amongst the brush near the river and planning his next move as he glances upwards towards the high cave, the one where Lisa had said she'd seen another soldier.  It was quite high up, and would probably be a hell of a climb either up or down, which at least was something for Runt's benefit.  He glances upriver, it's another forty or fifty yards by Runt's estimation before the next large copse of high shrub, with the end of the canyon just beyond that.  If his prisoner were to be believed, beyond the dark gap between those shrubs was another cave, and that was where all the merchant's wares were being kept.

Not to mention all of Runt's stolen treasures.

This is a private thread for Runt

OOC:  Ok, you're back in, and you've taken the large knife and the $12 in copper farthings along with you.  You are about half-way in the canyon, or just beyond the first cave where you guys found the escaped slaves.

This is a private thread at the moment, as I don't want the others who are coming tomorrow to get any additional information just yet.

Did you want to take the lighted stick with you?  I think you were the last one to have it so it's up to you.

Please roll vs. Perception and Stealth.
This message was last updated by the GM at 18:35, Mon 11 July 2022.

It was a lot easier than he thought it would be heading back to get the animals and Conal.  All he'd really had to do was go off behind some bushes and wait for the adults to take off.  If anyone had asked him where he was going, he was ready with a quick story of finding some privacy so as not to offend the ladies while he was seeing a man about a dog.  But that wasn't even necessary, no one was really paying attention.  If it had been him in charge, he would have had at least a couple of people keeping a watch out for any trouble.  After all Hamish had said there were giant spiders and there was the one bandit who had gotten away plus all those escaped slaves.  It seemed to him that no one else seemed to remember stuff.  Maybe when you became an adult your brain was full?

No matter what, he was here and was going to get Sally and the other animals, and then get Conal.  It wasn't right to leave his friends body in such a place.  He deserved a proper burial.  For that matter, so did all the dead bandits, but he couldn't do anything about them unfortunately.

He looked around carefully one last time before heading for the cave where Macchus said the animals and carts were kept.

OOC - Yeah, the fun begins!

09:41, Today: Runt rolled 14 using 3d6 with rolls of 3,6,5.  Perception.
looks like I missed Perception

09:43, Today: Runt rolled 11 using 3d6 with rolls of 4,4,3.  Stealth.
But just made Stealth

Yes, if possible, he would have picked up the light stick.  Last person mentioned to have it was Saaja while inside, but then things got rather confusing and busy, and I think he would have picked it up if it had been set down.

Did he get an answer from Macchus on how many bandits there were?

Glancing around before he maneuvers, Runt sets the lighted stick against his forearm and steps forward.  Things were simple enough if you just looked at them as they were.  Sally, not to mention all the merchant's wares were stuck in the caves and Conal was left for dead in some ditch... if he was there at all and Runt needed to put these wrongs to right.

Sploosh!

Runt's bare foot slinks into the slow, shallow waters of the stream, the mud squishing in between his toes as he heads towards the shrub at the end of the canyon and the cave beyond.

Adults can be so stupid.  Runt thinks, as he continues to step in the shallows, his eyes distracted down to the minnows swirling in the eddies of the early afternoon stream.  Why didn't they listen to him?  Why didn't they question Macchus for themselves?  It was ridiculous as far as Runt was concerned, the prisoner had valuable information and no one seemed to think that it was worth anything once their mission had been accomplished.  Didn't anyone realize that all the prisoners hadn't yet been accounted for?  And if Macchus was right, there could well be other bandits here in these caves.

Sploosh!

Runt swipes the lighted stick down at the water, trying to catch the attention of the minnows who seem be be fleeing pell mell from the sudden appearance of his calves at the surface of the water.  By now he was near at the next set of shrubs and the shadows were cast low from the mid-afternoon sun.

But Runt could save Sally and Conal.  Runt would show them.

But as Runt glances upwards, he notices an out of place shadow upon the water.   His breath grabs in his throat as he realizes that there are men, far too close for comfort, a mere two steps ahead of where he now stands in the river, hidden by the shadows of the brush.

"What are you doing here!"  One of the men barks, staring Runt straight in the face as he whirls to gather his thoughts.

OOC:  Map below.  Remember that the grids are 10 ft. or roughly 3 hexes each.  I spent quite a while looking at the rules for contests of skills for stealth/perception and despite your advantages of being -2 SM you were badly beaten on all fronts.  You are 2 hexes away from both the bad guys, with your knife still hidden about your waist.

Runt enjoyed the feel of the cold, clean water on his feet and calves.  If he didn't have something much more important to do, he just might try and find a deeper pool and scrub the past week's worth of grime away, maybe even get his clothes a bit clean.

When the bandit (he guessed) challenged him suddenly he almost jumped out of his skin.  Crap, gotta pay more attention, he thought.  Thoughts rushed through his mind quickly.  Running was his first thought; he'd probably get away but then he couldn't get Sally or Conal.  And then when he got back to the others, he certainly would be in a lot of trouble.  A good thrashing would be about the least he'd get, possibly worse.  No question Princess Mitra wouldn't allow him to help the next day.  She'd probably have him tied up and sent back to Three Corners with Sir Magnus and the rescued caravanners.  Maybe he should just tell the bandits what he was doing.

"I just be trying to get my friend Sally the Mule and Conal.  Least his body so I can take it back and bury it proper.  It ain't right jus' to leave him out here like this," he started earnestly.  "An I'd like to get Rudyard's cart, or least my stuff offin it an Conal's lyre to take back to his family.  The others didn't care 'bout that stuff.  Would of liked to do something proper for all the other folks that got dead today but I can't do anything much for them cept say the words over them," he finished, complete sincerity in his voice.

LOL.  Talking seemed like the best of his limited options.  Fighting sure wasn't going to work.   Diplomacy?  Knew I should have boosted that.  ;-)

Runt isn't exactly sure what his best option is here, though he's often found that when he's in a pickle, the truth usually never hurts.  As such, he says exactly why he is there, without sparing any details, hoping the bandits will understand his dilemma.

However, if there's one thing that's clear, it's that these two men don't seem to understand anything that Runt is saying.  Instead, their faces each become more and more confused as the youth continues to talk.

"What in the hell's he talking about?"  The man on the left turns to the other, before turning back to Runt and leaning over slightly before asking, "Are you lost kid?"

As for the man on the right, he simple seems to shake the question off.  "I'm not sure, Niall didn't have any kids in his group did he?  Nah, wouldn't make any sense."  The man shakes his head again, but in the end he simply glares down at Runt.  "Look, it doesn't matter anyway.  Listen kid, you need to leave...  Now.  This ain't no place for you."

OOC:  Roll vs. IQ

Are these guys dumb or do they not know what happened in the brigands' cave he thought.

OOC -
13:05, Today: Runt rolled 15 using 3d6 with rolls of 5,5,5.  IQ.  Not even close, the die roller hates me, LOL. 

Runt figured that these two must have somehow missed all the activity, though he didn't see how all that noise and activity could have been overlooked.  Maybe they were sleeping or maybe they had a couple of women to entertain them.

"No, I ain't lost.  I never gets lost.  Likes I said, I is just trying to get my friend Sally the Mule and Conal.  Macchus said that they probably put his body in the pit.  An I like to get Rudyard's cart.  It got my stuff on it, an I want to get Conal's lyre to take back to his family in Craine.  Runt began to tear up a bit as he spoke slowly to these two.  "I only gots a little coin, but I give it to you ifin you help me.  But I give you some news 'bout Niall that be lots more important and probably worth lots more.  So will you help me?  Runt finished up, wiping away the tears and looking up hopefully at the two men.

OOC - Yeah, Runt has a scheme in mind.  But he is telling the complete truth, LOL.

Offered the chance to play himself as lost, Runt simply defers.  After all, what good would that do him when he'd have to come back through here anyway?  Better was to simply keep going with the truth, for these toadies seemed stupid, or at least ill informed, which Runt could use if he handled things well.

So he keeps talking.  About Sally and Conal, about Macchus and Rudyard.  And finally about Niall.  It isn't until the last name that Runt fully registers the shift in their demeanor from confusion to anger.

"Grab him!"  The man on the left orders as a lunges forward with an empty hand, though his footwork is foiled by the calf-deep water and he misses the youth badly without even Runt having to take a step out of the way.

The man on the right steps forward too, moving to block Runt from the other shore, circling around him for his own lunge at the kid.

So much for talking his way out of this...

OOC:  Map posted below.  The man on the left (left of your picture) is in CC while the man on the right (above you) is at range one.  Both men have empty hands, they seem to want to hold you rather than hurt you.

Runt just shook his head.  Well that didn't work he thought.

"Geez, ifin you wants me to go with you, you jus' gotta ask.  Ain't gotta be so rough," he exclaimed loudly, stepping up to the guy on the bank and glaring at them both with scorn.  "What am I gonna do?  Go running off out here an get et by wolfs?"

Added - OOC - Sorry about wasting you time working on the map for a combat that didn't occur.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:25, Fri 08 July 2022.

"Gotcha!"  The man on the left grabs Runt's left bicep roughly with a hand barely recognizing Runt's disparaging look and commentary.  Instead, he quickly grips about the bulge at Runt's waist with his other hand, finding the hilt to the large knife.

"And he's armed!"  The man shouts as he finds the weapon, tossing it off to the side where it hits the wet bank with a thunk!

"Little assassin came back it seems!  Elkins said there was a kid with those mercenaries, but I never thought he meant such a wee boy!"

"What?"  The other man returns a shocked glance.  "The ones that sacked Niall's?  You think this kid's a killer?  Wouldn't be much more than a bite for a minotaur, less likely to take up arms next to one!"

"It doesn't matter anyway!"  The first man shouts back, somewhat agitated after the challenge.  "We were told to find out as much as we can about how bad this thing is and this kid says he knows about Niall!  So it doesn't make any sense but we take him back!"

The other man's look of disbelief doesn't alter much, but instead he shakes his head, turning back towards the south side of the canyon.

"'Few say so Ashe.  But I says it's more trouble than it's worth."

"E says he knows something!"  Ashe shouts back in anger, gripping Runt's bicep painfully for a moment as he pushes the youth forward and out of the stream, towards the southern wall of the canyon...

OOC:  No sweat on not using the map.  I just wanted to give context on how close and where they were.  I thought it much more likely for you to run than to fight, and in any case, those maps were easy enough to make in a handful of minutes rather than my normal plodding pace of most of an hour to put one together.

I took your post to mean that you were not resisting, and thusly you have been grappled by one of the men about your left bicep.  He also found your knife through a quick contest of skills (I rolled holdout for you) though he missed everything else on your person.  You are free to keep talking as you walk, and attempting social skills as you see fit, otherwise I'll keep fast forwarding.

Runt glared at Ashe as the ruffian manhandled him.    You be on my list, he thought as he was forced along.  He was only a little bothered by losing the knife.  He'd already planned on seeing if he could trade it for one smaller anyway and maybe get a bit of coin also.  It's not like he could wear it in Craine or even use it where anyone could see it.  At the least it would be taken away and possibly he'd get a good beating or worse for having it depending on who saw it first.  One new thought popped into his mind as he walked along.  Maybe this be a different bunch than the others.

OOC - No, Runt will not bother engaguing with the two anymore, no real use in it.  Just wait to see what happens.  But he is looking around as he is dragged along to whatever fate awaits.  Fast forwarding works fine for me.  I'm feeling quite guilty about being a delay on the game for everyone else.  Almost a month!

Runt wasn't exactly sure what was happening now, though it seemed quite clear to him that running, fighting, or even arguing seemed out of the question.  At least if he was cooperative, he'd learn more and suffer less... whereas if he attempted escape he'd likely get roughed up and dragged along anyway.

"Fine."  The other man gives in without turning as he continues walking towards the sides of the canyon.  "Have it your way then.  But it's on you if we take it for not checking on Niall's group first!"

"Don't worry."  Ashe responds, shoving Runt roughly forward again.  "They'll want to hear what this one has to say!"

The walk is not far, just around the outside of the shrub that sprawls out in the near perpetual shade at the western edge of the canyon.  Just as they approach the southern canyon wall, Runt picks up a faint, putrid smell of death and he glances along the rim to the east where he picks up sight of a large ditch sunk in the earth some thirty yards down the base.

His company however, keep following the rim the other way towards the west, near all the way to the end and just below the last cave.

"Oy!"  Ashe shouts upwards when the three come to a stop.

Runt looks upwards.  Here the cliff is not exactly sheer, though neither would it be an easy climb.  The cave is some twenty yards up, and here there is no path upwards like there was at the bandit's cave.  Indeed, it doesn't even seem like there is a common climbing path upwards as there isn't any wear in the stone that Runt can tell.

"Throw down the rope!  We got one of em here!"

After several minutes of discussion, during which a length of thick rope is hurled out from the cave opening above, the two men finally agree for one of them to climb up first, then for the second to tie up Runt in a harness and haul him up before lowering the rope back down for Ashe to climb up last.

Without farther ado, the other man begins pulling himself up the rope with long, two-arm grabs before Ashe begins tying the end of the rope around the top of Runt's chest, just below his arm pits.

"And don't think to try nothing!"  Ashe grunts as he pulls the knot tight, cinching hard at the skin at his sides.  "We'll be here at both ends if you do!"

OOC:  I know you said you weren't going to try anything, but as you have a moment where you aren't grappled by anything but a rope, I thought I might give you a moment here as well.  Let me know if you want to try and make an escape.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:55, Tue 19 July 2022.

Runt went along with the two brigands without any resistance, now a bit curious about this other group that Macchus had mentioned.  As the brigand at the top began to pull him up, he got his legs around to partially walk up the cliff face so he wouldn't get all scraped up being hoisted.  I could've done this easy by myself, he thought.

OOC - Nope, not going to do anything, not even mouth off.  Now, if his knife hadn't been discovered, he just might would have tried sticking Ashe somewhere really painful.  He has taken quite a dislike to him.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 18:51, Mon 11 July 2022.

Though the knot is cinched overly-tight across his chest, Runt does not so much as grumble.  Instead, he lets the man at the top pull him up while he uses his own feet to keep himself upright and stable against the near-vertical stone.  The climb isn't difficult, or at least, it wouldn't be even without the rope, so long as Runt wasn't being hauled up at a jerky pace by the man at the top.  Even as it is, Runt manages to keep himself from taking any real scrapes on the stone.

When he reaches the cave, near sixty feet up the canyon wall, the man at the top unties Runt and tosses the rope back to the bottom, where Runt can hear the labored climb of Ashe as he works his way slowly towards the top.  Though his captor keeps a wary eye on Runt, he does not make any effort to grab or restrain him.  Instead, he simply waits for his compatriot to join them.

The brief moment of respite gives Runt the opportunity to take in the surroundings.  The view from the narrow ledge at the lip of the cave is actually rather staggering.  The canyon itself is bathed in the early afternoon sun, and the wide stream at the middle, or at least those parts not obscured by the thick shrub, is shimmering in the light.  From this vantage, Runt has an easy view of the bandit's cave on the opposite side of the river, as well as the cave at the base of the canyon, which he is just now seeing for the first time at the mouth of the river, though thick grown shrubs and trees obscure the ground for the next dozen yards or more.

As for the opposite direction, despite the fact that the sun is near its zenith in the sky, the majority of the rock face as well as the cave itself is still basked in shadow.  Runt glances towards the cave itself and though he can't see very far in, he notes a single man standing just beyond the entrance, a bow held loosely in his hands and a quiver stocked with arrows hanging loosely over his shoulder.

"Right!"  Ashe heaves in great breaths as he hauls himself over the ledge and onto the ground just a step or two away from where Runt stands.

The man is red-faced as he pulls himself to a stand, though he still grabs Runt around the bicep roughly and shoves him forward to the mouth of the cave.

As the light of the day is extinguished and Runt steps forward into the smooth-carved stone of the cave mouth, it takes his eyes a moment to adjust to the low light within.  Instead, he is hit first by the shifting temperature... the cold, wet air causing his shirt, already damp with a mild sweat, to stick fast and frigid to his skin.  After a moment, his eyes begin to adjust, and he can take in the red hued stone of the floor which continues some fifteen feet straight ahead of him before halting in a wide, smooth wall where streaks of black cut across the red of the stone at uneven intervals.

To the left, a corridor, some fifteen feet wide appears to go for some ways, perhaps angling slightly upwards into the wall of the canyon.  To the right, the corridor goes for a much shorter distance, only fifty feet or so, before turning abruptly to the left, though there are doors set into the stone of the walls which go both straight ahead and to the right.

It strikes Runt after a moment or so that despite the fact that there are no torches or obvious light sources, he has no trouble seeing quite far in the cave... almost as if there is a natural but dim light permeating through the stone... or an unnatural one that he can't quite make out...  Not to mention an odd sort of halo emanating from himself...

"Now we'll see what this one knows...  whoa... whoa... WHOA!  What the hell is that!"

Before Runt even realizes what exactly is going on, he feels an abrupt tugging at his waist as his oversized pants are nearly ripped off his frame.  It takes Runt a moment to realize exactly what has happened, though it all becomes readily apparent as he sees the lighted stick in Ashe's free hand.  The man had ripped the thin spindle of wood where Runt had hidden it, tucked into his rope belt.  Though the ruffian hadn't noticed it in the bright light of the afternoon sun, the glow, even through his pants, had become quite obvious when they had moved into the much dimmer environment of the cave.

"HE'S A WIZARD!"  Ashe nearly shouts as he holds the stick aloft, startling both Runt and his other compatriot.  "C'mon!  We need to get Norla!  And Leo if he's here!"

Though his compatriot's expression seems rather skeptical, the man doesn't have much of an opportunity to respond, as Ashe is already pushing Runt forward quickly again, the lighted stick casting an etherial glow upon the already inexplicably lighted red stone.

Runt is shoved roughly to the right, heading straight towards the turn in the tunnel.

"Where you going to put him?"  The second bandit finally asks as he finds his voice.

"...We'll throw him in reception."  Ashe responds after a moment's hesitation.  "Nobody's usually in there, and besides..."

As he's speaking, Ashe pushes forward to the door directly ahead of them, though Runt gets a quick look as the corridor turns to the left, noticing that the hallway continues for another several dozen feet as it begins to slope upwards.

"It's only got the one door so..."

As Ashe pushes the door open and shoves Runt neatly through, it immediately becomes apparent there is someone in the room.  Three someones actually.  Standing near the center of the small, thirty by twenty foot room, Runt first notices a man little more than five feet tall, though his waistline bulges out against his flowing white robes nearly as far to the front, and the man leans back slightly at the shoulders as if to offset his extra bulk.  Behind the man and to his left is a much taller, more muscular man of Megalan origin, this one with a chainmail shirt draped over his otherwise naked shoulders and a wide and wicked looking blade pressed against his hip.  Behind him and to the right, a Wazifi woman stands, though she wears a tight fitting leather shirt and pants that make quite evident the contours of her body.  Her face is stern and her hair is long, though is tied in a pony tail at the back of her head, overall a look that Runt has never seen from a Wazifi woman, even from Sajaa who seemed as much of a rule breaker as Runt could imagine from that culture.

Ashe stops for a moment, his grip loosening on Runt's arm.

"Mendel."  Ashe quickly pivots when he sees the trio.  "I didn't know you were here..."

OOC:  Pausing for the moment as it's my bedtime.  When I get a chance I'll continue the story tomorrow.  Feel free to respond, though I'll keep going even if you don't as I'm assuming that you are going to wait for a better opportunity to make your move.

Map of the area you've seen so far is below.  You entered where the map says K1, and the corridor is depicted going left and right.  You entered the door at the top of the map and are in the room beyond. I've cropped mainly to keep all the extra garbage out (stuff that exists in the module but not in this rendition from confusing the issue.  I will do my best though to give you full maps of the area as your photographic memory and absolute direction really deserve more than my poor attempts at description.


This message was last edited by the GM at 01:34, Fri 22 July 2022.

Runt gave serious thought to kicking some rocks or dirt down onto Ashe as the thug was climbing up, but decided to not.  It just wouldn't be a good idea and even though it would be very satisifying, he knew that Ashe would pay him back with interest that would embarrass a loan shark.

He winced as Ashe grabbed his arm and dragged him into the opening.  He took in everything he saw and was mystified by the dim reddish glow from the walls.

When Ashe snatched the light stick from where he had it secreted he felt the short length of rope holding his trousers up snap.  Grabbing desperately, he barely keep his trousers from falling, holding them up with his free hand.  "Hey, I ain"t no rent boy," he shouted, pulling away as much as he could. Wizard, what he be talking 'bout, he thought as he was shoved along down the passageway toward the door at the end.  He got his other hand on his waistband to help with his wardrobe mishap.  Inside the room, he took in the three people already there and was not encouraged by what he saw.

OOC - No problem, very interesting.  And don't worry too much about maps, I managed to figure out where he is, but any help is helpful.  Not sure what move if any he is going to make.  I'm almost thinking that he just might be taken along with the bandits when/if they abandon the complex now that it's known about to the authorities.  Unless a miracle occurs, I just can't see them letting him go as he has seen too much.  Oh well, an interesting adventure to come.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:49, Wed 20 July 2022.

Runt simply stands and watches, his small frame leading the other two men from the narrow opening to the room beyond.  The fat man narrows his eyes at Ashe's comments, taking several moments before he chooses to respond.

"I wouldn't be...  but I hear there's something amiss down below.  I don't much enjoy sitting around when there are things I could do, but it didn't seem prudent to head out too quick..."  The fat man eyes Runt briefly before glancing back up at Ashe.

"You the babysitter then?  Didn't know there were any kids brought over."

"No!"  Ashe spits reactively before biting his tone back, his next words softer again and more evenly measured.  "This is one of the mercenaries that rolled through earlier...  a wizard."  Ashe's tone rises slightly as he elongates the word, no doubt trying to impress this man Mendel, though the fat man's skeptical look down at Runt does not make it seem that the effort is successful.

"We was going to use reception to hold him while we went to get Norla, you know...  To check him out..."  Ashe waits for several moments before continuing and Runt manages to steal a glance back, noting a look of uncertainty on the ruffian's face.

"We haven't gone through to look at the extent of the situation yet, but the storage doesn't seem much bothered."  Ashe continues.  "But... we're pretty sure that they took out all the prisoners...  Elkins says they killed near about everybody in Niall's cave before he ran for it, and we saw 'em leading out a whole troupe when they left..."

Mendel's visage immediately sours and he spits on the floor with distaste before interrupting Ashe.  "You fucking morons!  Did you do anything?  Or did you just let them walk out with a dozen able bodied slaves?  That's gold that you let walk out!  What the fuck do you think I do!"  Mendel's nostrils flare as his eyes eyes bulge.  "Come on!"  He turns his head and shouts at the two behind him.  "Let's go see how bad the damage is."

Then three take their leave, Mendel shoving roughly past Ashe and his two companions walking silently and sternly behind him.  The room is silent for several moments after they leave before Ashe shakes off the moment and turns to Runt, his face souring back into a look of stony resolve.

"Listen...  You ain't got no shot at getting out of here, so don't even try it.  We'll be watching you... and Norla will be here in no time anyway to sort you out.  So no wizarding.  No fucking funny business."  Ashe narrows his eyes and thrusts forth his chin in an expression that reminds Runt vividly of Deng's attempts at intimidation as he thrusts forth the lighted stick a few inches from Runt's face.  The look only lasts a moment though before Ashe turns and walks towards the door.

"You watch him Hugh.  I'll be back in a moment with Norla."

The other man, his expression still unreadable, looks at Runt for a moment, though he seems uninterested in staying.  He adds quickly "Don't try nothing funny." Before turning quickly himself to follow Ashe out the door.

The solid wood catches back in the frame with an audible click!

Runt looks to his left and his right.  There is no light... or at least no light source that Runt can see, yet the red and black stone walls stand out clearly in his vision, his own hands clearly visible in front of his face.  There's not even any light leaking in from the seams of the door.  Instead, the room is illuminated by a ghostly half-light that seems to come from everywhere and nowhere.  Thankful at least to not be in darkness, Runt now finds himself now alone, though far more isolated than he had planned.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:44, Sun 24 July 2022.

Runt stood there for a moment, taking several deep breaths, trying to not break down into tears.  He had no idea why there was still light in the room but was glad there was.  Once he composed himself, he worked to fix the broken rope he used to hold up his trousers.  That done he explored the perimeter of the room carefully.  No way out that he could find.  With nothing else to do, he sat with his back in a corner, pulled his knees up to his chest and tried not to think of what was going to happen next.

OOC - Put Runt in the southwest corner.  That way people will have to come all the way into the room to find him.  Looks like he's going to be on the way to a slave auction soon.

Runt waits, his chest thrumming and his breaths coming shallow and fast, he finds himself struggling just to keep back the tears.  This was not what he had expected!  Would he now be sold into slavery?  He had seen the slaves in Craine, almost always tasked with the most grueling of labor... the loading and unloading of ships, street cleaning... but those had always been men.  What horrors would await him as a young boy?

Though it had seemed that Ashe had expected to return quickly, Runt finds the minutes building on in the otherworldly half-light of the cave.  He sits himself back in the corner, tucking his knees close to his chest as his eyes focus on the single door.

It seems like an hour or more before anything happens...

But whoever Runt expected to walk through the doorway, whether it was Ashe, or Hugh, or some other rogue, it is something quite different that eventually opens the door.

It's a woman, firstly... and she's very pretty.  Her hair is long and black, though it seems to glisten with a red sheen that's reflected from the burgundy stone in the walls and ceiling.  Her skin is quite pale, which sets off the rest of the color in her face in shocking contrast.  Her lips are rose-petal red, her eyes the blue of crystal clear mountain water...  The whole of her body is covered in bulky black leathers and she uses a staff as a sort of walking stick, though it is oddly shaped indeed, a pale white sort of wood that is uniform in the middle but bulks out at the ends in knobs, sort of like the fist at the end of his forearm.

As she steps in the door, the woman quirks her head to the side, giving Runt an appraising look before she begins to step closer.

"Dear child."  Her voice is a soft soprano, melodic like a lullaby.

She steps forward, not quite all the way to Runt's corner, but stops short some few yards, kneeling down on one knee so that her face is only just above Runt's eye level.  She sets the end knub of her staff on the stone with a hollow click that echoes through the room.

"Dear boy."  She says again, her eyes searching towards Runt though her lips curl up in a tentative smile.  "They've said you killed twelve men.  They say your a wizard."

The woman's lips curl upward even farther, the single breath of a suppressed laugh barely audible from her.

"But I wonder."  She quirks an eyebrow and tilts her head.  "Perhaps you do know something about that...  For instance, who cast that spell upon your stick?  And perhaps who it was that came to the caves, and why?"

The woman pauses, letting the questions hang for several moments before she continues on.

"My name is Norla.  I can help you.  But I need to know why you are here, and what you have been doing."

OOC:  While you are free to react to Norla in any way you see fit, you have a very strong inclination toward her.  Your natural reaction is to want to trust her.  In game terms, it seems that she has quite a lot of charisma, not to mention she's beautiful (though that probably affects you less than normal, as you are 7).

Runt managed to avoid crying, just barely.  The bit of water that leaked from his eyes didn't count, that was from dust in his eyes, or at least that's what he told himself.  He startled a bit when the door opened and certainly didn't expect who came walking in.  A woman, a beautiful woman, even better looking than the highest-class ladies in the best sporting houses in Craine.

As she talked to him and asked her questions, he felt a lot better and calmer than he had before.  She was a lot nicer and friendlier that Hugh and especially Ashe the Bully.  He was willing to answer her questions, at least the ones that she had asked thus far, but figured that he should be careful and not reveal too much.

"I be called Runt, Mistress Norla," he started, speaking as politely as he knew how.  "I done told Ashe and Hugh this two times," he continued, holding up his hand with thumb and index finger extended.  "I be here to get Sally the mule and the rest of the animals that Niall and his bunch stoled from us yesterday.
 And Master Rudyard's cart cause it got my stuff on it.  And I wants to get my friend Conal's body to take to Three Corner's and bury it proper and right.  And I wants to get his lyre to take back to Craine to give to his family."

He paused for a brief moment thinking and then continued.

"I was with Master Rudyard an his caravan when Niall and his gang attacked us yesterday.  I ran off an hid an they was too dumb to find me so after they took all the guys an stuff from the caravan, I follows them back here an then I went to Three Corners an found the others an told them what happen an they came an rescues everyone."

He paused again, a frown forming on his brow.

"But no one wanted to come an get the animals an stuff so I came back to get them but I got seen by Hugh and Ashe an I tell them but Ashe start yelling at me an grab me an calls me a assassin an wizard.  I ain't no assassin or wizard.  Iffin I was a wizard I would of turned em into frogs," he exclaimed.

OOC - He might be just seven, but he still knows beautiful when he sees it.
 Yeah, he's not going to get released.  ;-)  Oh well, at least they probably won't kill him out of hand.  I hope. 

"Yes."  Norla agrees with a knowing glance when Runt pauses for a breath.  Her voice is soft and unimposing, though Runt finds himself waiting nevertheless to hear what she has to say.  "I'm afraid Ashe can be quite a bad listener."

She does not continue but waits for Runt to finish all the while holding Runt's eyes with her own.

"You brave, brave boy."  She finally says as Runt finishes.  "You came back by yourself to rescue the animals and bury the dead?"  Norla's head quirks slightly to the side, her eyes narrowed slightly as she pauses for thought.

"I shall send someone to look after Sally and your things, although I'm afraid if the animals were taken yesterday it's more likely than not that they have already been taken away.  You see, this valley and these caves are no place to hold animals and there simply isn't enough grain to keep them here."

"Your things I think will be much easier to locate."  Norla continues, shifting herself down to a cross legged sit as she lays her staff across her lap.  "Apart from Conal's lyre, what else are you missing?"

Once Runt has answered, Norla nods, taking a moment to think before she continues on.

"What can you tell me of the others you are talking about Runt?   The ones who did the rescue with you?  I'm very interested in them.  It seems they were quite right to attack Niall and his men if they had been stealing and killing, but I wouldn't want them to think that we had anything to do with it."

Runt listed every single thing that was his on the cart and included the big knife that Ashe had found and tossed.  "He jus threw it down; dint even keep it.  That be dumb," he said with scorn in his voice.

He cocked his head to the side, trying to think how to describe the others in the group.  "Well, I don't know them much.  Jus met them yesterday in Three Corners.  They was nice to me, got me food an fix my arm that got hit when master Rudyard's caravan got attacked."  He held up his arm to show Norla.  "But there is Sir Magnus.  He be a Bullman.  An there be Princess Mitra, she be real nice.  I think she want to make me her fetch boy or something.  Then there be Mistress Terry, she was quiet.  An there be Master Gustav an Master Giles.  Maybe they be free swords.  Don't really know.  An then there be Master Rolf, he be the one who make the magic light stick and heal up my arm and then heal up me when the big man-eating monsters snuck up an almost kill me."

OOC - She is good at this.  Not really pushing on the interrogation, and everything she is asking is put in a very reasonable way so as to not trigger any suspicion from the kid.  He will have listed every single little item that was in his stash, I think I have it all still written down somewhere, including his money (either $103 or $108, I can't remember) and how he had marked the coins.  Very interesting.

Runt describes his possessions.  All of them.  The broken broomstick handle he used as a walking stick, his torn blanket, his seven lengths of chord, his spoon, mug, and bowl, going into detail about the broken handle of the spoon and the individual nicks and cracks on his utensils.

Norla begins to smile as Runt goes on, seemingly impressed by his description, though Runt is far from finished.

His clay marbles, exactly twenty one of them, a bronze ring that was smashed in the middle so you couldn't actually put it on a finger, a bronze thimble likewise crushed, four small shards of glass, red, blue, orange and yellow taken from pains of stained glass, a few fragments of a marble statue including the bent knuckle of a pinky finger, eight linen bags, and a skin for water.  But most importantly his flute.  His flute in its case.

Not to mention his knife that Ashe had thrown away like a buffoon.

And his coins...  86 farthings and 5 pennies marked and stuffed into one of the linen sacks that he had already mentioned.

By the time Runt is done, Norla's broad smile has nearly spread from ear to ear.

"Clever boy."  She says in her soft voice.  "That's quite a memory you have, that will make it very easy for us to find your things, I'm sure."

She sits back a moment, casting her eyes towards the ceiling as Runt begins to describe his comrades.

"Mitra?"  She asks when Runt finishes.  "That has the ring of a southern name...  Perhaps I know her, do you know where she is from?"

"You see, Runt..."  She starts again when Runt finishes.  "There's one thing I don't understand.  There are many caves here in this canyon, though I suppose some are harder to find than others.   How did you know where to go?  How did you know where to rescue your friends?"

OOC:  I've got all your items tracked, although I forgot to put in there how you had marked the coins (though I do seem to remember you mentioning it before) so no need to try and dig things up.  Based on your perfect memory, you obviously remember all of it too.

Runt thought for a moment, "I think Princess Mitra be from al-Wazif.  But nobody told me."  He thought some more on her other questions.  "I follow Niall's gang to the canyon after they got Master Rudyard's caravan and then walked to Three Corners.  Then I showed them where the canyon is.  But we not go to the gang's cave first.  Didn't know which it was.  It was the third one we went to.   He held up a thumb and two fingers.  "We goes to the one with 'scaped slaves.  Least I think they be 'scaped slaves.  Then we go to the one with the two giant man-eating monsters.  But it was kinda the same cave.  Then Hamish got Mistress Terri captured an Master Rolf figure he was a rat an they grabbed him an make him tell what happened and where Niall's cave was.
 Princess Mitra was gonna cut off his man parts to make him tell," he finished with a shudder at that thought.

OOC - Glad you had everything down, I could have recreated it all except for the money.  Yeah, he had marked the coins, not that it really matters.  I'm really enjoying this.
 You're really taking advantage of his naivete.  Very well done there!

"Of course."  Norla smiles as Runt mentions his suspicions of where Mitra is from.  "Though I suppose of course it is a rather big place.  Hard to know if she's a Mitra I've met before I suppose."

Runt continues on, telling more of the story of how they made their way to the caves.  Norla keeps her quiet up until the end, right to where Runt mentions that Sajaa was going to cut off Hamish's manhood.

"Was she?"  Norla asks, her eyes widening slightly.  "But you haven't told me of Hamish!"  She protests quietly before Runt can respond.  "Who is he and what happened to him?"

OOC:  I'm quite enjoying this too.  It's definitely a different spin from the norm on roleplaying.  There are definitely pros and cons to being a small child in an adventuring world.  The cons definitely make things quite dangerous for you if anyone gets aggressive, though the flip side is that you aren't really intimidating to anyone so people (you're lucky it's people and not monsters) overlooking the danger you pose is much more likely.

"I guess, I ain't never been there," he replied concerning the size of al-Wazif.  "I ain't never been out of Craine till last week when I got on Master Rudyard's caravan by accident."

He jumped a bit at Norla's question about Hamish.  "Sorry," he apologized, cringing back into the corner.  "Guess I figured you knows who he was.
 He was one of Niall's gang I think.  Guess Niall put him in Three Corners to hear bout stuff to rob.  Like some of the lightfingers gangs do in Craine," he stated matter of factly.  "They said they vote on letting Hamish go or killing him if he told them everything where the prisoners be an he told them everything I guess and then Hamish got dead anyway."  He looked up at Norla, hoping that his answers were sufficient.

"I gots a question," he said timidly.  "How come the walls got light in them?  Is it some magic stuff?"

OOC - Yeah, there is a lot of danger for him in regular adventuring.  Between the lower HP and no armor for DR, he is at a serious disadvantage in combat.  But, in the right environment, I think he could do well.  Just not sure what that is yet.  Still thinking that he's going to end up being hauled off to be sold.  Still, this part is very interesting.

Surprised by Norla's escalation, Runt huddles himself back in the corner and lowers his eyes to the floor.  He answers the question to the best of his ability, only peering up at the end to gauge Norla's reaction.

Though she is not looking directly at him, more so just staring into the space in front of her, Runt notices for the first time a hint of steel in Norla's eyes.  The cool blue pools of her irises now seem as if frozen ice.

"So much he deserved then."  She whispers.

But the look only lasts a moment.  Norla's glance returns to Runt and her eyes soften, her smile widening back and her face warming like the flame of a candle.

When Runt asks about the light, Norla is well back into her normal, kind self.

"You're quite right."  Norla smiles after glancing up and around at the ceiling and walls around her.  "It is magic, though not quite like the stick that you brought along with you."  Norla grips her staff with both hands again, pushing the end down into the floor as she rises up to a stand turning from Runt and walking the few steps to put her hand against the red and black streaked stone of the wall.

"You see, most mages use mana from their own body, or from their breath or spirit if you will, to change the environment...  to make a stick light up for example, or to light a campfire.  But there are other ways.  Some gifted mages have an ability not just to hurl their own mana, but to modify the spirit of the materials they are using, to mold the mana of other things around them.  Such is the case with the marble here.  Its own spirit has been shifted to give off this beautiful light... forever."

Norla smiles, looking back down on Runt.

"I can teach you all about it if you like."  She adds, letting her staff rest in the crook of her arm as she appraises Runt yet again.  "You see, Ashe was right about something.  Though you didn't cast a spell upon that stick, you are a mage... though I wonder if you new that?"  She quirks her head, her gaze probing all across Runt's face.

"Your spark of magic is small, barely even there, but it is unmistakable.  It may grow with time, though I can't say for sure for magic is a fickle thing...  But I believe you have helped me greatly Runt and I would like to repay the favor.  Would you like me to teach you something of magic?  Some of the things I have learned that might help you?"
This message was lightly edited by the GM at 18:22, Tue 26 July 2022.

Very glad that her anger wasn't directed at him, he relaxed a bit.  He was sure that if Hamish was there right now, his fate would not be pretty.

As she explained about the magic light from the walls, he became confused, and it showed on his face.  There were a bunch of words she said that he had no idea what they meant.  He figured that they must be wizard words like Rolf had used to make the magic light stick.  But the real surprise was her saying that he was a mage!  His jaw dropped at that.  Maybe that was why he could remember everything so well.  As she continued and offered to teach him, his mind raced, the thoughts all swirling and jumbled.  He finally closed his mouth, and focused on the most important thing, her offer.

"You can teach me to make it light up an make fires," he asked?  "That be good stuff to know."  He nodded his head in agreement, slowly at first but then faster and with enthusiasm.  "Yes, I like to learn magic!"

"Something like that."  Norla offers in response to Runt's question, her own face brightening to match Runt's enthusiasm.

"Good!"  She steps away from the wall, stepping towards Runt and offering him a hand.  "Then shall I give your first lesson now?  Here, take my hand and close your eyes...  I want you to empty your mind... think of nothing but what you can feel."

OOC:  Obviously, feel free to follow along with Norla here or not, though in either case please give me roll against Will.

Runt followed Norla's instructions, closing his eyes and taking her hand.  He tried his best to clear his mind of the excitement rushing through his mind.  I be a MAGE!  And Mistress Norla's gonna teach me! he thought.

OOC - 20:41, Today: Secret Roll: Runt rolled 11 using 3d6 with rolls of 6,2,3.  Will roll.  Just missed it. :-(

Runt takes Norla's hand and closes his eyes as instructed.  The excitement of the moment overtakes him and makes it difficult to clear his mind, though he tries as best as he is able.

"Good."  Norla says, her voice smooth and soft.  "Just relax, that's the easiest way for the magic to come to you."

And come the magic does, but not in any way that Runt had expected.  He had seen Rolf cast lights upon objects, and heal terrible wounds, and he had always imagined that something had been happening inside the mage's head to make those things happen, but it was hard to believe that it was something like this!

The best way to describe it perhaps was a fuzziness.  A fuzziness in his brain and his ears that made it difficult to think, difficult to hear.  His thoughts felt extra mushy, it was extremely difficult to focus...  but maybe she was helping him keep his mind clear!

Runt thinks to ask the question, though the intent seems to be lost somewhere along the way, the mushy thought discarded somewhere in his brain like so much refuse.  Instead, he simply sits where he is, in his corner, remaining quite silent.

He thinks to open his eyes, though again it seems, the thought is lost somewhere along the way.  His body remains stock still.  It's almost as if his thoughts now have become completely disconnected from his body's actions.

"Open your eyes."  Norla's voice seeps into his mind through the fuzziness, and though Runt knows she is still right next to him, for he can still feel his hand in hers, her voice seems like it's traveling through a rainstorm, barely audible through an ocean of noise.

And though Runt thinks to open his eyes, he finds that his body is reacting far faster than his thoughts, his eyelids shooting open even as his brain is trying to process what Norla is saying.

Though Runt finds that even with his eyes open, just seeing is far more difficult than it should be.  The fuzziness has enveloped the whole room like a fog, obscuring the red and black walls entirely.  Even Norla, who stand but a foot or two away appears as if shrouded in mist.  Only her hand, her soft fingers which are still locked around Runt's own, truly break through the haze such that he can see it clearly.

It occurs to Runt that this should be concerning but it's difficult to muster the emotion.  Instead, Runt feels rather pleasant... relaxed.  As if there's nothing in the world he'd rather do than whatever Norla asks.

"Good."  Norla says in her soft voice.  Runt can feel her (more than see) kneel down next to him, and he sees her face break through the fuzziness, her pale features setting a contrast against her bold smile.  "Now tell me Runt.  Where are your friends, where are they going, and do they plan to come back here to this canyon?"

OOC:  I have to say, excellent roleplaying of your character up to this point.  I award you a hero point for the spot on play of your character and quirks.

If it isn't clear, Norla has cast a charm spell upon you.  I imagine the next several posts will strain your ability to role play much more so than those up to this point, though I assure you all is not lost!  I'm not in the business of foregone conclusions and your fate have much to do with your decisions from this point as well as your dice rolls.

Here's how I plan on playing the charm spell:

Firstly, your perception of everything that is going on around you is vastly degraded.  On a scale from 0-10, with 0 being no ability what so ever and 10 being no degradation, your sight is about a 1, your hearing about a 5, and smell about an 8.  Touch and taste seem unaffected as you can tell.

Secondly, you may resist Norla's requests at any point even while the spell is active.  This will break the hold of the spell, which may or may not alert Norla. Note that it is going to be a contest of skills between your will and the margin the charm spell was made by, so please don't assume you make an action just because you have succeeded a single will roll.

Thirdly, if you want to do anything on your own that isn't specifically resisting the spell (like concentrate on seeing your surroundings through the fuzz) then you must make a normal will roll for each action.  I'll make the final call if something breaks into the realm of 2. above.

Finally, while it's mostly just for flavor, Runt would not have any idea what is going on.  While you are free to play your character's thoughts in any way you want, the overriding emotion here would likely be confusion.  If you play this part well I will reward you for it (because I think role playing challenges are fun!)  If it turns out to be too much, no worries, and I'll look for a different way to cut the mustard.

To get us started, please give me 3 will-4 rolls, the first labeled "talk," the second "spell," and the last one "name."  If you make any of them, I'll fast forward up until the point where you can choose to resist the spell.

OOC - the will-4 rolls first.  I did them as Secret Rolls so the others can't see what might be going on, thought it was appropriate.

13:39, Today: Secret Roll: Runt rolled 9 using 3d6 with rolls of 3,1,5.  name will-4.

13:39, Today: Secret Roll: Runt rolled 14 using 3d6 with rolls of 4,4,6.  spell will-4.

13:38, Today: Secret Roll: Runt rolled 14 using 3d6 with rolls of 3,6,5.  talk will-4.

Runt had a hard time clearing his mind, at least at first.  Whatever Norla was doing seemed to help though.  It seemed sort of like those occasional nights when a big fog came up off the river and filled Craine, it was hard to see and hear but this was even more.  It was like his mind was filled with fog also.  The only times he had felt like this was when he had been in a few of the really seedy taverns and some of the denizens had been smoking stuff that wasn't tobacco.

He was so relaxed, his fears had shrunk to insignificance, so when Norla asked her series of questions there was no reason for him to not answer truthfully.  He trusted her!  He wanted to please her!

"I don't know right where they be.  When I snuck come back an snuck away they was all on the road back to Three Corners.  I ain't got no idea ifin they be coming back.
 Don't think Master Rudyard an the rest of the captives gonna come back, but the others might be.  But they not ask me bout that stuff an nobody talk bout it when I was around.  Iffin I knowed they was gonna come back I probably would'av wait for them."

He smiled in the direction where he thought Norla was, or at least he thought he smiled.

OOC - WOW, you've really thrown a hard one at me here, but it's very interesting and I really will try my best to do a good job.  With his Quirk of "naive (mild gullibility)"
 the exact questions she asks will be important and how she asks them.  If she keeps up like she has been going it probably won't raise any suspicions.  Though maybe later after the Charm has worn off, he might start wondering.  Though he does know from what Maccus said that Mendel is the one who took the captives somewhere up north to sell them.  Plus, what Mendel said when Ashe took him into this room tells Runt that at least some of the people in this group are involved the slave trade with the captives.  This is going to be very interesting!  I did glance back and I'm pretty sure that discussion of going back to explore more of the Caves of Chaos was not in Runt's hearing.

On a slightly different subject, don't forget that Runt did tell Rolf and Gustav where Maccus said the animals were kept and where the body pit was.

Runt answered Norla's questions.  Or at least he felt like he did.  It was his voice for certain, though he couldn't really remember saying them, they just sort of tumbled out of his mouth without effort, which Runt supposed saved him the trouble of having to come up with the words himself.

But Norla didn't stop there.  She asked some of the same questions she already had over again, which seemed like a waste of time to Runt.  She asked what had happened as they went through the canyons, and exactly what had happened in Niall's cave.  Her voice piqued immediately after Runt's recalling of the two men that fled from the cave, each one that Runt had tripped and sent sprawling down to the bottom of the slope...  She asked about Magnus and about Rolf, what spells she had seen from Rolf and what else had he talked about with his magic.  She asked about Mitra too, about why Runt called her a princess, about where she was from, who she had talked about from home, and about how she practiced her religion.  Norla seemed far more interested in Mitra than she was in the others.  Runt answered all of Norla's questions in earnest, and eventually, the woman seemed satisfied with his answers.

"Hugh, are you still out there?"  Norla asks, her voice the one thing that seemed to break through the fog that was still encasing Runt's mind.  "Fetch Ashe, and a few others.  It sounds like Elkins is the only one left alive, but I want a group to go over and make sure.  The mercenaries from the village won't be back soon, but the longer we wait the more likely it is they'll show up.  Clean up and dispose of the dead and take whatever we can use...  And let Mendel know he needs to take whatever he can from storage now.  If those fools come back I'm not spending any manpower to protect it...  And send a message to Leo.  This changes nothing, but there's no doubt accelerates our plans and he needs to be prepared..."

Norla hesitates for a moment, to the point where Runt can hear the echoing of footsteps, but Norla adds at the last in a deathly quiet tone...  "And bring Elkins to me..."

"Come Runt."

And the two are walking.

Eight paces and a turn to the right, ten paces and a turn to the right, twenty paces and a half turn right...  without even meaning to, Runt count his way as he walks, creating a mental map in his head of his footsteps despite the fact that the fog obscures nearly everything.  Ten paces, half turn left, ten paces...  stop.

Norla leaves Runt's hand for several moments, though Runt can hear her footsteps echoing about as he stands there, unseeing.

"You wanted to see me miss Norla?"  The voice projects through the fuzziness, though Runt can tell the words are trembling... laced with fear.

"Yes..."  Norla's voice projects from somewhere near.  Though she still speaks in low tones, Runt cannot help but notice a hard edged hiss has replaced her soft and gentle tones from before.

A moment passes and Runt feels Norla's fingers interlaced again with his own.

"You see."  Norla begins, "It seems that there were not twenty men who stormed your stronghold but three."  The last word is spat like acid.  "Three men, a beast, a heathen and a boy."

"I wonder..."  Norla's soft voice begins to resonate louder and sharper, carrying with it all the sting of a whip.  "Did you flee so fast you did not have time to count them all?  Or perhaps you were so drugged on your hashish that you were seeing in double and triple?"

Norla's voice stops.  Runt waits for some sort of response, though none seems to come.

"Dolor!"  Norla shouts, and several things seem to happen all at once.

Norla grips Runt's hand ever tighter as Runt feels a slight pull, his arm extending slightly ahead.  A meaty smack! reverberates from a few steps ahead of Runt.  Runt's knees sag, his body heaving with a sudden effort despite the fact that he isn't moving at all!  He gulps in heavy breaths, the unexpected exertion having taken him by surprise.

And finally, a man's scream.  The kind that made Runt pull his blanket over his head when he was sleeping rough on the streets of Craine...

"Get up.  And get out!"  Norla shouts, as Runt can hear the scrabbling movements of a man his hands a feet to retire as quickly as he can.  "Find Hugh and take care of the bodies of your friends...  You had better work twice as hard as everyone else or else you'll find yourself the last one going in the pit!"

Runt hears the heaving breaths of Norla, the grip of their hands now slightly clammy with sweat.  A moment passes, the woman reverses her grip on Runt's hand and he can feel her kneeling down in front of him.

"Congratulations Runt."  The woman's gorgeous smile swims into view a foot or so from Runt's own, her pure blue eyes wide and piercing.  "You've just cast your fist spell."

She pauses, waiting for some sort of reaction, though her smile fades after a moment of thought.  "We really will have to do something about that name, won't we?  So demeaning!  Perhaps we should call you Daniel, would you like that?  Do you know the story of Daniel and the lion's den?  If not you should learn it child...  It's quite appropriate for your situation.  You must pray Daniel...  pray for your deliverance."

OOC:  Ok, a lot to work though here.  Sorry if I gave you the impression I needed you to answer all the questions, I was really just trying to make sure you didn't resist her there.  I didn't really feel the interrogation was that important in the specifics, just the generalities of if told her what you knew.  Don't worry that you spilled any beans in particular, I don't think there's any single fact that would break the story in one direction or the other.

Feel free to go back and use your passive resistance through the last post.  If you want to "see" more of where you are walking, go ahead and make a will roll and I'll add the results to a map that I'll post up later of your total experience.  Again, your photographic memory and absolute direction are going to help you immensely here.

I'm planning on fast forwarding quite a bit again after this, so if there is any clean up we need to do, please mention it in this post.

Again, Runt answered all of Norla's questions as best as he knew.  Even the questions that he had already answered.  The thought wandered through his mind that adults must be really forgetful.  This wasn't the first time today that people asked him to repeat himself.  Adults, he thought, rolling his eyes in exasperation, or at least he thought he rolled his eyes.

When she called Hugh in and gave him orders, some suspicion began to creep into his mind.  It almost seemed like she was in charge, even over Mendel who he had thought was the boss of this gang.  But that would mean that she was in charge of the bandits here.  But he dismissed that thought, though it remained niggling in a small way at the back of his mind, a small kernel.

He went along with her with no resistance, at least she wasn't dragging him like Ashe had.  He still kept up with where he was going, another one of those things that just happened and made him an unerring guide in Craine, even in the dark.  When they stopped and she began to speak at another person in a tone that became sharp and harsher as she continued, a bit of fear crept into his mind.  I wouldn't want her mad at me, he thought.

When whatever happened that caused Elkins (that's who he figured it was) to scream in anguish and pain, he suddenly felt exhausted, like he had run all out back and forth across Craine without stopping.

Norla's announcement that he had cast his first spell filled him with excitement, though he had no idea what he had done or how to do it again.  But that didn't really matter.  I made a spell!

Her changing his name to Daniel bothered him a little, but if it made her happy then he wouldn't argue.  "Princess Mitra said she was going to name me Zilun Saghir and said it was Little Shadow in her tongue," he volunteered.  It seemed appropriate for him to get that out there.  He did wonder if it was a woman thing to give people new names and if so, how many he might get.

OOC - No problem on answering all the questions.  It was fun to try and figure out what he knew/thought as opposed to player knowledge.  Some brain work for me, LOL.  His reasons to call Sajaa Princess Mitra were 1) her new but well-made armor, her very nice obviously expensive sword, and Gustav addressed her as Princess at one point.
 He missed the sarcasm there.  He was still unconscious when she confessed her true identity to everyone else.  Magnus is Sir Magnus because Sajaa addressed him that way at least twice and Lord Magnus twice also.  Also, Magnus has that very fancy and expensive helm (at least expensive to Runt).  And a huge scary looking mace, so big that Runt didn't think he could even lift it.  He would also probably mention the wolves that somehow kept showing up, but he had no clue how.  As for Rolf's spells he saw cast, the only ones I can remember when he was paying attention were Continual Light, a couple of Healings, and Flight.  There may have been others, but either things were a bit chaotic, or he just wasn't paying attention, or there wasn't any noticeable effect to him.

If I followed the directions you gave correctly, they went west up the wide sloping corridor, then north then northeast then north to the big room (58 on my map) and that was where Elkins got disciplined.  I'm guessing that Norla used Steal Energy on Runt to power whatever she did to Elkins.

And yes, a kernel of suspicion has been planted in Runt's mind, but I didn't think it was quite enough to allow him to resist the Charm.  But it is there now.

This is a lot of fun!  I'm really enjoying it.  Not exactly the turn I thought even this section was going to take.  I can't wait to see where it goes from here!

Oh, and just a thought, but I would not at all mind for Judoc to have access to this thread.
 I really respect his opinion and would like to hear his thoughts.  He had at one point wondered about seeing Runt's sheet, but I forgot to ask you if that was kosher.  I'm sure we can keep our conversations private from the others, though sometime down the road I would like them to be able to see this thread, but not any time soon.  I think they do need to be kept in the dark as to Runt's fate, for now.

Lots of fun!  Boy, this was a difficult post to write, but I enjoyed it!

OOC - Forgot to add this, but fast-forwarding is fine with me.  One thing though, Runt will not forget about burying Conal's body.  That could be a sticking point.  Same for his stuff.  I know that it is almost all practically worthless junk, but not to him.  Either/both of those could be triggers for him to resist the Charm.

"Yes."  Norla responds to Runt's comment, holding his gaze for just a few more moments.  "I don't suppose that's surprising, is it?  But we're done with the shadows Daniel.  If you are to become a true man, you must embrace the light and shun the darkness, seize the truth and cast off lies, gather among your peoples and banish those who are unworthy."

Norla stands, and again Runt finds himself enveloped in the hazy fog, though Norla's voice continues to speak to him even as her footsteps recede away.

"You have much to learn Daniel, though you have the spark of hope and truth that seems to grow from your core."

Unsure of what else to do, or where else to go, Runt stands where he is, aware of the passing of time but immune to the boredom that normally comes with it.  He hears the sounds of footsteps, both heavy and light.  Occasionally, he hears voices, sometimes hushed and at other times not.  Norla never seems to quiet herself, though answers in a brisk and authoritative tone.  Only Rarely does Runt understand what anyone is talking about.

"Tishpak."  Norla says after a time.  "Take the boy to the old cell and shut him in, we may have need of him yet, but for now he's served his purpose.  You shouldn't need worry about him, but keep an eye out all the same?"

A man says something, but Runt is more focused on Norla as again her beaming smile breaks through the fog in front of him and he feels the touch of her soft fingers brushing against his cheek.

"Daniel?"  She says, holding his eyes with her own.  "Tishpak is going to show you to your room.  You'll be safe there.  Just do as he says alright?"

Runt nods his assent, and before long his hand is clasped in one that is much larger, rough and calloused.  He finds himself walking back upon the same path he had traversed earlier, past the room where Ashe had taken him, and down a set of stairs, right then left then right again...  Runt's mind unconsciously creating a map of everywhere his feet have taken him.  Still the fog engrosses his senses, though his mind seems free to roam, disconnected in a sort of parallel existence from his body.

"This is it then."  A gruff voice tells Runt as the two stop, undoubtedly the man that Norla had called Tishpak.   "Just go to sleep, eh?"  And Runt does, without so much as a thought.

---

Runt awakes some time later, his body frigid and his stomach snarling with hunger.  He's parched to the point where he felt the back of his throat gripping together.  Runt has the distinct feeling that he has awoken early, perhaps before the sunrise, though from the small cave around him it's really impossible to tell.  Runt's body is sprawled out upon a straw mat, no impressive bed, yet a luxury that Runt has only experienced a time or two in his life.  Runt pushes himself up to hands and knees and finds himself pleasantly surprised to find that his arms and legs heed his thoughts without so much as a complaint.

The room is quite large to a small child, and though it is sparsely furnished, again it seems to hold amenities that Runt has never known.  Clearly this is a room for one, as there are no other beds nor people that lay around him.  There is even a small desk with a stool in the corner.  The stone here is a dull grey, quite distinct from the red and black that was prevalent when Runt had first entered the cave.  Unlike above, there is no otherworldly light here either.  Instead, Runt finds a wan glow that seems to be coming from atop the small desk.

Runt pushes himself to a stand and the surprises keep coming.  It's the small, lighted stick that Rolf had enchanted the day previous.

And what's more, it appears that all of his other things are sprawled out on the desk next to it.  The broomstick, the blanket, the linen bags all filled and bulky, his flute case...  Even the knife Ashe had thrown to the ground on the bank of the river.

In addition, there are three other items on the desk.  A clay pot, perhaps half a gallon in size and about half filled with a clear liquid, a small, folded sheet of paper, not to mention Conal's lyre.

OOC:  You aren't entirely sure what time it is, but your best guess is that it is quite early.  Below is a map of where you have seen/traveled.  Feel free to ask any questions if you have them.  You are down a few fatigue from lack of eating and you also feel a headache coming on from thirst.

Mistress Norla sounded a bit like a priest with a long-involved sermon.  She said a lot of things to him that he really didn’t understand.  He knew the words and even the meaning of most of them, but he really had no concept what they meant put together, but then he often didn’t understand what many of the priests were trying to say either.  He did go to church services moderately often, not really out of any true sense of piety, but more for the stories he could hear and to listen to the choirs.  Plus, it was usuall place he could get out of foul weather.  Of course, he had learned to choose carefully which churches he could safely go in.  The large ones and ones in the rich areas wouldn’t allow the likes of him on their grounds.  The smallest and poorest ones he could get in, but sometimes people there tried to take him to one of the Homes for Wayward Children as they were officially known, more like prisons he had heard from other kids who had escaped from them.  The mid-sized ones and ones for tradesmen had some of the same problems as the small, but generally he could come and go without being bothered.  And a fair amount of the time, parishioners at them would give him a small bit of coin.  Not that he kept any of those alms, he gave that straight to the mendicants who had that territory.  You had to respect territory!



Mistress Norla’s words broke through his wandering thoughts.  Being shut in a cell didn’t sound good.  In fact, it sounded more like he was a prisoner.  But then when she addressed him directly, calling it his room and saying it was safe he calmed down. Still, her words and the way she said it would be something he would remember and have to think over, later maybe.  He went with the man as directed, his mind idly mapping out the route.  He might still be in a mental fog, but at least he knew exactly where he was and where that was in relation to everywhere else he had seen and been in the canyon.  Tishpack’s order for him to go to sleep seemed like an excellent idea and he did so without another thought.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Runt woke and briefly wasn’t sure where he was.  He didn’t recognize the room and had to think back to the last thing he could remember and that was Tishpack telling him to go to sleep.  So, this must be that room, his room (or cell) Mistress Norla had said.  He looked around, seeing it for the first time.  The fog was gone from his mind, and that was a good thing.  He was certain that he had missed a lot while he was in the fog.  He supposed that it was something to do with Mistress Norla teaching him how to be a mage.  But at least that was gone now, though it had been replaced with his throat dry and parched and his belly rumbling from not being fed and he was cold.   He was sure that those three things together were what was making his head hurt and from the noises his belly was making he must have missed at least one meal if not more.  That meant that it was probably the next day.

He glanced around at the room, noting the stool and desk where the light was coming from.  He stood up from the straw pallet he had slept on and spotted the magic light stick Master Rolf had made and let him carry.  And it looked like all of his possessions were on the desk.  He hadn’t noticed them when he came into the room or the desk and stool either.  They might have been there, and it was the fog that kept him from noticing them, or more likely someone had brought everything in while he was sleeping. It bothered him more than a bit that he hadn’t awakened when someone brought his stuff in, but maybe he was so tired from his first spell that he slept through it.  Too bad whoever it had been hadn’t put his blanket over him.  At least he wouldn’t have been cold.  Of course, he wouldn’t have been as cold if he hadn’t left his cloak with Macchus.  It seemed like a good idea at the time.  He walked quickly over to the desk, glancing over everything while wrapping the blanket around his shoulders.  It looked like all his possessions and some other things, the most important of which was the clay pot with water!  He pulled his chipped cup out of one of the sacks, filled it and started drinking.  He repeated the process a couple of more times before stopping, the thought that he might need to save some popping into his mind suddenly.  His thirst quenched for the time being, he started going through everything to make sure it was all there.  He pulled his flute out and tested it to make sure it hadn’t been damaged and did the same with Connal’s lyre.  He stowed his knife back in his waistband and started a bit when the cold metal touched his skin.  He really should get a sheath to carry it in.  It was reassuring that the knife was there.  He was pretty sure that if he had been a prisoner, they wouldn’t have given it back to him.  So, he had probably misunderstood some of what Mistress Norla had said.  After ascertaining everything of his was there, he picked up the piece of paper and looked at it on both sides and then put it back on the desk.

All that done he went over to the door and tried it.

“Hey, anybody there,” he shouted.  “I be hungry!”

OOC - Lots of questions, just none that you would answer.  LOL.  Interesting.

Runt takes the most serious of his issues on at first, pouring the water from the large clay jar into his cup and downing it all in one.  The taste is beautiful, and Runt feels the water absorbed by the dry tissue his mouth even though he barely pauses to swallow it.  He refills the cup again, and again, downing as much as he deems prudent, the cling in his mouth and throat easing as the spittle returns under his tongue.

From there, Runt turns towards his belongings, opening up the linen bags one at a time to find his marbles, his ring and thimble, the bits of clay statue, and the worn bits of colored glass.  He frowns momentarily as he opens up the pouch which contains his coin...  or rather, someone else's coin for Runt has marked his own pennies and farthings, and none of the coins here have his mark on them.  He counts the total out, finding exactly what he had lost, $106 in total, though the mix of coin is also slightly off, with far more pennies and fewer farthings than he had originally had.

Runt next moves to test his flute, opening the case and blowing a few notes to make sure there has been no damage.  He finds to his satisfaction that the instrument is in perfect working order.

Next Runt picks up the lyre, an instrument which he has never really played before with the exception of the few times that Conal had let him pick at this one.  Runt had enough experience with other strings however, to know how the basics worked so he plucked a few chords, finding no damage but noting that the instrument was sadly out of tune after the two days of lack of use.

Finally, Runt picks up the folded paper, and notes that there are letters written on the front in ink.  He opens the folds and find that there is much more written on the inside, though unfortunately Runt has never had the opportunity to learn how to read.  He knew he could memorize it though, and ask the next time he saw Rolf, who Runt knew could read in even more than just one language.

Putting the note back down on the desk, Runt walks to the door, a sturdy oak fastened with iron bands and thick hinges, with only an iron handle nailed in as a fastening.  Thinking the thing open, Runt pulls on the handle to find the door only gives in the slightest, coming up against some stop as he pulls.

He calls out into the silence, but finds that his call receives no answer...

OOC:  The door doesn't have a traditional turn handle, but just an iron lip to pull on.  Something appears to be fixing the door closed, though you can't see any lock or locking mechanism from this side.

Runt waited a moment after calling out and receiving no response, then repeated his call even louder.

This time he waited longer for someone to open the door and then called out again, this time he rapped hard on the door with the pommel of his knife.  Maybe whoever is supposed to be watching the door was asleep or had gone to use a chamber pot.  Speaking of a chamber pot he looked around the room for one or even a hole in the floor to use.  He didn’t need it at the moment but knew that he would sooner or later.

Not seeing anything he figured that he could carefully transfer the water in the clay pot to his wine skin and then use the clay pot.  But he really hoped that he wouldn’t be here that long.  He went back to banging on the door and calling out for someone to come and let him out.  When he wanted to, he could get quite loud and right now he wanted to get loud.  He figured that sooner or later someone would show up to see what all the noise was, probably to yell at him to be quiet and settle down.  After several minutes of no response, he began to get worried.  What if they had left him here locked in the room?  He remembered in the orders that Mistress Norla had given others that they were leaving these caves soon.  Surely, she hadn’t forgotten him.  Or had she left him on purpose?  These thoughts caused him to continue his assault on the door and he became more and more frenzied in his efforts, only quitting when he had to stop to catch his breath and rest.

He went over to the desk and dipped his cup into the water to refresh his throat.  He looked down at the amount in the cup and carefully poured half of it back, paused and poured more back, leaving not even a mouthful in the cup and that he slowly sipped.

He set the cup back on the desk.  He needed to really think about what to do next and figure out a way to get that door open.  He did some of his best thinking while he was making music for himself so he picked up his flute, went over to the pallet, sat down and began to play, just simple easy tunes that he could do in his sleep.

While the music filled the room, he thought over his situation.  First, he was locked in here.  He figured that it was either barred or latched on the other side, probably barred since Mistress Norla called it cell and you don’t want strong prisoners to be able to break a latch.  Second, it really looked like no one was going to come and open the door.  He was sure that he had made enough noise for someone to hear him.  If he had made that much noise in Craine, the Duke himself would have sent his guard out to make him be quiet.  So, why wasn’t anyone going to come open the door?  Could be that Mistress Norla and all of her gang had left him here.  He bet that whatever was written on the piece of paper would tell him something important, but that wasn’t going to do him any good since he couldn’t read.  If the paper was from Mistress Norla for him to read, she had really made a mistake!  Heck, he knew a lot of adults who couldn’t read so why she would think that he could was really kind of dumb.  Well, when (if) he got out of here he would take the paper with him and get someone he trusted to read it to him.  But what if everyone hadn’t left?  What if this was a test?  That would make sense.  If he passed the test (getting out of here) then he was good enough for her to teach.  If he could open the door by magic that would be best, he was supposed to be learning to be a mage.  But getting out in any way would still be good enough.  At least it would show that he could think through a problem.

So, how could he use magic to open the door?  He remembered hearing some talk in certain quarters that there were specialists who used magic to get through locked doors and windows.  That meant that there were spells to do that, but he didn’t know any spells.

Then he remembered a story he had heard from down somewhere in al-Wazif or al-Haz about Ali Baba.  He had used some magic words to open a door.  It wouldn’t hurt to try them and if that didn’t work, he could try something else.  He stopped playing, set down the flute, and walked over to the door.  He stood before it, tried to clear his mind of nothing but the door opening, held out his hands palms out towards the door and said in a firm, loud voice the words from the story.

“OPEN SESAME!”


OOC – Yeah, I know, fat chance (quit laughing, it’s the best I could come up with).  I really don’t expect it to work.  Anyway, I’m stopping here, just in case.  I know I made a lot of assumptions above, so if there is anything that needs to be changed, let me know and I’ll fix it.  I just hope that if he has been abandoned, he gets himself out before Rolf and crew get there and let him out.  That would be horribly embarrassing, and I don’t think he would ever hear the end of it from Sajaa.  Not to mention what she would do to him.   Still interesting, not sure what you are up to here.  But I’m thoroughly enjoying it.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:41, Mon 08 Aug 2022.

It was an odd place.  More luxury than Runt ever had, though with none of the freedom he was accustomed to.  Thinking little of the former and already missing the latter, Runt spent a few minutes rapping the door with the butt of his knife while shouting, though he felt that as tired and hungry as he felt, he probably gave up earlier than he normally would have before he walked back to the clay jar and refilling his cup of water.

Taking stock, Runt looks over the room again, searching for a chamber pot or else a hole in the floor to serve as a means to relieve himself.  Though he had missed over it at first, he does eventually spy an adult-sized clay pot nestled in the shadows in the corner of the room.  He approaches slowly, peering within and noting the receptacle is empty, though it still emits faint, intermittent smells of human waste when Runt walks close enough.

Unsure of what else to do at the moment, Runt takes out his flute and plays a few soft melodies, as much to calm his mind as to help provoke his thoughts.

It was then, in the middle of his playing, that Runt remembered tales of a man who opened a secret passage in a cliff with two simple words!  Runt didn't even need to open up a cliff, he just needed to open a door!  And he had magic!  Norla had told him so and even helped him cast a spell!

Runt scrunches up his face in concentration, pushes his hands outward as if shoving the door open from afar and shouting at the top of his voice!

Still, the door remains resolutely closed.

OOC:  My fault for not describing it in the beginning but there would be a chamber pot in here, so you can add that to your list of resources as you see fit.  Roll vs. perception (Hearing).  If you are posting please only make it no more than about a minute of action.

OOC - 12:17, Today: Secret Roll: Runt rolled 8 using 3d6 with rolls of 2,5,1.  Hearing.  I went with the roll first. I certainly didn't think that Open Sesame would work, but it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Runt stared at the door and frowned.  Not open, though maybe it unbarred it.  He tried the handle again, just in case.

OOC - Not sure what he heard, if anything or where it was coming from so I'm holding here.

Runt tried the handle of the door, though despite his attempts at magic, the door remains firmly fixed in place.

With a frown, Runt steps back for a moment... though the expression only lasts for a moment.  For from the direction of the door he hears dull, even beats, like a thick mallet slapped upon stone.

Had his spell worked?  Did it just need more time?

Runt catches his breath as he hears the dull scrape of wood sliding across the backside of the door...

OOC:  Giving you a moment to take any preparations you want.  Stealth and DX (evade) rolls are appropriate if you want to try and bolt your way out of here.  Just note that based on your above posts, you only grabbed the knife, I'm assuming the rest of the stuff is still sitting on the desk.

Runt's jaw hit the floor at the sound of the bar moving on the other side of the door.  It worked, he thought, taking a couple of steps back so the door wouldn't hit him when it came swinging open.  He took the magic light stick from his rope belt and held it in front of him to be able to see better and waited.

OOC - Yeah, everything else would be on the desk except for the light stick which I figure he would have carried with him to be able to see more clearly.  Not sure what to expect now!

Runts steps back, bringing the lighted stick to his hand as he gapes as the portal ahead of him.

A meaty, wooden thunk reverberates from just beyond, before the door slowly opens inward with a creaaaaak!

But it wasn't Runt's magic, or not just his magic anyway.  For in the doorway was a bearded man in nightclothes, a strong and angry sort of fellow, that had a wicked looking scar running near the length down his bicep.  In his left arm he held an oil lantern, and though his right arm is still hidden by the door, his eyes, sitting atop the purpled pools of his cheekbones, shone a malice that could make up for lack of any weapon.

"Shut... The... Fuck... Up."  The man spits the words between grinding teeth as he stares at Runt, waiting for some sort of acknowledgement.

OOC:  The door is hinged at the side and about half open.  The man wears just a cloth undershirt and shorts, with sandals on his feet and has a lantern in his left hand, though you can't see his right.

Roll vs. IQ please.

OOC - 14:29, Today: Secret Roll: Runt rolled 13 using 3d6 with rolls of 3,4,6.  IQ roll.

Runt's eyes widened at the sight before him.  He shut his mouth and clamped his free hand over it while nodding his head in agreement.  Guess I made enough noise.

LOL, funny, looks like he disturbed someone's beauty sleep.  And they really needed it!

At Runt's near immediate gesture, the man nods his head stiffly, before walking backwards out of the door and closing it behind him.

Runt hears the heavy sound of wood knocked on stone, and the man's sluggish movements behind the door...

OOC:  Stopping just to see if you want to do anything immediate here.  If you don't feel free to move on to your next idea, or else let me know when it is good to fast forward.  We may be getting close to a point where I'm going to have to spend some real time aligning you and the other group.  We're not quite there I don't think, and I'm hoping it won't be long either way, though of course it depends on the decisions both you and they make in game.

Runt counted to five, slowly, and rushed to the door.  He pulled at it just a bit to test and see if the man had fastened the bar back in place.

OOC - He's not wanting to open it yet, just pulling a little.  If it is unbarred, then he will wait until he can no longer hear any sounds from the other side.  Then he'll fill the water skin, gather up all his stuff, and exit the room heading towards the entrance to the cavern complex.  And he will take the letter and stool with him.  All subject to change of course.  Fast forward as you see fit.

Unwilling to risk an altercation, Runt counts to five in his head before moving so much as a muscle.

One.

Two...

The door echoes with a hollow thud across it's length.

Three.

Four...

There is a scraping sound of wood on wood, and a settling catch as what Runt assumes is a wooden bar is nestled into place.

Five!

Runt rushes the door, his teeth clenched as he tugs just slightly at the handle, hoping against hope that it gives just a little...

But Runt knows even before the door catches that he has been locked back in...  A crossbar, no doubt, has been laid across the outside, fixing him where he is...

Runt's shoulders slumped in disappointment.  He could make a lot of noise again and probably get the crazy man to come back.  But that would probably be a bad idea.  So he started the only thing he could come up with - cutting through the door.  He took his knife and began what he figured would be a long process.

OOC - Like I said, subject to change.  Anyway, what he is going to do is start shaving at the edge of the door about where he thinks the bar should be.  Hopefully it won't take days to carve enough out of the edge to get his hand through and hopefully lift the bar up.

disappointed that the man, whoever he was, had remember to put the bar back in place, Runt goes to the last thing he can think of... boring a hole in the door with his knife.

It should be easy.  Runt reasons.  After all, he has a knife...  and he's seen all sorts of woodwork that people have done without much more of a tool than that.  All he needs is the time to do it, and as he figures, that's the one luxury he has plenty of.

At first, Runt has to admit, his plan starts poorly.  His first attempts are really more of stab and twist than anything else.  While he had thought it would be like peeling an orange, getting little curls of the heavy door at each try, Runt actually finds that this method presents him with several problems.  His knife only seems to be able to penetrate a very shallow bit of the wood, the twisting motion was much more strenuous on his wrist (and the knife!) than he had anticipated, and getting his blade back in the same hole with any sort of effect turned out to be quite a balancing act... not to mention it was louder than Runt had been hoping.

Frustrated by his lack of progress, Runt grits his teeth and sits down for a moment, thinking through a way he might be able to do things differently.  Eventually, he simply decides to treat the whole thing like a whittling project, scraping just the slightest bit at a time from a much larger area.

This tactic too seems to have its drawbacks, not the least of which is that it is time consuming.  But slowly, Runt creates a patch of naked wood where he has scraped down through the polished exterior.

Scrape.  Scrape.  Scrape.

Runt takes another break, stretching his wrist as he pours the last of the water in the jug into his cup and drains it.

Scrape.  Scrape.  Scape.

Sweat beads on Runt's forehead, and for a while he tries out the knife with his left hand, just using his right as a guide.

Scrape.  Scrape.  Scrape.

It's been hours.  Runt's forearm burns with a hot intensity that nearly matches his stubbornness, he has begun to feel a thin headache at the top of his forehead and his mouth beginning to dry with thirst. Not to mention that his stomach has been rumbling for hours.  But he's making progress!  He can feel the depth of the divot in the wood and the thin, flimsy bit left at the bottom of it.  He tests the area with the point of his knife, and to his joy, the blade cuts through a thin slit perhaps a half an inch wide!

Reverting back, Runt keeps prodding with the tip of his knife, twisting just enough to break up the fibers before trying to sever those that seem softest.  In the span of a few more minutes, Runt has produced a hole!  Something small, just barely big enough for him to stick a finger through, which he does in celebration, testing to see if he can feel the bar holding him in, though even when he swings his finger in all directions it doesn't seem close enough for him to touch.

Runt withdraws his digit, and is just about to start his project again with renewed vigor, when a voice from outside causes him to stop in his tracks.

"Oi!"  A voice from outside calls, and Runt waits for a moment in silence, hoping that he hasn't been discovered.

But Runt soon hears the grinding sound of wood on wood, Runt quickly hides his knife behind his back and his door opens to display Hugh, the quieter of the men who had captured Runt yesterday.

"Get your things then."  He says, looking at Runt with a confused look as if the boy had sprouted a second head.  "You're coming with me."

Runt had worked on the door for what had seemed forever, well at least hours.  And had made progress, slow at first, but more as he got further along and at last had a small hole all the way through.  Not enough to get the bar out of the way, but he figured that it wouldn't be too much longer.  Then he heard a voice on the other side and the door was opened.  He didn't expect it to be Hugh though.  About the only person he would have expected less would have been Ashe.  Still, Hugh had not been rough and had seemed somewhat nice, so he was not unhappy to see him.

When Hugh said "Get your things then.  You're coming with me." he didn't argue or even question the man, no matter that Hugh looked at him oddly.  He just quickly gathered up his things, something he had done many times before when told to move along by shopkeeper or the sticks back in Craine.  The only new things he had were the letter, easy enough to stash in one of his bags, and Conal's lyre and the stool he wanted.  Those he carried, one in each hand.  With everything gathered, he turned back to face Hugh.  "I ready.  Where we going, he croaked out, hoping that there might be water and food somewhere in the near future.

OOC - Well, interesting once again.   And absolutely not what I expected.  Just out of curiousity, how far was he through the door, how long had he been working, and how much longer would it have taken him?  I figure that I would mention the results over on the Gurps board.
 You've got me very confused and intrigued.  I've got no idea what you are up to here, but it should be fun!

Runt does not complain, nor even comment, but only asks Hugh where they are going, to which the man grunts his response.  "Norla's asked for you.  Shouldn't be long I imagine."

Runt gets his things, along with Conal's lyre and the small stool, pressing the lighted stick into his rope belt so that it still lights up the area around him.  Hugh can't help but suppress a chuckle at the boy toting out his own chair, though he doesn't say anything and only begins leading the way out of the small room.

Though Runt had suspected the several turns he had taken just before entering the room had been forks of some sort, he finds as he leaves his jail for the night that the grey stone cave simply wanders back and forth unlike the arrow straight hallways of the red and black caves above.  They do pass another corridor on the right, which seems to split off in various directions only a little ways down, though Hugh takes him back up the steps the same way he had walked the previous night after he had been spellcasting with Norla.

Interested at the surroundings, Runt pays attention, notes that as he climbs the steps upwards the grey caves give way to the eerily lighted red and black stone that seem shaped and smoothed, more like the walls of a castle than the inside of a rock.  Runt glances left towards the entrance of the caves and notes three men there now, looking watchfully outside as if they are standing guard.  Runt and Hugh pass the small room where Runt had met Mendel the previous day, and turn right at the same spot.  The corridor continues on to the left as well, and in the distance Runt spots a statue of some sort, though he doesn't get a good look before he is ushered on to follow Hugh.  They pass three doors to the right as the hallway continues on, right up to the spot where Norla had led him the previous evening.

"Ah!"  Norla's voice calls from across the room as Runt attempts to take in the whole of it.

It's massive.  Bigger than any room Runt has been in apart from the cathedral in Craine which Runt had stepped in once or twice.  The cave walls curve upwards towards the ceiling, meeting in an arch at the top that is easily five times as high as a full grown man.  The biggest feature of the room is a table which takes up much of the right half, easily thirty feet long with ten chairs on each side and a massive, throne like chair at the far end which is gilded and has a high, delicately embroidered back.  On the left side of the room, there are smaller and wider tables, though these are higher, too high to see what may be on them.

What Runt can see however, is a large tapestry at the back of the room which depicts a knight of some sort, wearing plated armor everywhere but his head, displaying his easy features and long, flowing hair. The man is seated upon a roan charger and spearing a lance into another man, this one is not mounted, has a long beard, and evil grimace, and has skin tones and features that look very similar to Sajaa...

"Daniel!"  Norla says again with a smile as she stands up from one of the chairs, the one directly next to the throne.  "So good to see you!  Perhaps you are hungry?  Come and sit!"

Hugh nudges Runt forward, getting behind him as the two approach the table.

"Found him trying to bore a hole in his door with the knife."  Hugh offers as the two approach.  "He were wiggling his finger through like a worm when I showed up."

"Did you?"  Norla asks, her face expressionless and her voice still calm as her gaze shifts between Hugh and Runt.  "And I see you have brought your own seat.  But there are plenty here.  Come and sit down.  Hugh, have Ishara bring a plate.  I've no doubt Daniel is hungry."

Runt followed Hugh out of the room to wherever Mistress Norla was at.  He was glad to know that he hadn’t been abandoned in the room, but he was not pleased at having been locked in.  As Hugh led him through the complex, he noted that it was the same path he had walked yesterday.  Though this time he took in all the details that he just hadn’t been able to notice, which was still a bit of a mystery as to why he had been in such a fog.  When they arrived at the throne room, and it must be a throne room since it was a big as it was and there was a throne at one end, he slowed, taking in all the details of such a space.  This would probably be the only time he would ever be allowed into such a place, even though he had been here yesterday but that didn’t really count as he couldn’t remember most of it.  The tapestry was the largest and richest he had ever seen.  He looked over it as he walked forward, wondering what story it was about.

Why didn’t I see all this before, he wondered.

His study of the tapestry was interrupted when Mistress Norla stood and greeted him, he hadn’t noticed her seated at the large table, there was so much else in the room.



Runt froze in his tracks, not sure where he should sit, but he nodded at the mention of food, his stomach had been rumbling since he had awakened hours before.  “Yes, Mistress Norla,” he said, his voice raspy from thirst.



At Hugh’s revelation of his attempt to get out of the room, he almost panicked, figuring that he was about to get a beating or worse.



When Mistress Norla didn’t order a punishment, he let out an audible sigh of relief, but still hesitated for a brief moment, not sure which chair he should use.  He finally chose the one opposite from her.  He carefully placed most of his possessions on the floor by the chair, pulled it out a bit from the table, climbed up in it and then tucked his feet up under his bottom so that more than his head could be seen over the tabletop.  He then waited for the food to be brought, or more questions which he figured were coming.

OOC – Didn’t expect this.  I really thought he had been abandoned in the cell.  This should be interesting, but at least he’s going to get fed (and get back some of that lost Fatigue), I hope.  ;-)  When the food is brought out, he will tie into it with gusto, but will bow his head and say a short, silent grace.  While eating, he will be constantly glancing up at Mistress Norla to watch her expression.

Oh, and in case you’re wondering, he does have a specific reason for taking the stool and it’s not just his well-earned habit for acquiring possibly sell-able possessions.

Runt feels perpetually surprised by his surroundings, but at the very least, Norla wasn't punishing him for the damage he did to the door.  Perhaps it was because she had already said they were leaving, but either way, Runt was thankful for the reprieve.

He set his stool down beside the table, laid out the majority of his things on top, and sat down with his knees underneath him so that his chest rose up above the thick wood.  Though he expects a barrage of questions, Norla simply smiles and waits for the few minutes it takes before another woman walks in with a plate and a large cup, which she sets down in front of Runt as she is bid by Norla.

"Thank you Ishara."  Norla says as Runt takes a moment to say a quick grace, which Norla seems to note with an appreciative nod.  After, Runt tucks in to his food with gusto, a plate of dried meats and fruit with a hard wafer-bread on the side.  Though the rations are dried, they are far better than what Runt is used to eating, salty and sweet in a combination that makes Runt's mouth salivate despite his thirst, and he drinks the water greedily from his cup so that he can stuff himself further.

"How are the preparations coming along?"  Norla asks Ishara, who has stayed in the room, standing behind Runt despite completing her task.  Runt steals a glance behind him, taking in the view of this new woman, who has long and dark hair tied back in a braid, pale features, and a lithe and wiry body.  Her body bristles with weapons.  A sword, not quite so large as a broadsword, hangs at her belt while several other hilts, all various sizes of knives by the look of them extend from her hip, thigh, and shoulder.

"Everything's moving as planned."  Ishara's voice is deeper than expected, raspy, though not unpleasant.  "Leo sent a rider this morning.  He's ready for us.  Most everything we need has been moved from the caves.  Everybody's been working most of the night but for a few hours sleep..."

Ishara snorts a laugh, interrupting herself.

"Everyone except for Elkins.  Jude found him hidden away in a corner, drugged out of his mind.  We've taken all his things and have him locked up where the treasury was so that he can sober up."

"Yes, I'd heard."  Norla responds curtly, the corner of her mouth drawing out into a skeptical glare.  "It doesn't seem that Niall had many standards when he hired his men did he?"

Norla sighs, shaking her head.

"Well, he can still be of use."  Norla continues, perking her head up with a wry smile.  "Perhaps he'll be just the bargaining chip we need.  And if not, I suppose it's no loss."  She pauses for a moment, then asks with a hint of trepidation, "... so we are still not ready?"

"No ma'am."  Ishara responds without hesitation or fanfare, her gruff voice plowing through the words as if they were simply a job to be done.  "There isn't much left to do, but it will still be a few hours at least, unless you give the word to cut and run."

"No."  Norla sighs.  "I've planned for this contingency, though I'd hoped to avoid it.  Keep working, and be ready for the call if our little annoyance comes our way.  You may go Ishara."

Norla leans back, her expression clouded in thought as Runt places the last of the bread in his mouth, soaking up the moisture on his tongue like a sponge.  Runt was stuffed...  he'd eaten past the point where he should have stopped, though the thought of the hunger pangs prodded him on along with the need to do something while the conversation was going on around him.

OOC:  No questions from Norla yet.  You've eaten a full meal, and though the rules state that you don't get any fatigue back until you have 3 meals in a day, I think that's bunk and I've added 1 FP back to your sheet.  You aren't fully back to normal though (or perhaps this is close to normal as you probably missed several meals back in Craine as well).

I figured you had a reason to bring the stool... I just thought it was a funny image... a seven year old toting (stealing) a stool out of his jail cell.  I can't imagine anyone seeing that without making a comment ;)
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:44, Thu 08 Sept 2022.

Runt cleaned every morsal off his plate, down to the crumbs.  He was glad that Mistress Norla didn't ask him any questions leaving him free to enjoy the much-needed meal with no interruptions.  The woman Ishara, who stood behind him, worried him a bit.  Was she guarding in case he tried to run or something?  But as Mistress Norla conversed with her he decided that Ishara was reporting on what seemed to be the groups preparations to leave the area.  Still, she looked like she would make a great guard.  She had so much sharp pointy steel on her that Runt wasn't sure he would be able to walk if he tried to carry it all.

He looked longingly at the now empty plate as he finished the last piece of bread.  While he was full, almost overfull, there were a couple of corners in his belly that he was sure he could fill or have a bit extra to tuck away for later.  At least his belly had quit making the loud rumbling sounds.

He looked up to Mistress Norla waiting patiently.  "Thank you, that was good.  I was real hungry."

OOC - Yeah, I figure that he was quite used to missing a meal or two often in Craine.
 In his mind he isn't stealing the stool.  He was told the room was his, so everything in it must be his also.  The rest of the stuff was just too big for him to manage.  Lot of potentially useful info said between Ishara and Norla.  But I've no idea if any of it will make it any further.  Interesting.

If Runt is expecting things to progress quickly from his breakfast, he finds himself mistaken, not to mention confused.  Norla barely looks at him, but smiles and nods when he thanks her for the breakfast.  Instead, she simply sits in her seat, her fingers tented in front of her chin, a look of intense concentration on her brow.

Unsure of exactly what to do, but confident he isn't supposed to leave Runt takes a few moments to look around the room.  The tables to his left (he notices now that he is kneeling up on a chair) appear to have papers sprawled out across them...  with some sort of large pictures spread out across the bottom.

He looks more at the tapestry as well...  The knight holds his attention, clearly it is the center of the work, for it uses the brightest colors, silvers and tan, blonde and blue.  He also sits the highest, mounted upon his steed, where everyone else stands only upon the earth, or fades into the background.  Runt had at first only noticed the one other man, the one with the beard and the scowl, though he notes now that the background is filled with smaller, dark skinned people sporting ugly looks... and one Runt notices... that seems to be depicted as a sort of half-man half devil...

Though the knight seems resplendent upon his steed, Runt is surprised that he is truly alone in the painting.  He appears just one man against a multitude.

There are other works of art here as well.  One against the back wall pictures Jesus on the cross, an image which Runt was familiar enough with from his time in the churches.  However, this one seems significantly gorier than any Runt had seen before.  Blood pours from the many wounds inflicted by the nails and the gash in the side.  Jesus's expression too seems off.  Most pictures like this that Runt had seen, he would describe as sublime, or perhaps at peace.  In this picture however, the man on the cross stares outward with a cold iron glare, his eyes locking with Runt's in an expression that seems to weigh his very soul.

"Ma'am."  The word surprises Runt, who jumps slightly in his seat, his knees pressing hard into the wood of the chair below.  Runt looks back to find Hugh in the entry way, fitted with leather armor and wearing a sword upon his hip.  "It's time.  They're headed this way."

"Thank you Hugh."  Norla responds, her hands coming down from her face as she looks across the table again at Runt.

"It's time for your second lesson Daniel."  Norla begins.  "Are you ready?  You must remove all thought from your mind again, and relax."

OOC:  You can probably as a player see where this is going.  Obviously again you can physically resist, though regardless of your actions please give me a roll vs. IQ so I can start moving things forward.  Same rules as last time.  Actively resisting requires a contest of skills against Norla's magic, passively taking in additional information requires a roll vs. IQ.  Otherwise, I get to control you up to any action I deem out of character for you - at which point I'll allow you to choose if you want to roll to resist.

Just realized that I forgot to address this:

Runt:

how far was he through the door, how long had he been working, and how much longer would it have taken him?  I figure that I would mention the results over on the Gurps board.

I looked for a couple of skills to roll against, carpentry made the most sense, but as you weren't building anything it didn't quite fit.  I ended up just making it a roll against Hobby: whittling - which I assessed was DX-4 default.  It was also easy (all you were trying to do was scrape away wood), so you got a +5 to the default.  Even with that, you failed a couple of rolls.  You ended up working on the door for 5 hours, and were just about ready to break through when Hugh came by.

Runt was a bit confused when Mistress Norla didn't ask any questions after he finished his meal.  She seemed in intense thought, so he didn't disturb her with any questions of his own, instead studying more of what he could see around the room and there was a lot more to see.  The tapestry had a lot more detail than he had noticed before and there was a Christ painting that was very different, much more gruesome than he had ever seen before.

He jumped a bit when Hugh came in and spoke to Mistress Norla.  He had been so intent on studying the objects in the room, he hadn't even heard Hugh enter.  He chided himself over this, he was usually much more aware of his surroundings and swore that he would pay more attention.



Runt did as Mistress said and tried to clear his mind.

OOC - No reason for him to resist.
14:05, Today: Runt rolled 15 using 3d6 with rolls of 6,4,5.  IQ.  Well, crap, blew that one badly.  But he will try to be more aware, he really didn't like the lack of awareness the day yesterday.  So, 14:08, Today: Runt rolled 12 using 3d6 ((2,5,5)).  Better but not good enough, I think.  This could really be not good for him.  We will just have to see where this goes.




Edit - hit the wrong the button
This message was last edited by the player at 19:11, Fri 09 Sept 2022.

Rund did as he was bid, he closed his eyes, and tried to clear his mind.  He felt Norla's soft hands cover his own on the table, and felt the wave of magic again...  Again his brain descended into fog, his actions became mushy, his senses dulled.  Again, Runt felt like his body was disconnected from his mind.

The good part about being himself though, at least from Runt's point of view, was that he had a really good memory for directions, and places... and well, just about everything.  So even though Runt couldn't see the room he was sitting in any more, Runt began to fill in the details with his memory, setting his surroundings as a sort of thought experiment until he could see properly again.

"Very good Daniel, you are getting better at this."  Runt can hear the smile in Norla's soft voice.  He wonders for a moment if she's talking about the magic, or about him picturing the room in his mind.

"Now come along Daniel, we have a very important job to do."

Norla's hands leave Runt's, and though he can't really see, and he doesn't really mean to do it, he finds himself standing up and walking towards the exit, following Norla though he isn't exactly sure how.

"Hugh, bring up Elkins will you?  Leave him restrained though, and don't bother getting his things, I don't need him trying to make things even more difficult."

Hugh responds, some softly murmured word that seems fuzzy in Runt's ears, though he can't imagine that it's anything apart from a 'yes ma'am'.

And then the two are walking.  Norla does not hold his hand this time, but walks ahead, Runt following despite the fact that he can barely see where he is going.  His mind keeps up however and traces his steps down the long hallway, past the doors, the the left and down the slope, then back right again past the room he had met Mendel and down the hallway...  down the hallway towards the cave exit going towards the canyon...

But then suddenly, Norla stops.  Runt finds himself, if his memory serves him, just a few steps from the cave leading out to the mouth of the canyon.  Somewhere at the periphery of Runt's hearing, there is a conversation... a buzz of conversation that seems little more than a toiling bee or a pesky fly.  Runt strains to hear, though the magic he has cast... or that Norla has helped him cast... seems to keep him from making out the words.

OOC:  Again, feel free to roll vs. Will to hear/see or a contest of skills against Norla's magic to act independently.

Runt cleared his mind, and felt the fuzziness come over him again.  At Mistress Norla's instruction he followed her.  He wasn't sure how he knew how, considering he really didn't see where she was leading.  Maybe his eyes did see and talked directly to his body without going through his brain.  At least they were going where he had been and seen, so at least in his mind he knew exactly where he was at the moment.  Mistress Norla stopped suddenly, just before the cave entrance leading out.  He could just barely hear talking, maybe a group talking back and forth though he couldn't make out what was being said.  Not like they were talking quietly, but like his ears were going past his brain also.  He tried hard to make out what was being said, more because he knew he should be able to hear it than anything else.

OOC - 21:19, Today: Secret Roll: Runt rolled 13 using 3d6 with rolls of 5,2,6.  Will roll.  Man, the dice roller just is not my friend lately, LOL.  This is going to be interesting. 

His vision clouded by fog, Runt follows up until the point where Norla stops.  Several moments pass before Runt can hear another voice, one that he doesn't recongize from only a few feet away.

"They say they are willing to talk ma'am."

"Good."  Norla responds.  "Make yourselves ready.  I don't think they would be foolish enough to attack from the ground, though it's best not to rule anything out."

Again, Runt is moving forward, though now, for the first time, Runt can feel warm sunshine streaming down upon his face.  She's taking him outside!

"Congratulations."  Norla's voice starts, though she pauses for several moments after the single word.

Runt can feel his own head tipping slightly up and to the side, his eyes wide open, though it is difficult to see anything.  To the best of his knowledge though, the only place he could be is standing just near the brink of the caves, sixty feet up over the edge of the canyon.

"I hear you have rid this canyon of its plague of bandits."  Norla continues, "They have been a menace to us for some time.  I thank you for your efforts, and I hope that you do not expect that the same danger you've faced in other parts of this canyon extends here."

Again, Norla pauses.

"It is Rolf, yes?  It is my hope that we need not resort to uninformed violence...  For you see, we mean you no harm."

OOC:  Feel free to make more will rolls.

Runt stood in place, near Mistress Norla, just a bit from the entrance, and waited.  He wasn't sure, but it felt like the fog was greater than it had been yesterday.  When she moved forward in response to a new voice Runt followed, staying near her.  He had no idea why he followed or stayed by her side, no one had told him to, and he hadn't seen or heard her move.  It just happened.

He was very happy to feel the sunshine and fresh air on his face.  It wasn't like he had been underground all that long, but it still felt good.  Maybe it was because he had been prevented, locked up even, that made it better than normal.

When Mistress Norla stopped, he did also, and quickly.  If his brain was right, he was within a step or so of the edge.  While he was almost surely safe here, after all his knowing exactly where he was had never failed him before, but he had never had to depend on it with his mind in such a state.  If he had to move in any direction but back the way he had just walked, he would need to be extremely careful and take very small steps, just in case!

Mistress Norla spoke, then paused.

Runt wondered idly who she was talking to.

Mistress Norla continued and then paused again.

Maybe she was pausing for dramatic effect like he heard some storytellers do.  Or maybe it was the other person talking back and he just couldn't hear them.



When she spoke the name Rolf, he wondered briefly if that was Master Rolf she was talking to, but decided if it was important, Mistress Norla would let him know.


OOC - 20:17, Today: Secret Roll: Runt rolled 12 using 3d6 with rolls of 3,4,5.  Will roll.  Man, I just can't catch a break here, LOL.  The charm must be extra strong today.
 (shaking my head).  Oh well, them's the breaks.

The first voice that Runt hears respond to Norla is not Rolf, but instead it is the throaty Arlaise accent of Gustav, who seems to be shouting up from the bottom of the canyon.

"So if you please, Milady, who are you, that you were here, but could not rid the canyon of these bandits? You seem powerful and have an obviously a strong guard."

Norla pauses for several moments before responding.

"Yes, we are a strong group I admit.  For we are travelers of a sorts, brought to the area by a threat that we believe even now barks at the door of Megalos...  Were you aware, I wonder, that Megalos was invaded, the fort here attacked but a few months ago?  My fighters and I seek to do our part for the security of this region."

"As for these bandits, I will say that we did not have much interaction with them.  We knew of their presence though not much of their activities...  we recently learned most of what we know when one of their number fled to our cave in an effort to escape you."

"If it would help to prove our sincerity, I am willing to hand him over."

There is another silence for some short time, though this time Runt does not hear what question is asked of Norla.

"Of course the boy is safe!"  Norla says her warm and soothing voice hardening with an undercurrent of ice.  "Daniel has joined us to be trained as my apprentice.  He is quite happy with his lot."

Norla waits for a moment before continuing, though Runt can almost feel the tension in the woman next to her.

"Though there is no need to insult me by addressing my men when I am seeking to speak to you.  Perhaps you have not dealt with a woman as an equal before, but I assure you I am quite capable of answering any questions you might have...  I assure you this is no trick."

Runt heard a voice, shouting from somewhere below the ledge he thought.



Hey, that be Master Gustav, he thought, raising one hand to give a small wave in the general direction the voice had come from even though he couldn't see much of anything.

There was a short pause before Mistress Norla answered back.  Maybe others down below had talked, but he wasn't paying attention, just enjoying the fresh air and the sun on his face.



Another pause that Runt guessed was more talk from below but it probably wasn't important to him.



That must be Elkins she's talkin' 'bout, he thought.  Good riddance, he can't even lie well.  Too bad she not throwing Ashe out too.

Runt's thoughts drifted off for a bit, remembering how dumb Ashe had acted.  As a result, he completely missed the next question or question from below, or even that someone down there had spoken.



Hey, that be me they be talking 'bout, he thought after a second, remembering that Mistress Norla had renamed him.  She sounds pissed off.  Someone down there must be making her mad.  Bet it be Princess Mitra.  Get two powerful women talkin' 'gainst each other and then the fur might start flying.

He remembered numerous times that he had seen women square off against each other, everything from regular citizens, to streetwalkers, to shopkeepers and madams.  The regular citizens usually just insulted each other and occasionally screamed and shouted, but it almost never went beyond that unless someone was seeing someone else's man and then there could be some blood flowing.  The street walkers almost always started with screaming and usually went straight to a fight, mostly over territory or clients.  Shopkeepers and madams were about the same, lots of sly insults and cold comments, not a lot of screaming or screeching, and rarely a fight.  But when there was a fight, someone usually ended up face down in the gutter and with the madams there was probably several other folks there with them.

Runt could feel the tension in Mistress Norla's voice as she responded to something else that he missed while his mind had drifted off.  Should be paying more attention.



Oh crap!  Someone done stepped in it bad, flashed in his mind.  Normally, at this point he would remove himself far enough away to watch safely from what could become ground zero of a big explosion real soon, but he stayed put, just hoping that if (when) things went south he wouldn't become collateral damage.

OOC -
20:27, Today: Secret Roll: Runt rolled 10 using 3d6 with rolls of 1,5,4.  Will roll.  Well, at least this one might have a chance of him paying closer attention.  I just threw out some random thoughts that I figured might drift into his mind.  Figured that it might help explain why he was missing most of the conversation.  I've got no idea who is pushing Norla's buttons, but Sajaa is highest on the list, followed by Rolf, and possibly with Lisa putting in a few choice comments.  Probably a combination.  Lot's of fun!  Looking forward to the next set of exchanges!

Runt thinks to lift his hand, giving a wave to Gustav, who he assumes is standing at the bottom of the cliff.  Though despite his intent, and despite trying to lift his hand and give any sort of a wave, Runt finds that the task simply cannot be accomplished by his body.

Though when Norla's voice finds a vein of ice, Runt's mind begins to run rampant, and the activity seems to uncloud his perception, at least to a degree.  The fog pulls back, exposing the cliff at his feet, Norla's whole form, and three other men behind him, two with crossbows trained towards the ground (one of them Ashe), and the last with a sword, though it is scabarded away.

"Daniel was a prophet."  The voice is Sajaa's, though Runt cannot yet see her beyond the fog which still clouds a few yards away.  "I choose to believe Mistress Norla means us no harm. If she is a friend of Ru---Daniel, she is a friend of mine.  Let us go up and speak with her."

At Sajaa's mention that Daniel is a prophet, Norla snaps her gaze slightly up and right, her brow furrowed in thought.

"So will you help me come up to you?"  Lisa calls in turn.

"Sorry if I misspoke."  Rolf adds with haste.  "I'm no statesmen and still have much to learn in this area.  I mean no disrespect."  He pauses for a moment, though he adds a moment later, "Please send down Daniel if you may Norla.  We'd like to catch up with him."

But before Norla can respond, Lisa calls up again as well, adding her voice to the fray.

"Right, you've got an easy way up and down, yes, Lady Nora? Well, you may have noticed, I'm a woman but I wouldn't claim to be your equal. I'm just a woman. Having said that, you've said this is no trick. Well, if there is no trick, and pardon me, please, for being suspicious, all overly trusting adventuers that I've encountered seem to meet unpleasant ends.. Pardon again my digression. Simply then, please will you send Daniel, the fellow previously know as Runt, down to talk with us? It's almost certainly the fastest way to cut through all this, assuming that on wishes to, of course."

Norla pauses for several seconds, her mind clearly at work.

"We have a rope is all..."  Norla decides to respond to Lisa's query about an easy way up first.  "Serviceable, though I will admit that most of us find little reason to go down to the canyon floor so it does not have much use."

"Of course, you must turn your own logic back upon yourself Lisa.  What reason do I have to trust?  For while I have offered you the last of these bandits as proof of my sincerity, you have killed everything you have come across here and Rolf seeks to undermine me in front of my men."

"I shall be honest."  Norla says, glancing down towards the canyon floor and through the fog.  "I wish for you leave.  I fear that you are bringing violence here which serves no one."

She looks down at Runt.  "I do not wish for you to go down to them Daniel, for you have told me how they ignored you, how they refused to look for Sally or Conal when it was clearly so important to you...  though of course the choice is yours.  Tell them what you wish."

OOC:  I hadn't meant for you to roll against will there, but I would have given you an opportunity in this post anyway, so I'll just use that one here.  Obviously, you perception has expanded out, though is not quite normal yet.

Norla has told you that she wishes for you not to go down to the others.  Roll vs. Will-5.  If you succeed, you can do as you wish.  If you fail, you must insist you want to stay up in the caves with Norla.

The fog around Runt's mind cleared some, he could finally see what was around him.  Mistress Norla of course, he had known she was there, and three of her men, two he didn't recognize and Ashe.  Maybe there would be a bit of a breeze and Ashe would get blown off the ledge.  He could also hear both sides of the exchange now and listened with interest even though he couldn't see that far away.

Princess Mitra and Lisa wanted to come up to talk with Mistress Norla, Master Rolf wanted him to come down to catch up with them.  And Lisa wanted an easy way up, like climbing up with the rope to help wouldn't be a piece of cake.  Heck, he could do it without the rope!  Then it seemed Lisa changed her mind and wanted him to come down there.

Mistress Norla calmly explained to them that the rope was what they used to get up and down and asked them really nicely to leave.  Made sense to him!  Then she asked him if he wanted to go down to the others.  Hardly anyone ever asked him what he wanted to do.  They just told him.

His brow furrowed with thought while he considered his two options.  If it had been just Master Rolf or Master Gustav, he might would have considered going down.  But he wasn't sure he wanted Princess Mitra or Lisa getting their hands on him.  No telling what they would do.
 It was a moment before he stepped to the very edge and spoke up, projecting his voice to those below.

"I thinks that I wants to stay here with Mistress Norla.  She gonna be teaching me 'bout magic an how to be a mage!"  His voice was a bit excited at that last part.  "She got me all my stuff back that Niall and his gang stole an got me Conal's lyre so I can takes it back to his family.  An I is gonna get to bury Conal proper like.  An she gots me my own room an it's got a pallet!"

His piece said, he waited for any replies.

OOC - sorry about the roll earlier, thanks for using it here though.  It was simply supposed to be another IQ roll.

23:50, Today: Secret Roll: Runt rolled 6 using 3d6 with rolls of 1,3,2.  Will -5.  Finally, a good roll, just not good enough.  Not sure what choice he would have made if he had succeeded.  Still glad I can now hear both sides of the exchange, makes things a lot easier (for me at least - LOL).  Fun, fun, fun.

Runt finds himself wanting to please Norla... that he should follow what she wants, what she has said she prefers...  Though in the depths of his mind, he can't help but ask "what if I don't?"

The question alone beats back the fuzz engulfing Runt's mind and the fog seems to clear, allowing him to see the base of the canyon, where Rolf, Lisa, Terri, Sajaa, and Gustav all huddle, their weapons lowered and their faces etched in looks of concern.

Still, Runt answers in the way that he expects Norla prefers.  Runt waits for a reply to his words, and finds them forthcoming from Lisa.

""So, Lady Norla, I do whole heartedly believe you when you say you wish us to leave and that in general you're not telling us untruths. Now if I had placed an enchantment on Daniel-Runt then the wording you chose, expressing your wishes prior to him making his own decision, well, that is pretty much the wording I would use. Now, I'm not sure how well you'll take this, but Runt was our friend and that work both ways. It means that while there's a very distinct possibility that he has been enspelled, effectively arcane kidnapping, and we, certainly I, can't just abandon him that way. I'm sure, Lady Norla, you can see where this is going. Either you'll show your hand and have us attacked, or else we'll end up following you, all unless we can have an uninfluenced conversation with Runt down here. I'm guessing you can tell if I'm telling the truth or not. Well, I'm also telling you that this is the whole of the truth as I know it. And also that if there is actually some huge threat to the realm then we're actually just the folks to help defend the realm. Now, Lady Norla, assuming the things you've cited about the realm and so forth are true and not self-serving hyperbole, you have a decision to make. And, by the way, Daniel-Runt can vouch for how effective this little group down here can be."

Norla's response is short and to the point.

"I tell you my concerns of your violent nature and you respond with veiled threats?"  Norla asks, her smile thinning.  "Do you have ears to listen upon your own words?  Daniel has heard your offer and has made his decision, and yet you insist that you know best?  I will admit that I am not surprised by it."

Down below, without saying much of anything, Sajaa begins to climb the face of the cliff up to where Runt stands.

Runt hears the rustle of movement behind him, and Ashe takes a step forward, his crossbow coming up to bear, though Norla holds up a hand to stop him in his tracks.

"Throw her the rope."  Norla says after a moment.  Begrudgingly, Ashe continues forward and lifts up the coil with a single hand, tossing it down over the side.  It smacks the cliff face as it tumbles down, straightening by the force of its own weight and settling just a few feet away from where Sajaa hangs.

It is a few minutes, but eventually Sajaa pulls herself over the edge.  Though she stands exposed at the edge, sixty feet above the ground, none of the soldiers attempt to take advantage of her vulnerability.  Instead, the three men have pulled back, all the way to the entryway of the cave.

Sajaa takes the moment while she is catching her breath to take in as much as she can.

Norla is the first one to break the silence, her voice low and soothing, though her eyes are narrowed suspiciously.

"Be very careful Princess Mitra."

OOC:  Really nice will roll there, It would definitely have been interesting if you managed to snake that one in there especially with the margin of success of the spell.  Depending on how things go here, you'll also have more chances.

Runt said his piece and waited, though he did glance over to Mistress Norla to see if she approved.  He hoped that what he had said would be enough, and that the group down below would accept it and leave but he really didn’t expect that to be all.  He figured that there would be some back and forth for them to finally decide that he really did want to stay with Mistress Norla.  He thought that it would probably be Master Rolf or Princess Mitra who would respond, but instead it was Lisa.  As he listened, he became irritated and that grew to anger.  Not only was she using words that he didn’t know so that he couldn’t understand some of what she was saying, she wasn’t even talking to him!  She was talking to Mistress Norla, about him, like he wasn’t even there!  It was like she had completely ignored everything that he had said.  He was used to adults not asking his opinion most of the time, but when it was asked, they should listen.  He just wanted to shout down for them to go away and leave him alone, and he started to but stifled that thought.  Not only was it rude and would it probably make things worse, but everyone down there had been nice to him, and he didn’t really want to hurt their feelings.  Plus, it just might start a fight and he certainly didn’t want that.  People would get hurt or worse.  So, he just stood there quietly while Mistress Norla responded.

Then, without a word, Princess Mitra began to climb up the cliff and Ashe stepped forward, aiming his crossbow down.  Luckily Mistress Norla motioned the man to stop and then told him to throw the rope down.

While waiting for the princess to make it up the rope he looked over to Mistress Norla.
“I don’t want to go, but I thinks that I is gonna haf to go with them,” he said quietly.  “Dat’s the only way I thinks that they will leave and nobody’s gets hurt.  Don’t want no fightin’ and don’t wants nobody’s getting hurt or dead.  I gets back to Craine an you can come an get me there.”

Princess Mitra finally made it up and paused to catch her breath.  Runt made himself move to stand between the two women, his back to Mistress Norla, closer to her, and facing the princess.  Maybe his being in between the two just might make them not come to blows.  At least he hoped it would.

OOC – Interesting as usual.  I should have expected something like this, but thought there might be a chance they would note what a really poor tactical situation they were in.  I am curious as to what happens next.  And yes, Runt is more than a bit angry with the party, well some of them.  More fun to come!

Below, Runt hears the scuffle of feet on stone, no doubt another of the group climbing up, but for the moment, his attention is fully focused on the two women standing on either side of him.

When Sajaa asks of whom she should be careful, Norla simply her thin lipped smile.

"My men are not accustomed to heathens and enemies roaming among us."  Norla says in low tones.  She holds her staff out slightly to the side, offering the sight of her open palms, perhaps as a gesture of amity.

"It seems strange, Mitra.  It is rare, is it not, for your women to be trained in the sword?  I wonder where you learned it?  Perhaps you too were part of the attack on Megalos?  I do not seek a fight Mitra, though I warn you to make clear your intentions, lest my men be forced to judge your intentions for themselves."

Sajaa's glance strays across Norla and the men behind, her easy countenance falling to one of sharp concern.

Stepping forward, Runt offers a solution... going with the group to avoid a fight, though Norla doesn't respond immediately, instead narrowing her eyes and looking down at the boy.

"Zut Alors!"  Gustav's shout comes from down below, with much commotion to follow.  Lisa also shouts and the thick rope hanging over the edge jiggles with tension.

“My intentions – our intentions – Mistress," Sajaa responds carefully.  "Are to rid this region of outlaws. If you are enemies of the bandits who haunt these caves – then you are friends of ours. But if you are in league with them, you are my enemy and we are duty-bound to the people of Three Corners to drive you away – or wipe you out.”

She then turns to Runt and places her left hand on his shoulder.  “Listen to me, Little One, and please speak truthfully for this is life or death important.  Am I safe to trust Mistress Norla and her men? Answer me!”

OOC:  No combat yet.  Ball's in your court.

Runt could hear another person from below start to climb up and it worried him.  No matter who it was he knew that Mistress Norla would not be happy if someone else poked their head over the rim.  As the women talked Mistress Norla seemed to be trying to tell the Princess that she didn’t want a fight.  But she seemed to also be saying that the group being here was making the rest of the gang nervous.  At least that is what he thought she was saying.

Runt took a step towards Princess Mitra and made his offer to go with the group if they would leave.  He had said this to Mistress Norla while they were waiting for the Princess to climb up and he could tell that the Mistress wasn’t happy with the idea, even though the boy said that she could get him in Craine.  He could tell that the Mistress was not pleased with him making the offer again directly to the Princess, especially without her approval, but he really didn’t want to see a fight start.  Even worse, it seemed that the Princess was ignoring what he said, just like Lisa had earlier.

He heard Master Gustav shout something from below.  It sounded like he was cussing.  Runt might not understand the language, but cussing had a certain tone no matter what.  He would need to remember that phrase and ask someone later what it meant.  You could always use more colorful phrases.  There was much commotion from below and Lisa was also shouting.  Definitely more people coming up, not good.

He refocused on the exchange between the Princess and Mistress Norla.  The Princess stated her (their?) intentions and it came across to him as a threat.  His hope that there would be no blood spilled was fading and it really seemed like it was the Princess and the others who were pushing this.

She finally turned to him and put her hand on his shoulder, addressing him directly.

“Listen to me, Little One, and please speak truthfully for this is life or death important.  Am I safe to trust Mistress Norla and her men? Answer me!”

He shrugged her hand off, stepping back, some confusion on his face.  Why she asking me ‘bout trusting, he thought.  They don’t trust me when I say I want to stay with Mistress Norla.  He gathered his thought, and after a moment spoke.

“I trusts em lessen I wouldn’ have said I wants to stay here.  But why is you asking me?  You not be trustin’ me when I says I wants to stay with Mistress Norla.  I jus’ say that I go with you if you leave.  Even iffin I really want to stay here.  But I’ll go anyway cause I don’t want anybody get hurt.  Ain’t that good ‘nough?"  His speech had started calm and steady, but became louder and heated as it continued, ending almost in sobs, with him having to visibly hold back tears.

OOC – well, I did get it through today, but not by much.  I’ll be curious what the party does, but I’m currently betting on them starting a fight anyway.  If a fight starts out, he’ll act as stated in the PM.  Absent any contradictory orders from Norla and those will need to be judged as they come, if they come.  Should be interesting!

Norla looks back and fort between Runt and Sajaa, her eyes narrowed and her face chiseled into an expression of stoic contemplation.

"Very well."  Norla says finally, lifting her chin up towards Runt.  "Though it is against my better judgement, there's no doubt you know them better than I.  Go with my blessing, on one condition."  She turns her gaze towards Sajaa, then down to the group below.  "All of you leave this canyon.  Your efforts to this point have been for the good, though I assure you there is nothing to gain from spreading your violence any further here..."

She lifts her eyes back up to Sajaa, setting her staff tip upon the ground and gripping it with both hands as she leans forward into her subtle smile.

"Do we have an agreement?"

"A moment!" Sajaa says, lifting a finger, anger flaring in her eyes.

She turns to Runt.

"Runt." Sajaa says gently, a thin smile on her lips.  "I still do not understand you. Do you want to stay here with Mistress Norla more than you want to come with Rolf, Gustav, Lisa, Terri and I? If that is your wish, Little One, we will not force you to come.  We just do not want to leave you here if it is not safe for you."

Sajaa squats down so she is face to face with the boy.  Gently she brushes a strand of Runt's unkempt hair from his eyes, smiles again, and says: "What say you, Child?"

Runt was both gladdened and saddened by what Mistress Norla said.  Glad because she had listened to what he had said and trusted his judgement.  Sad because that meant that he would be leaving her.  He was sure that she understood how much he didn't want to leave and more so how much he didn't want anyone to get hurt.  He knew without a doubt that she would come and find him in Craine and that made him very glad.  Her one condition to the others was very reasonable and the same as what he had said, but with more authority behind it.  All that was left was for Princess Mitra to agree, and everything would be fine.



He flinched back a bit and looked at her closely, carefully weighing what she had said and how she said it.  He could often judge what a person was going to do based on how they talked and acted but it wasn't always reliable.  This time though, he was pretty sure he was right, and she was being sincere.

He thought hard on what he would say.  It would need to be right.  Things could still go so very wrong.

"Yeah, I really do wanna stay with Mistress Norla.  You guys were nice to me.
 Real nice.  But Mistress Norla be real nice to me.  She be teaching me how to do magic like Master Rolf.  An she gots all my stuff back.  An now I gots Connal's lyre to take back to his family.  She did that for me.  An I gonna get to bury him proper."  He paused to catch his breath and gather his thoughts.  "I is sure dat I is safe with Mistress Norla.  She not gonna let no man eatin' monster get me," he said with a pointed look.  "So I'd like to stay with her.  But I has to go with you so you will leave then I will."  He put his hands on his hips and looked at the Princess squarely in the eyes.  "So do I gets to stay and you leave or is I gonna haf to go with you so you leave?"

OOC - Interesting.  Not sure where things are going.  Having fun!

20:53, Today: Secret Roll: Runt rolled 10 using 3d6 with rolls of 4,5,1.  Body Language.
 Just might have read Sajaa right.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:43, Wed 28 Sept 2022.

Sajaa nods and smiles in response to Runt.

She reaches for Runt and takes him in her arms and draws him into a long, hard embrace.

"Then, if you wish to stay here, Little One, I will not stand in your way." She says in a tight voice.

"If Mistress Norla takes good care of you and is going to teach you her Arts and you feel safe with her, then stay, Child. Stay. Neither I, nor any of the others are your Keeper. If you were just any child, we might have protested your decision. But you are not just any child. You are a remarkable little boy ... Daniel? Is that the name you wish to keep? You are a resourceful, brave, cunning and talented boy with abilities that exceed your youth. So, stay and be well."

She brushes away a tear and stands and turns to Norla.

"Take care of him, Mistress. And know I will check on him from time to time. But now I ask ... why do you wish to drive us so swiftly from these Caves if you know we are the enemy of the Bandits who prowl here?  If you claim to be a force of Good in this region, and the welfare of Three Corners is as important to you as it is to us, then why do you wish to be rid of us?"

"Of course."  Norla responds with a smile when Sajaa insists that she take care of the boy.

However, when Sajaa asks why they are so keen for the adventurers to leave, the woman waits for several moments, her eyes fixed and narrowed on Sajaa in thought.

"I shall admit to you."  Norla finally responds.  "That we had not intended to stay long here in these caves.  It was merely a midway point... a transitory solution.  Even now we are in the midst of relocating.  Your presence here..."  She trails off for a moment, her lips pursing in search of a word.

"...Is a distraction.  I do not trust you, nor do I believe that you trust me, as was made clear by Lisa who accuses me of subversion."  She turns her head down towards the other woman, her mouth wrapped in the thinnest of expressions.

She turns her face back towards Sajaa.  "My reasons are simple.  If you leave, we can continue, and then be on our way.  If you stay, I am forced to split my resources, leaving valuable personnel to watching for attack."

OOC:  Thanks for the patience!

When the Princess moved to embrace him, Runt started to move back, but decided to allow her.  He was pretty sure that she wasn’t going to grab him and try to get away.  It seemed like she was going to let him stay with Mistress Norla so this goodbye gesture was probably inevitable, and he should just get it over with.  He hoped that the hug was all she had in mind and didn’t plan on smothering him with kisses.  He didn’t know why most women were so emotional and demonstrative at farewells, it was a mystery.  His reading of Princess Mitra seemed to be confirmed when she spoke to him.

“Mistress Norla is naming me after Daniel from the Bible so that is what I will go by now,” he answered.

When the Princess released him (finally!) and spoke to the Mistress he was not bothered too much with her statement that she would be checking on him on occasion, though he didn’t know why.  It wasn’t like she had known him more than a couple of days.  He would be perfectly safe with the Mistress and had told the Princess that.  He shrugged mentally; women were a mystery!

He began to get a bit exasperated with the Princess when she asked why Mistress Norla wanted the group from Three Corners to leave the area.  Don’t matter why, just quit asking questions and go, he thought.  Mistress Norla’s reply sounded reasonable to him and he could understand her not trusting the group.  Even though he thought that the Princess would do what she had said, he wasn’t positive that they might not try to follow where Mistress Norla and her group went.

He waited quietly to see what would happen next.

OOC – Hmmm, not sure what’s going to happen next.  And no problems with the delay.  I’m just enjoying seeing how this is working out.  Nothing like I thought things would, LOL.

"Give us the slaver and we'll go." Rolf calls up from below.  "He should stand trial for his crimes and be questioned as to where the rest of his lot have gone off to and if they are still a threat."

Sajaa looks down the precipice when Rolf speaks up, demanding their prisoner.  She then turns back to Norla.

”We will go then, Mistress.  As Master Rolf says. But it is only fair that you turn over your prisoner as he asks.  That man and his band have preyed on the locals.  We will see to it that justice is served.  Too, we shall stay away from these Caves for a time, until you and your group have cleared out – if you are threatened by our law enforcement activities here.  But once you have departed, we shall return, to continue what we have started – to clear this region of outlaws.”

"Very well."  Norla agrees, nodding quickly as she turns her head to the men behind her.  "Hugh, bring him out."

With a rough thrust of the palm to the prisoner's shoulders, the guard in the cave shoves the other man forward into the light.  Runt takes in the appearance of Elkins, the man who had rushed at him from the other caves the previous day.  Now, the man's eyes are reddened and tortured, narrowed immediately as he is exposed to the light of the day.  His body hunched and useless-looking... and he has the noxious smell of some foul smoke hanging about him.

Sajaa steps back and gives Runt’s touseled head one last, affectionate ruffle.

”I will miss you, Daniel.” She says with a smile.  Sajaa then tugs free the coin purse that hangs from her belt and gives it a shake to show Norla that it is filled with coins.

”Though you understandably do not trust us strangers, please accept this coin as a small gesture of our goodwill and as a token of appreciation for taking in this boy.  You do not have to, Mistress Norla, but I Sajaa, Daughter of Kassem the Candlemaker, shall consider you a friend.”

Sajaa executes a short bow and a smile. "May Allah bless you." Then she turns, takes hold of the rope and begins picking her way carefully back down to her comrades.

The whole event seems to confuse Norla, who says nothing, even to Sajaa's blessing, and the purse sits in her hand as she turns to watch Sajaa walk over to the rope, grip it with both hands, and throw a leg down over the side.

Norla takes several moments before she finally does speak, and then, it is to Hugh, rather than to any of the others.

"Give him to them Hugh."  Norla says calmly after a moment, while Sajaa's coin still hangs like a limp fish in her hand opposite her staff.

"Off you go."  Says Hugh, again shoving the prisoner roughly towards the rope.

But the second push seems to bring life to the prisoner, who finally seems to be able to shake the stun brought on by the daylight.  He turns his shoulder down and away from the rope, turning his anguished face to where Norla and Runt stand.

"I won't go!"  The man shouts, his voice crackling with emotion as he turns his head towards Norla.  "This is bullshit!  I done everything you asked!"  The man struggles against his captor, his shoulder down, though his other side struggles to retain his balance, his motions wild and drunken.

"Quiet you disgusting inebriate!"  Norla's face screws up in anger.  Her voice is instantly cold, her nostrils flare and her eyes cast daggers at Elkins.  Though the prisoner seems to take little notice.

"We fucking did everything you wanted!"  The prisoner shouts, pushing his way back towards Norla and the center of the plinth.  Hugh, the guard, moves quickly to regain control and the contest is short and decidedly one-sided.

It's a shove more than anything else.  Elkins had lunged towards Runt and Norla with his head and face, his hands held fast behind his back with some binding.  The motion was anguished and jerky, and Hugh's response was to push him immediately off course.  Unfortunately, there was really only one way to go.

Runt gasps as the man is shoved harshly and stumbles wildly past his side and over the edge.  The man screams!  His legs kick furiously as he plummets down through the air, straining against the ropes that bind his hands, though his efforts are useless as he rockets downwards straight towards where Rolf and the others stand below!

OOC:  Consider yourself free to make any action or say any words you see fit... apart from trying to stop Elkins from falling, which would both endanger you and likely fail to save him.  But mainly, it's simply already been written.

Runt continued waiting patiently.  It seemed like things were going to end peacefully.  He would be able to stay, and the group below would leave.  When Master Rolf demanded that Elkins be turned over to them and Princess Mitra joined in the first thing that went through his mind was that Mistress Norla had already offered Elkins to them!  Adults, he thought.  Guess they really can’t remember stuff that was just said.  Then the Princess continued on saying that the group would let them stay away for a while but would be back.  Like Mistress Norla didn’t know that.  Heck, even Ashe could figure that one and he certainly wasn’t the sharpest of the group.

He didn’t even flinch when the Princess messed with his hair and gave him a hopefully final goodbye, calling him by his new name.  Daniel, gonna haf to remember that my name is Daniel now, he thought.  That what I answer to now.  Daniel, Daniel, Daniel.  He continued repeating his new name over and over again in his mind.  Not that he couldn’t remember it, but he needed to respond to it when he was called.  As a result, he wasn’t paying complete attention when the Princess handed Mistress Norla a bag of coin and made her vow and gave a blessing.

Wait, what!  She say her name be Sajaa, Daughter of Kassem the Candlemaker?  He was confused as he thought back to when she had said her name the day before yesterday and what he had heard others call her since.  Wonder why she not use her right name and what else I get wrong?  His thoughts whirled as he mulled over this new information.

His focus came back to what was going on around as Elkins began to yell and resist being sent down the rope to the group below.  Runt had seen more than a few folks in Craine who drank or smoked weed a lot, and a goodly number who used other substances.  Most didn’t, but there were some who couldn’t stop, indulged at the wrong times, or couldn’t shake it off when they needed to.  They usually ended up living in the gutter or dead in a fight they shouldn’t have been in.  Elkins seemed to be one of those with a problem and now was going to pay for it.

Hugh tried to keep the man under control, but it looked to Runt that Elkins had broken free and was lunging towards the Mistress.  The boy lowered his head and threw himself at the prisoner, trying to tangle up his legs.  He hit someone, maybe it was Elkins maybe it was Hugh, but the next thing he knew Elkins was stumbling past him and going over the edge, screaming as he realized he was falling.

Runt pulled up short at the edge and watched the man plummet towards the ground.

“It was an accident,” he said to no-one in particular.

OOC – Does that work for you?  Change as needed, I’m easy.

Runt steps to the edge and watches as the man drops like a stone, his hands tied behind his back and kicking like a fish!  Lisa and Rolf dive out of the way while Terri quicksteps backwards... though Gustav rushes forward, his arms outstretched as if he is trying to catch the man!

WHAM!

Elkins slams into Gustav, knocking the swordsman to his backside, though miraculously he seems to be not much more than stunned from the ordeal.  Elkins on the other hand, crashes into the ground in front of Gustav with force, moaning with pain before he quickly goes silent.

Norla's form steps to the edge where she looks down upon the scene, her expression as unmoved as a mask.  "You have your prisoner, yes?  Then go."

Sajaa alights upon the ground just as Gustav and the others are making their way back to their feet.  Terri holds her bow ready and her gaze on the men above, though she keeps her weapon pointed well away from anything that may be perceived as a threat.

There is a flurry of activity at the bottom of the cliff, with Gustav and Rolf immediately going to the aid of the fallen man.  Rolf places his hands upon the man's back, no doubt, Runt thinks, trying to heal the fallen man.

Lisa too makes her way to the center of the fray, though she places her hands on Rolf's shoulder...  perhaps trying to keep the mage relaxed through his spell?

While the others huddle around the prisoner, Terri and Sajaa keep their attention up above, it seems to Runt that they may be speaking to each other below, though the tones are too low for him to hear...

OOC:  It is 1430 on the 5th of January.  That post works perfectly for me.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:40, Wed 12 Oct 2022.

Runt watched as Elkins fell.  No more than two, three, maybe four heartbeats until he slammed into Master Gustav who had inexplicably rushed forward.  It looked to Runt that the swordsman was only knocked down and not really hurt.  But Elkins didn’t fare so well.  He hit the ground hard, moaned briefly, and went silent.  Yesterday when Runt had tripped him, Elkins had only been stunned, but then the fall had not been straight down and not near as far.  This time though, Elkins looked more like the other man, Beltik, that Runt had sent over the edge.  Runt didn’t feel bad about what he had done yesterday.  Both men had been armed and dangerous even if they were running away.  And neither had been tied up at the time.  This was more like an execution and that sickened Runt more than a little.

He watched as the others dashed around down below, some trying to heal Elkins he guessed, others keeping a cautious eye up at Runt and the others up on the ledge.

“I … It … I’m … I didn’t mean to.  It were an accident.”

Runt quit talking, not knowing what he could say to make things right.  He sensed Mistress Norla moving up beside him and speaking to the group below.



He turned to her, shame on his face, concerned that he had disappointed her.

“I sorry.  I mess up bad.”

OOC – glad Gustav is mostly OK.  Oh, and not really important but in the last line above you wrote Rolf and I think you meant Runt.  Easy mistake, both are short, same number of letters in the name and both begin with R, both natives of Craine, LOL.  Just having fun.

Runt watches down below for a moment as the five turn over Elkins's frame and begin to lift him up off the ground.

To Runt's surprise, the man groans in pain, sending his hand down to his right side as his face is screwed up in agony...  Somehow, Elkins has lived...

Norla does not immediately respond to Runt, but instead watches as the five lift up Elkins and walk back along the worn path that weaves downriver.

"Tishpak."  Norla turns and addresses the guard with the sword once the five wind out of sight beyond the heavy brush of the river.  "I don't for a moment believe that they are leaving...  Haul up the rope and double the guard here.  Send the alarm the moment you see them.  They have agreed to leave, so consider any reappearance as trespassing.  You may warn them once if you wish, but it is imperative we stall them here at the entrance.  You are not to underestimate them.  Clearly they are far more capable than they seem, or Niall would have had more success with twice their number."

"Hugh."  She turns to the other guard, tossing him the small leather pouch that Sajaa placed in Norla's hand.  "Take this and add it to the rest.  Find Ishara.  Tell her we are leaving the largest things.  Anything that it takes two men to carry.  Tell her she has one hour at most before we leave.  I'll not tarry here and risk a pitched battle.  Get the weapons, the money, the treasure.  Tell Mendel to get out with whatever he has if he hasn't already gone.  I'm sure the greedy bastard is just waiting for us to leave something here for him to put his grubby paws on."

She turns her head and looks down at Runt.  "Daniel, come."

Then the woman is moving without so much as a second glance or even a response from her soldiers.  Though Hugh darts Runt a severe look, Runt finds to his surprise that for the first time, he neither has a chaperone, nor the odd fog in his head...  He is in complete command of his faculties.

OOC:  You are correct and I fixed the above post.  I have almost done that Rolf/Runt thing probably 1000 times, so I'm not surprised that one slipped past my feeble editing.

The charm spell has completely expired and Norla's command has no compulsory affect on you.  You may opt to make a run for it if you wish, though there are still 4 guards out on the outcrop that are within six feet or so, not to mention Hugh who is within a yard.  Otherwise, Norla is moving quickly back in the compound if you wish to catch up.

Runt was very relieved that he hadn’t killed Elkins.  Yes, the bandit was hurt badly, but he had no doubt that Master Rolf would be able to fix him.  Though the man might not be too happy when he was turned over to the sticks.  Runt knew from experience, thankfully not personal, what might be done to thieves and robbers in Crane when they got caught.  He was pretty sure that what would happen to someone who robbed and tried to enslave supply caravans going to Three Corners and the fort would be worse, much worse.  If Elkins was lucky, he’d just be strung up, but he’d probably be put to The Question first and just might be put up as a show in the Arena or sent to the mines.

He watched with Mistress Norla as the party below carried Elkins out of sight, presumably to where they had their horses.  Runt bet that it was the same spot as yesterday.  He listened as the Mistress gave out orders for the group to pack up and leave – very soon!  Runt knew that it would take him only a few moments to get all of his possessions ready to go so he wasn’t really worried there.  He only hoped that he would be allowed to take his stool along.



As he turned to follow, he realized that everything was sharper, the fog seemed to have lifted from his mind.  He shrugged at Hugh’s look and trotted along behind his mistress.  He just hoped, fervently, that she wasn’t angry with him over almost killing Elkins and thus blowing the truce.   And he had a bad feeling that she wasn’t too happy over him thinking that Sajaa was Princess Mitra.  But it wasn’t his fault that he had been lied to.

OOC – Interesting, absolutely no idea where this is going.  But loads of fun!  I will suggest keeping this thread closed to the others, too much information they need to discover on their own (if they ever discover it).  I’m not planning on telling the other players any of this stuff.  Can’t wait till you get back from deployment and get things fully running again.  This has been a blast!

Runt follows along behind Norla, having to half-run to keep up with her hurried pace.  The woman turns right, walks down the stairs and continues on into parts of the cave Runt has not yet been.  No one else moves with her, and though Runt isn't sure he's supposed to go so far, she did tell him to follow, so he continues to jog to keep up, turning right at the end of the hallway and then left again before quickly stepping down another flight of stone steps.

The room at the bottom is unlike anything Runt has ever seen.

It's a bedroom, clearly, though much larger than any place he's ever slept.  Here and there, the room is lighted by alternating red and black candles which cast heavy shadows over the various artworks which hang on the walls.  Runt recognizes one of them being Jesus due to a tightly wrapped crown of thorns on the man's head.  He sits in a pose of meditation, eyes closed... again, oddly, wounds are prevalent in his wrists, ankles, and side, and blood seems to pour from his wounds, though his countenance seems undisturbed.

Other artwork Runt does not recognize.  There are paintings of knights and monks, one of a shrewd man overlooking a babe, his face so wrapped in shadow and contorted in sadistic glee that Runt has a hard time imagining it as anything as the personification of evil.

But the room is well furnished also, with a wide, circular rug of red and black covering the majority of the cold stone in the center of the room, a large desk pressed against a wall, a solidly built armoire and dresser, a large table with four chairs...  There is also a large four-poster bed which hangs with black wrappings tucked away in the corner of the room.

Norla however, moves to a wooden lecturn not far from the table, closing the massive leather book which sits there, and immediately takes it over to the armoire which she opens.

Runt watches from the doorway for several minutes as Norla busies herself.  She packs her book within a bag along with various clothes and containers from the armoire.  As she finishes there, she briefly turns to Runt, her face and eyes betraying the feverish thought going on behind her pale complexion.

It looks for a moment as if she is about to speak, though she closes her mouth again and instead turns, walking towards the desk where she busies herself for several more moments, sorting papers into piles before she ties them into a heavy parchment folder and places them into the backpack as well.

Finally, when it seems as if the bag can hold nothing further, Norla looks up, her eyes piercing.

"You are an odd child Daniel...  Though I have to say I admire your courage.  Tell me...  What do you expect to come of staying with me?  You must realize that I cannot now stay here within these caves..."  Norla shakes her head slightly as she hoists the bag onto a shoulder.

"There is little, in fact, that I am sure of at this moment.  Only that the next several days will be full of trials and adversity.  Are you ready to put your faith in God, that he will care for you, that he will give you the strength to face your pains, to vanquish your foes?"

Norla places the tip of her staff on the floor, facing Runt fully now, her ice blue eyes intent upon the boy.  "If those outside come to attack us, which they surely will, are you prepared to fight them to defend yourself?  To save your life?"

Runt trotted along just behind Mistress Norla back into the complex.  From the direction they went, he at first thought that they were returning to where he had eaten.  Instead, they turned and went down the set of stairs leading to the level where his room was.  They continued on, past other corridors branching off and down yet another stairway ending a fairly large room, maybe half the size of the room where he had eaten.  Runt was fairly sure that this room was way below the entrance above, almost to the floor of the valley outside.  And what a room it was.  A bedroom, no question, larger than even the stables he had sometime slept in.  What furnishings, paintings – lots of them – and tapestries, a large table with four chairs, and a giant bed.  Mistress Norla musy have been here for quite a while to have all this.

She went immediately and began to pack, a large book, clothes, various containers, and lots of papers.  The boy waited patiently at the doorway, taking in all that he could see.



Runt had been called many things in his life; sometimes derogatory like brat, bastard, whoreson, or thief (time to run fast!), often with a forthcoming slap – sometimes neutral like child, boy, hey you, or runt – and on occasion nice like cute, sweet, or songbird.  But he had never been called odd and didn’t understand it, though it certainly didn’t sound like she was insulting or making mock of him.  He wondered if maybe she didn’t understand him, didn’t know what to make of him.

“You said you was gonna teach me magic an I want to learn it,” he replied, nodding his head.



“Uh huh,” continuing to nod his head.



“If I gots to fight I will.  Ain’t gonna just stand there.  But I usually try to get away first.  I ain’t very good fighting most folk.  Not very strong an don’t really know how.  But I is good ‘bout getting away from ‘em.  I can run fast an long and folks just give up after a while.  Iffin they don’t then they be more tired than me an I can hurt ‘em ‘nough to make ‘em leave me alone.  But I fight ‘em straight up iffin there be choice.”

OOC – Not sure if she really expected a serious answer from him, but what the heck.  Maybe she just was talking out-loud.  But he’s made his choice and will stick with it unless she really does something to chase him away or that he finds morally reprehensible.  Interesting and a bit confusing.  But fun!

Norla quirks a smile when Runt admits that his first impulse is to flee rather than fight, though there is no malice in the expression.

"I suppose that I should not be surprised that is your answer.  Nor should you be forced at such a young age to hold your ground against grown adults.  But fate does not line our path with infinite choices Daniel.  We do not get to choose how and when our fights come to us.  To flee is a choice, but it is the choice to hold ourselves above all else.  But when we fight it is for a higher purpose."

Norla holds for a moment, her eyes still boring into Runt's own.  Though a moment later her smile widens for the briefest of moments, before she turns and grabs the painting of Jesus off the wall.

"Someday I hope you will be prepared for fight for something greater than yourself.  I will teach you...  Until then, make yourself useful."

She turns, handing Runt the canvas before squaring her pack across her shoulders and striding quickly out of the room and back up the stairs.

Runt follows at a half-jog, the painting which is nearly as large as him clasped between his hands.

Norla heads back up the stairs, then through the hall and up another set before Runt finds himself back again near the canyon entrance to the caves.

She keeps walking, all the way to the grand room with the table where Runt had earlier set his stool.

All about, both men and women roll tapestries and stuff cloths into sacks.  Norla bids for Runt to seat himself as she throws her own pack on the table and walks towards the back of the room, conversing with the others in low tones.

OOC:  It looks like we have at least a half an hour of down time.  If there's anything that you want to do in this time period feel free to let me know, otherwise, I'll fast forward.  Nothing definite yet, but at least I can get you moving again.

Runt followed along behind Mistress Norla, struggling more than a bit with the large (for him) framed painting.  He propped it against the wall and sat down waiting for additional instructions.  He watched the ongoing work with interest, glad that all the great art was being packed.  He really hadn’t seen much art in his life, outside of what was in churches, but he knew that it was bound to be worth a lot of money, and he hadn’t gotten any of the stories about the pieces yet.  He was sure there were some good tales to be learned.  After a few moments of watching the others pack, he figured that he should do the same with his possessions and quickly got all his stuff situated, ready to go when told.  The only thing not packed and tied to his body was his stool, which he sat back down on.  He hoped that there were wagons, but he could carry it if necessary.

OOC - No problem, fast forward as needed.  Things will happen when they happen.
 

Runt sits upon his stool, watching as the goings on occur around him.

Though Runt had now been in Norla's caves for over twenty four hours, he finds himself surprised that he knows so little about any of the other inhabitants.  He had met Ashe and Hugh of course, and sort of some of the others, Ishara, Tishpak, Mendel, the unruly sleeper who had burst in on him the previous night and demanded he be quiet...  though the men and women wandering around, heaving out small chests and sacks, Runt finds he recognizes only about half.  All told, working in the room, Runt counts six.

He notes Ishara, who has two short blades strapped high across her hip, and walks and talks as much like she owns the place as Norla seems to.  Hugh also bustles around, carrying various heavy objects as he has his own weapons, a large-bladed axe and a metal-rimmed shield, fixed on his back.  Norla continues to talk and move about the others, her pale white staff in hand.  The other three are men, all dressed in leathers and carrying various weapons, swords, knives, a staff...  Each of the workers carries their cargo out from the grand room and back towards the entryway, returning some six or seven minutes later to find more items to carry.

This goes on for some thirty or forty minutes, and the room has been cleared to the point where there does not appear to Runt to be much more to carry out...

But the proceedings are interrupted from an echoing voice from down the hall.  ""They're here!  To arms!"

Norla immediately raises a hand to call for quiet.  "Drop whatever goods you have, they will have to be left!  We leave now, be ready to fight!  Ishara and Drake to the front, the rest, do not fall behind!"

OOC:  Thanks for the patience.  Norla is clearly addressing the others as opposed to you, not to mention she specifically instructed for you to keep the painting for now.  I just want to get a last check of what you have on you and if you have any preparations/actions before you leave.

Runt watched all the hustle and bustle going on around him.  He stayed out of the way, seated on the stool by the wall where he had propped the painting he had been entrusted with, figuring that if someone wanted him to do something else, they would tell him to.

When the alarm came, he was surprised.  He had honestly thought that his former companions would keep their word, but it now seemed that their word was nothing and that anything they said or promised couldn't be trusted.

He jumped up and lifted the painting, ready to follow along with the rest.  Giving his stool a last glance as he joined the exodus, he was saddened to leave it, but there was no way that he could manage it and the painting and Mistress Norla had given him the responsibility for the work of art.

OOC - No problem, just finally the others finally got their act together.
 I just hope that this gets finished before you have to deploy.  As to what's on him, well aside from the painting he's got everything else that he owns including Conal's lute.
 I do figure he's a bit overburdened.  Any other actions will have to wait since they will be completely based on what happens.  “Laissez les bon temps rouler!”

Runt was no stranger to moving out, and quickly.  Much of his life energy had been focused entirely on befriending those who had power over him, recognizing those who he could not influence, and then avoiding those who were trouble.

Deng was just the sort of person who had put Runt in this exact sort of situation before.

Painting in one hand, Conal's lyre in the other, and with pouches and wrappings tucked in and tied all across his body, Runt had the look of a traveling salesman.  Or perhaps, more appropriately, like a homeless boy who couldn't afford to let anything he owned be forsaken as trash.

It made Runt sad to think that he couldn't take his stool with him, but he simply did not have the hands to take it along.

The small company makes a sort of line, two across as they make their way back towards the entrance of the caves.  Runt keeps himself close to Norla, who herself stays near the back, her posture stiff and her eyes darting.

The company has barely made it out from the main room when the next scream echoes in from up the corridor.

"Tishpak!"  It's a woman's scream... one that causes the whole column to pause and go rigid.

"Stay together."  Norla says, her voice tight.  "And keep moving."

OOC:  Keeping you updated for now.  Not sure if you have any actions that are going to weigh on the overall situation, but at the very least you can sponge in part of what is happening.

I've added your equipment (including Conal's lyre) back on to your character sheet.  Let me know if there is anything I'm missing.  I figured both the lyre and the painting would require at least one hand to carry... the rest could be stowed away somewhere (though you really should get a real bag at some point).  Just note that if you do want to grab something else (like a weapon) you'll have to put something down.  Let me know which hand you want which item in if it makes a difference to you.

OOC - Just a quick ooc here, I'll put up an ic post later today.

I love this sentence, just great! "Or perhaps, more appropriately, like a homeless boy who couldn't afford to let anything he owned be forsaken as trash."

The equipment looks right to me except you left off his large knife, lol.  And he did have a backpack for a brief while.  It belonged to Hamish and no one else claimed it, but he left that and his cloak with poor lamented Macchus so that is lost.  I figured that he had the lyre fastened across his back with a improvised strap made out of lengths of the cord/string he has and was carrying the painting with both hands as you described it as big to him.

Fun, fun, fun!

Runt carried the painting carefully, not wanting damage to come to something that Mistress Norla cared a lot about.  He had to walk at least partially sideways so he could see where he was going.  It wasn't a problem at the moment since the group wasn't moving too fast, but he worried what he might have to do if everyone started running or got into a fight.

He froze in place along with everyone else when he heard the scream from up ahead.  Normally he would consider going in a different direction, but he didn't want to show fear in front of the group and especially his Mistress.  He still didn't want there to be a fight.  He still didn't want anyone to get hurt or killed, even his former companions.  But they were causing this.  All they had to do was leave, like they had said they would.  Instead, it seemed like they had gone back on their work and were attacking.  So, whatever happened to them they were bringing on themselves.  He could only hope that it wouldn't end too badly for them.

The whole column moves forward with a determined anxiousness, listening for sounds or screams from the fight happening ahead.

"Shit!"  A woman's voice.

"The Fuck?"  A man's.

Several moments pass, before a scream...  Again a woman's though a different voice...

"Nisir!"

Though her complexion is always pale, the stress of the moment seems to have made Norla all the more ashen.

"Ishara, Drake, Hugh, Molkar!  Go!"  Norla's voice is shaken but stern, and it does not take even an extra moment for the four to ask when or where.  The four leaders of the formation break out into a sprint, weapons drawn as they careen down the long and wide hallway.

"Hurry."  Norla adds without taking her eyes from ahead.  Now there are only three of them left, Runt, Norla, and another woman who's whole body is strapped with knives of all size.  Norla breaks in a jog, letting the four ahead of her gain some space ahead.

OOC:  We keep puttering along.

Runt continued on with the now reduced group.  Anxiety building, he wondered what he would do with the painting if they got into the fight ahead.

OOC - Yeah, not much here but I really couldn't think of anything else.  At this point he really is just along for the ride though I'm sure that will change.

General warning, things are getting extremely busy for me.  Starting Friday, I'm managing an arts collective holiday show and will be working there every day through the Christmas Eve.
 So my replies may be slow in coming.  Feel free to just move things along if needed since the deadline is looming. 

Runt quickens his own pace to match Norla's, the painting in his hands bouncing along uncomfortably against his body.

The hallways turns, and as the last three of the group hustle towards the entrance, they see the four ahead turn a corner and run out of sight, with their weapons bristling at the ready.

"Aaaaaeeeeeeiiii!"  A woman screams, sounding more of rage than of anything else.

The voice is met by another woman's shout.

"Curse them!"  Norla seethes gripping her jaw just as hard as she holds her staff, her pack bouncing along jauntily on her back.  "They will pay for this!"

OOC:  Still going.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:49, Fri 02 Dec 2022.

Runt continues along with Mistress Norla.  Any moment now he expected to be in the fight.

OOC - Thanks for keeping me in the loop.  I know there just isn't much for you to add at the moment.  I'm guessing that you will probably be starting a Chapter 30b thread when both groups are in engaged.  Or not, lol.

At any moment, Runt expects to turn a corner and be in the fray, though the long hallway still spreads out in front of him, the eerie red lighting showing only empty space ahead.

"Kira!"

Runt hears a woman's shout.  It's the distinctive raspy tenor of Ishara he thinks...  Not far ahead, the battle rages...

Almost to reflect his thoughts, Norla continues to murmur in low tones -

"They're in the cave Celeste.  Be ready to use every spell you have..."

OOC:  More nothing.

OOC - lol, nothing from me either.

Gustav and Rolf join the thread

Norla strides forward, the sounds of battle seeming to quicken her steps.  Steel rings on steel, and the hollow clunk! of shields ringing with deathblows seems to sound from just around the corner.

But as Runt, Celeste and Norla reach the end of the long hallway and finally turn down the slope towards the central hallway, Runt can hear the sounds of the battle turning.  Sajaa's scream sounds out first, ”We should take Terri and flee!!”

The voice is met with relative silence for a moment, before Sajaa sounds off again, a definite note of panic in her tone.  "FLEE FOR GOD'S SAKE! FLEE!"

Lisa now responds, ""Sister! Help me move her!" though there are words shouted and screamed everywhere such that Runt can no longer tell who is speaking.

"Fall back."

"Rolf,  Back Out!"

""Son of a bitch!"

"Flee!"

A grin sprouts on Norla's lips as they reach the bottom of the slope and turn, heading out towards the main entrance of the caves.  Though Norla had been convinced the fight was in the caves, the way now appears clear, and Runt wonders if the others have indeed been able to flee.  But rushing along, portrait of the Christ in his hands, Runt has only a matter of time before he figures it out...

The three make the last turn towards the cave entrance.  Sunlight spills out from the afternoon sky, highlighting the forms of the four soldiers who had just left their company, Ishara, Molkar, Drake, and Hugh.  With them is another woman, who stands at the edge of the plinth, holding a massive bow aloft, her right arm drawn back to her ear and the arrow pointing downwards towards the base of the canyon.

Laying on the ground, three other soldiers lie strewn with odd weapons and shields everywhere...  None of the men are familiar to Runt...  One of them has a gruesome wound to his face which bleeds in buckets across the stone floor, another sprouts and arrow from the back of his arm and slit throat that pools crimson all around him, the last has a wide laceration straight through his chainmail that seems to have felled him...

Norla stands forwards towards the edge, looking downwards into the canyon.  Runt steps forwards too, and he sees with some satisfaction that Ashe's unmoving form lays at the bottom, the slope disturbed in his wake as if he fell and slid all the way to his current resting place.  There is another too, still at the bottom of the slope.  This one with a long-shafted arrow sprouting out of the small of his back.

But what draws Runt's attention is the thick bodied conglomeration of three forms, flying low at the base of the canyon...  Rolf, Terri, and Gustav, the man on either side of Terri, holding her slack body aloft.  But as Runt watches, Gustav seems to slacken mid-flight, his body peppered with wounds.  He slows, then falls, coming to a rest on the canyon floor...

Twang!

Runt nearly jumps out of his skin as Kira's arrow fires, bound for the clump of forms that has just lessened from three down to two.

Out in the span of the river, Rolf briefly sees the form of Lisa, running at a haggard limp down the far bank...

---

Rolf flies with desperation.  Almost there!  He thinks to himself, wrapping an arm around Terri to share the weight, hoping to hurry Gustav along.  But something is wrong.  Rolf knows Gustav is injured, but this is far worse than he had anticipated.  Gustav sags, then sinks all together, falling to the canyon floor and leaving Rolf with the whole of the burden.

Rolf feels himself slow to a crawl.  He is exhausted, pained, bleeding...  He desperately needs rest...  Almost there!  He thinks to himself again, though Terri's form slips in his grasp.

Twang!  Rolf can barely hear the sound of the bowstring over his his own thrumming heartbeat.  He turns, seeking to dodge the weapon as it sails towards him, though the burden is too much, the arrow too small to truly see.

The shaft hits low on his side, smashing into the tough leather of his worm-skin and ploughing deep into the flesh just above his hip.  Rolf feels his arms reflexively slacken, though he holds on to Terri just by the fingertips, her body skimming low over the ground as he attempts to carry on!

OOC:  Gustav has failed an HT roll after a few seconds and has fallen to the ground unconscious.  I brought you over to the thread so that you could see what was happening as getting no information when you are unconscious is bunk.

Rolf has taken a major wound to the torso that has brought him below 0 HP.  I realized that I missed some info from your last post in my last sum up (that you had always intended on helping Gustav move Terri) so I reran all the numbers for both of you carrying her, not to mention taking a different flight path (so that she didn't get shooting down bonuses to range) though in the end it made no difference.  Kira (the archer) simply made her shots by too wide of a margin.

You get the same deal as Gustav.  No need to roll vs. stun as I already rolled that for you and succeeded.  Please roll vs. HT until you fail.  Each passed roll is another second you stay conscious.  You can continue to carry Terri during this, though it significantly changes your encumbrance and lowers your speed.  Please let me know if you have any questions.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:55, Mon 12 Dec 2022.

Runt followed Mistress Norla and Celeste as they went towards the sounds of combat.  He heard a lot of noise and people shouting, some he could make out what was being said and less that he was sure who was saying it.  As the three got to the entrance to the cave complex, Runt carefully but quickly leaned the painting he was carrying against the wall just inside and divested himself of most of his possessions that he was burdened with.

He hurried to catch back up with the others.

Taking in the scene in front of him, he could see five of Mistress Norla's band standing on the open area just outside of the entrance and three down.  There were also another two down that he noticed once he got to the edge and looked down.  Ashe was the only one he readily recognized.  He didn't really feel any sorrow for Ashe, the man was both stupid and mean, but then again if there had been time for Runt to get to know him better then he might have been alright.

His attention was really drawn to the three people he saw out in the canyon.  Flying, really flying off the ground.  He could just make out Master Rolf and Master Gustav with Mistress Terri between them.  It looked to him like the two men were carrying her as they fled, flying off the ground.  As he watched, Master Gustav slowed and then fell to the ground still, probably succumbing to his wounds.

He jumped, startled by the loud sound of Kira's very large bow firing.  He followed the flight of the arrow as it sped, hitting Master Rolf.

He glanced around for the others and could make out Lisa running raggedly by the far bank of the stream but didn't see Sajaa anywhere.  He scanned the area to see if he could find where she was.  One other person he didn't see was Elkins.  He wondered where he was.

OOC - That's it for the next couple of seconds or so unless something happens that demands his immediate attention.  He is somewhat expecting Sajaa to jump out from somewhere and make a suicide run at Norla.  Interesting.

Rolf helps Gustav carry Terri as best he can.  Though he is hurt and wants nothing more than to fly as fast as possible away, he can't leave his friend to carry his burden alone.

He glances down at Terri and feels a tinge of anger well inside him.  What were you all thinking! he ponders incredulously.

Before long Gustav falters and stops, leaving him to carry Terri by himself.  Mere moments later Rolf hears an arrow come whizzing his way but he is too slow to move out of the way.  The sky blackens as he feels a deep pain explode in his side.  The mage lets go of Terri, loses consciousness, and moves no more.

OOC:  Rolf missed his first HT roll.

Runt watches as the gliding form of Rolf first slips his grip on Terri, letting the woman drop to the ground, then sags himself, dropping as his body falls limp onto the grasses of the canyon floor.

Norla makes a simpering nod of satisfaction as she watches Rolf fall, though she does not spend long gloating in the small victory.  Instead, she turns towards Ishara, who is now stuffing her knife and sword back into their sheaths, and asks in a cold and demanding voice, "What happened?"

Ishara shakes her head before answering.  His attention now fully on her, Runt notices that the woman's middle is slashed open about the ribs, exposing a large crimson stripe which she holds down with her left arm.  For her part, Norla seems to take no note.

"It was just Kira when we got here."  Ishara answers in her gravelly voice.  "We made five of us versus two of them.  The fighter and the mage down there."  She juts her chin forward towards the unconscious Gustav and Rolf down below.

"They ran... or flew I suppose, pretty quick after we showed up.  I'm not sure what happened before."  Ishara finishes, gritting her teeth, visibly in pain.

"They snuck up on us."  The archer says turning around, and after a moment, Runt understands the woman to be Kira.  "Ashe and Tammin were down before we even knew what was happening.  Tishpak fell too, hit by an arrow I think.  Before we knew what was happening, that Wazifi bitch had cut his throat where he lay like a fat pig.  Wer and Nisir might be okay...  though they took some nasty wounds."

The archer turns back again, surveying the canyon floor.

"Kira hit the last of them as they ran."  Ishara adds.  "She is a wonder with that bow of hers."

"Not the last"  Kira corrects, her eyes still scanning down below.  "Hiding, the cowards are...  Oh...  Speak of the devil."

In a fluid and quick motion, Kira brings her arrow back to her cheek.  Runt looks down as well at the valley floor, and poking out from the scrub some seventy yards on, Sajaa and Lisa emerge from their cover, pausing for a moment as they return Runt's look.  Sajaa is riding her black arab horse, while Lisa is mounted on Lilly, Rolf's steed.  Just behind them, Gustav's mule follows.

OOC:  Pausing here for a moment.  Runt should be the only one responding at this point, though I will leave Gustav and Rolf in the loop for the moment.
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:00, Thu 15 Dec 2022.

Runt listened as the others explained what had happened.  Though it seemed to him that Mistress Norla's fury had subsided, at least for the moment.  He certainly wasn't experienced in battles like this, or even large fights, just the occasional scrap with other kids and a time or two watching street gangs rumble a bit over turf.  But it seemed to him that his former companions had been seriously overmatched and that was before Mistress Norla even had a chance to enter the fray with her spells.  Plus Celeste, who he now recalled Mistress Norla told to use her magic.

He continued to scan the area for sign of Sajaa, and finally spotted her and Lisa on horses, looking like they were trying to get away.  Kira the Archer drew back for another shot, aimed at which of the two fleeing women he did not know.

Maybe he should speak up, but he was sure that he would be ignored.  Blood had been spilled; violence had been given where it need not have been and that required payment.  He thought that he might be able to ask, no beg for mercy after everyone calmed.  But for now, he needed to wait.  Though he did finally voice what he been going through his mind since the fight had started.

"This just din't haf to happen."

OOC - Sorry folks, he just doesn't think he can really do anything at the moment to change the outcome here.

"Kunn fatat, sarieatin!”  Sajaa yells, spurring her midnight horse at the flanks, sending the beast dashing forward in a sprint towards her fallen comrades, the mule behind sent into a canter with the jolt of his lead rope.

Lisa, behind her, jockeys her horse tepidly deeper behind the scrub.

"What did she say?"  Runt hears Hugh ask from behind him.

"Some woman empowerment nonsense."  Ishara offers in her deep and guttural voice.

"Kill the heathen bitch."  Norla says without hesitation, and without so much as turning her attention to Kira, but watching downwards to Sajaa as if breaking eye contact may also break some spell.

"With pleasure, ma'am."  Kira answers, her own eyes just as intent on her prey below.

”RUNT!"  Sajaa screams from below.  WE ARE YOUR FRIENDS! DON’T LET THEM KILL US!”

"For Tishpak."  Kira murmurs, letting loose the arrow from about her cheek with a merry thrum!

Runt watches as the arrow leaps from the bow, sailing straight and true towards the black horse and the heroine mounted on her.  In his head, Runt pleads.  Sajaa isn't looking, but now she is looking too late!  At the last moment it looks as if Sajaa is making to jump from her steed, but the arrow buries itself in her leg, high and near the saddle, ushering a terrible scream from her lips!

"Good shot!"  Celeste exclaims, but Kira is cursing with a flash of her teeth as she retorts, "Should have gotten her in the heart."  But she is already reaching towards her quiver to rectify her error.

For her part, Norla smiles a thin-lipped grin as she releases her gaze upon Sajaa below, instead turning towards her side to where Runt stands.

"Well Daniel," her eyes are pools of the deepest blue, her crimson painted lips arcing ever so slightly upwards.  "What do you think we should do with them?"

Something tells Runt that Norla is not really asking for his opinion, but instead that she already has an answer in mind...

OOC:  I've sort of mashed two posts together here...  I would have liked to let you (and Norla) see what happens to Sajaa before I asked that last question, but I opted to just ask it now for a few reasons - 1.  This will give you a little more time to chew on your next post and 2.  I don't really think that any action that the good guys take can affect your thread significantly any more.

Also consider this your last chance to affect their thread.  It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Norla wants you to say "let's kill them!  I never liked them anyway."  If you want lead her in a different direction than that, please roll vs. fast talk.  Hero points usage is highly encouraged if you take that route and fail.  Similarly, higher margin of success probably will have better results.  Feel free to incorporate your own story/excuse in your post to give your roll depth, but don't get too wound up in crafting the perfect narrative.

Runt thought quickly.  Mistress Norla might have her mind made up and whatever he said might not matter, but he had been asked.

"I think you should not kill them.  That ain't gonna teach them any lesson.
 Catch 'em instead.  Take all their stuff that be good to make 'em pay for what they done did.

He paused very briefly, his mind racing to get out what he thought he should say.

"I think they was gonna do like they said and leave but I is betting that Elkins done somehow talked them into coming back so they not take him back to Three Corners an him getting put to the Question and executed.  He be a coward.  He probly tole them all kinds of lies making it sound like he not really want to be part of Niall's gang or something.
 

He paused again to catch his breath.

"An I kind of owes them.  Master Rolf was real nice to me an healed me up three times when I was hurt.  Master Gustav din't pick on me or anything an he be the only one to really listen to me when I said we should get the caravan animals an wagons.  Mistress Terri was just here cause they hire her I pretty sure.  Lisa was nice to me on the trip with the caravan.  She not baby me or anything.  An Sajaa think she be doing what was best for me even if she was wrong an I want to stay here with you an learn magic.  If we catch them an let them go then we is showing Christian Mercy like it say in the bible.  Plus then, when they haf to go back to Three Corners with none of their stuff they gonna be real humiliated, (he carefully sounded out that word) "an I bet they gonna get laughed at by lots of people there.  Nobody gonna trust them to do anything important for a while.  They gots some good stuff and horses that gotta be worth a lot of coin.  An if you don't think that be enough then you can have all my money an stuff an if that not enough then I work off the rest.  An I gonna make them swear to give one coin in four that they make for a year to the shrine of Saint Martin in Craine.  God will get them good if they break that promise."

The boy finally stopped his stream of words, really hoping that what he said might have made a difference.

OOC - I hope that between his Fast Talk roll and what he said IC, that it worked (beg, plead, LOL)

22:58, Today: Secret Roll: Runt rolled 10 using 3d6 with rolls of 2,6,2.  Fast Talk.
 If there are penalties to the Fast Talk, I'll use Hero points as needed.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:55, Fri 16 Dec 2022.

As the group on the ledge watches the scene unfold below, Runt begins to talk, fast and expressive before anyone has the chance to cut him off.  Though he thinks he is doing well, it's hard to be sure as everyone's attention is focused on Sajaa below.

Almost in slow motion, Sajaa turns her beautiful black horse and kicks at the flanks, finally spurring the animal away into a steady gallop.  Sajaa lurches in the saddle, her right arm held fixed against her body while her left holds at the reins, her body swaying unnaturally with the motion, looking for the world like she may fall off at any moment.

”LID KUNT TURIDUNI YA ALLAH FAEALAYK ‘AN TUMARIS ALJINS MAE ALAKHRN!!!!”  Sajaa shouts, her words strong despite her faltering form.

Twang! "Shit!"

The word is out of Kiras mouth before the arrow has even fully separated from the bow.  Runt watches, still talking, while the arrow sails wide, planting in the grass a few yards to Sajaa's side.

Runt watches as Sajaa plows on, galloping ahead towards Lisa who edges on Lilly out to meet the retreating Wazifi.  They pass in a moment, Lisa reaching her arm out to touch Sajaa as she passes.  Runt takes a moment to pause in his speech, looking to the side, watching Kira who again has an arrow drawn back to her ear.

Runt again looks back down, watching as Lisa follows in behind Sajaa at a canter.

"Kiraaaa..."  Norla draws out the name like a warning... almost like the hiss of a snake.

Twang!

Runt watches this shot too.  And though he imagines that at this range, the shot must be impossible, horror grips at his stomach as he watches the arrow disappear in a perfect trajectory at the receding target, now well over a hundred yards away.

He even imagines the hollow thunk! as the arrow buries itself in Sajaa's flesh.

"Dit it hit?"  Norla nearly spits the words as the whole crowd watches.

The question seems to cause Runt to reassess the situation too...  He watches...  Sajaa does not falter, or even so much as slow as her horse charges around a corner and out of sight behind the brush, Lisa following behind at a slower speed...

The arrow missed.

"Do we go after them?"  Ishara's deep rasp asks, but Norla is already shaking her head.

"They are nothing."  Norla responds, turning to look at her side where Runt stands, the long, straight line of her mouth flexing momentarily in thought, as if she is taking in all of Runt's words in a single moment.

She sighs.

"Daniel is right.  Perhaps we'll use these as an offering to Mendel...  The fat bastard is an irksome fly, but he has his uses...  Better that we keep him close than have to send everything all the way back to Dekamera..."

Norla turns her head.

"Celeste, you go down.  See if those have anything of value before we turn them over.  And see if Ashe and Tammin can't be saved.  I'll see what I can do here to help the others...  But don't tarry...  Leonitus awaits us in Three Corners."

OOC:  Ok, this is my second to last post in this thread, mainly so that we can adjudicate whatever other help you can provide to the three unconscious down in the valley.  I did use a hero point for your previous fast talk roll, which was penalized.  You did manage to succeed however with the hero point spent.  While I normally would let you find the issues and come up with the ideas to fix them, doing things this way allows me to wrap up in a much more timely manner.

The crisis of the moment is that all three good guys are bleeding, and may rapidly go beyond -HP without assistance.  Please make the following rolls.

- Roll vs. Fast Talk again if you wish to go down with Celeste to look over the Gustav, Terri, and Runt.
- Let me know what order you want to take care of them in.  A first aid roll based on perception will let you know that Rolf is in the most dire straits.
- Roll vs. First aid for each character you want to bandage, you would remember that Gustav carries a first aid kit on his person, which allows you a +1 to the roll.
- Roll vs. Perception for each of the characters you want to search (perhaps with the motivation of keeping items safe until you can find the owners again, or perhaps with the intent of keeping cool stuff for yourself.  But if you don't take stuff, someone else will.)

I think that's it.  Please don't feel like these rolls limit your actions, you can do whatever (or whatever else) you wish if you have better ideas than I do, as well as use your last hero point on any failure you see fit.

OOC - I'm going to let you make this look good.  My brain is not working at all.
 These 12 - 14-hour days are killing me.  I know yo want to wrap this up quickly.

Runt wouldn't ask if he could go down to help, he would just follow Celeste.  And he would try to take care of Rolf first.  I had already decided that even without knowing who was hurt worst.


10:04, Today: Runt rolled 14 using 3d6 with rolls of 5,4,5.  Fast Talk.  Blew that one.  Use Hero Point.


10:05, Today: Runt rolled 13 using 3d6 ((5,2,6)).  Blew that one also.

Don't know if any others will be allowed.


10:07, Today: Runt rolled 9 using 3d6 with rolls of 4,2,3.  First Aid to Rolf +1.


10:08, Today: Runt rolled 13 using 3d6 with rolls of 3,6,4.  First Aid to Terri +1.  Blew that one.

10:09, Today: Runt rolled 15 using 3d6 with rolls of 4,5,6.  First Aid to Gustav +1.  Blew that one.

10:10, Today: Runt rolled 12 using 3d6 with rolls of 6,5,1.  Perception - Rolf.  Just nope.


10:11, Today: Runt rolled 11 using 3d6 with rolls of 3,3,5.  Perception - Terri.


10:12, Today: Runt rolled 10 using 3d6 with rolls of 3,6,1.  Perception - Gustav.


Man, the dice roller is brutal today for me.

Sorry guys, I tried.

Wait a minute, Leonitus, interesting.  My brain is out of order, I can't believe that I missed that.  Another puzzle piece revealed,  Just not sure where it goes.  Now I'm going to be mulling this over for the next couple of years.

The next quarter of an hour seems a blur to Runt.  Standing there, just looking down upon Terri, Gustav, and Rolf his heart thrums upwards into his chest.  He says something to Norla, something about knowing where they kept their best stuff...  It must have been good enough, for soon he is scrabbling down the rock face under his own power, rushing straight to Gustav, who he knows has a first aid kit...

He is immensely thankful when he sees Celeste move towards Ashe first... checking to see if he's alive before she looks to loot the others.

Making a big ado as he points out Gustav's sword which had fallen in the grass (something that had been clear even watching from their perch), Runt rifles through Gustav's items, finding the first aid kit quickly and setting to work trying to do some bandages while covering his actions from above with his body.

He's no deft hand at fixing injuries - though he's had plenty of scrapes on his own before, and he's always made it out alive before... at least so far.

As he works, Runt sees a serrated flash of green from one of the knives on Gustav's hip belt...  He'd never seen the swordsman use it, but Runt has a feeling this might be something Gustav wants back.  He snatches it, stuffing the small blade into his trousers before tightening his belt and pulling his overlarge shirt back over to cover.

From there, Runt moves on to Rolf, wrapping around the arrow wounds feverishly, which stubbornly continue to bleed.  From there, he moves on to Terri, and though it's clear that she is still injured, Runt simply doesn't know what he can do to fix the massive bruise on Terri's leg and the bright red, angry chemical burn on her arm.  In the end, he simply wraps gauze around the burn and fixes it with a bandage.

"Feeling badly for them?"  Celeste asks, and Runt nearly jumps out of his skin, wondering for a moment if this means he is in trouble.

"Probably not worth your effort."  The woman smirks, looking down at the bandaging on Rolf as she pulls his arm out of the sleeve of his robe.  "...But this is nice."  She rubs her fingers in the material, for the moment forgetting about Runt.

"Where they're going though, they may just wish they'd died here."  Celeste finally finishes the thought, standing up.  "But like you said,"  She turns her head and flashes a thin smile.  "Maybe it'll teach them something."

OOC:  That wraps up this part of the Caves of Chaos!  Congrats Runt on making it out, and apologies to Gustav and Rolf, who are going to take quite a setback from this thread, though at least due to Runt's administrations (and your own rolls) you are alive.  Runt, you may post a closing post here to finish things off.

Runt was not happy at the way things had turned out.  He had been so sure that his former companions would leave the area and let Mistress Norla and her group go their own way.  That is what they had agreed to do.  But they had unfortunately broken their word and attacked.  So what happened was on their heads.

At least they were all still alive and that had been a close thing.  He hadn't been sure that Mistress Norla wouldn't just order them killed out of hand or that he would be allowed to keep them alive.

Celeste coming up from behind made him jump, but he had managed to hide Master Gustav's dagger.  He hoped to someday be able to get it back to him, and that Gustav would give him a chance to explain.  He was pretty sure that he would see the captives again, and they wouldn't be in chains either.  Heck, they might just get free before Mendel got them anywhere.

He did have some concern about going back into Three Corners.  What if he ran into Sir Magnus and Master Giles?  Surely they would have some questions for him, and he had no idea what he would say.  He would need to say something to Mistress Norla before they got there.

OOC - this has been an extremely fun thread, even if it has been one of the most difficult for me personally.  Kudos to you for making it work so well for everyone involved.