"The optimist thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. The pessimist fears it to be true."  -J Robert Oppenheimer

Our story begins on a mountainside, far away from civilization. Four figures drifted between the thick redwoods and prickly fur trees. Despite the lofty foliage, light was able to filter down through the gaps in the canopy, illuminating the forest floor and created a contrast of shadows among the duff.
The first figure belonged to Ileosa, a dark-haired elven woman possibly from the Great Forest. She wore doe-skin pants, and a simple woolen shirt under her leather jerkin. A hide cloak trimmed in rabbit fur hung from her shoulders, shifting with each graceful step.
Behind her was Bryn, a young dwarven lass with short auburn hair. Her boiled leather cuirass occasionally glittered in the strings of sunlight, showing off its many nicks and scrapes; reminders all of the woman's rough profession. Over her shoulder she rests her massive and ancient-looking hammer.
The third and shortest figure was a halfling sporting a mess of blonde hair. He would have been mistaken for a boy if not for the coarse muttonchops and five-o'clock shadow. He answers to the name Sketch, although it is obvious it isn't his given name. A small tattoo occasionally peaks out from a wide leather bracer on his left wrist when he gestures, but you cannot make it out.
And last was Liam. He wore ostentatiously flashy clothing, but of the sort made popular many seasons ago. Now they hung from his thin frame, ratty and nearly threadbare. His cap, though... well, some hats never go out of style.

They were several days of grueling travel to the nearest settlement, but their journey begun only a few short hours ago. Godfrey's apartment was on the second story, above the bakery on Willow Way. And, the magician had cast them into the wilderness from his study, tasked with re-establishing contact with his partner, a dwarf named Mahlon. The two had apparently been entrepreneurs, successfully managing a rare ore mine and shipping concern.
However, two weeks ago, Godfrey's connection to Mahlon has ceased abruptly. Periods of silence had disrupted their communication in the past, but never for this long, Godfrey had told them. And he would have gone after Mahlon himself, he assured the party, but the way had been closed to him long ago. Whatever that meant.

"How long you think this'll take," Sketch asked no one in particular as he trotted along beside his companions.
"Have ye sum wher' ta be?" Bryn replied somewhat harshly. "The stockades perhaps?"
Sketch shot her a dirty look. "Har-har," he barked, feigning mirth, before returning his attention to keeping his footing. Roots jutted from under the thick carpet of fallen leaves, which also covered depressions that could twist and sprain your ankle. "I just don't understand why Godfrey couldn't just teleport us to the outpost? I enjoy a good hike as much as the next bloke, and this is simply heaven compared to the cell I just came from, but... Well, I mean--
"We should only be a few miles away," Ileosa interrupted, not looking away from whatever it was she was watching in the distance. "Shh."

"Hey Liam," Sketch whispers a few moments later. "What're you gonna do with the coins after we find Godfrey's friend?"

"Take it to my cousin who's a moneychanger. Invest half in shipping and half in negotiable paper." Liam laughs. "What do you think? Wine and women, my friend. That's why the gods made coins."

He speaks on the quieter side, lest there be predators listening. Although he smiles incessantly and makes eye contact, he also takes time to scan the forest for traps, or for creatures waiting in ambush.

Sketch chuckled to himself before answering. "Not a terrible idea," he responded forlornly. "In my experience, they may be make by the gods, but they lead to trouble. This time I'm going straight! I'm thinking to buy a cottage, settle down, and have a couple of kids." He remained silent for a moment, long enough for Liam to bring his attention back around to him before flashing him a wily grin. "That is, with whatever's left after the wine and women..."

"Quiet!" Bryn spat which caused the boys to stop in their tracks. The dwarf stood uneasy, having removed her hammer from its resting place at her shoulder.
Liam then saw Ileosa standing a few yards ahead of them, her hand held out for them to stop. Her long ears seems to twitch slightly as she listened for some distant noise.
After a moment, you all heard it too: running water.
"Didn't Godfrey say the outpost was by a stream?" Sketch asked, breaking the silence.
"He did," Ileosa replied, her gaze never leaving some invisible point out in the distance. "But that isn't what I'm listening to. Well, not exactly..."
Bryn looked to Liam, arching her eyebrows incredulously. Sketch's hands rose instinctively to his bandoleer of daggers.

"The water doesn't sound right," Ileosa said finally. She spun around and regarded the group in the woods beside her, seemingly as if for the first time. "We need to scout this out. Liam, you come with me. Bryn, you stay here with Loud-Mouth and watch our backs," she said, indicating Sketch.
Liam heard the halfling mutter something under his breath, something about watching the elf's back or backside, but he didn't catch all of it.

What did Liam do?

Liam draws his worn born and readies an arrow. He doesn't have the strength the keep the bow drawn while he wanders through the woods, but he can at least have the arrow nocked and the bow in hand.

He follows Ileosa. If he can put himself between her figure and Sketch's eyes, so much the better.

Ileosa led Liam away from the others, moving through the brush with ease. Liam, on the other hand, made a lot of noise. The vegetation and undergrowth were bad enough, with this section of forest being so dense, but the little droplets of ichor certainly made things worse. It gathered on his clothing, leaving sticky ocher smears all over him. He wasn't sure where it came from, but it seemed to be dripping from somewhere high above, in the forest's canopy. Sap, most likely.
As they trekked, she tried to explain what she was hearing. Liam could tell it was against her nature to make unnecessary noise while scouting; but he could appreciate her willingness to keep him in the proverbial loop. She described the water as sounding hollow, and it really seemed to unnerve her. All Liam could hear was the low roar of rapids somewhere nearby.
"Mountain streams babble, trickle, or sometimes bubble," she stated matter-of-factly. "They can grow deep, and more boisterous as a matter of course, but this... it is empty."

Before too long they arrived at the stream. It was perhaps fifty feet across, maybe more; and the water rushed by with some urgency. To the eye, it appeared cool and clear. Liam could see the sandy bottom thanks to the patches of sunlight that filtered down from above. Like something you might expect from a painting, reeds grew from the banks, and large rocks jutted from the water, creating breaks and were without doubt the source of the rushing sounds. For all intents and purposes, the water sounded just as Liam expected it to.
Ileosa regarded Liam for a short while after arriving on the banks, her large almond-shaped eyes scrutinizing him in a way that felt impolite. "We need to know if Mahlon's outpost is up or down stream. I can ask the spirits here. Keep watch."
She crouched down and placed her fingers in the water, closing her eyes. For a long moment, she knelt there motionless and remained completely silent. Liam became aware of all the small noises around him: every rustle of the leaves, the creaking of the towering redwoods, the rush of the water, and even call of a toad some way off.
Despite these noises, his attention became affixed to the jelly that seemed to permeate the area. The droplets had become bigger globules, coating entire branches. Looking down at his boot, Liam found a lump of the strange ooze clinging to the leather.

Suddenly, Ileosa leaped back and away from the water as if she'd been shocked. Her eyes shot open and she staggered about, nearly colliding with Liam. Out of breath, she addressed him once more.
"The mountain," she said, panting, "it is shattered. Broken. Cut off from the rest of the land? I am not certain." She blinked several times before collecting herself. For having only met her hours before, she seemed more vulnerable in this moment than ever before; however, that vulnerability was fleeting and within a moment it was gone, replaced by her customary reserved detachment.
"I saw the outpost. I can lead you there now. The way is clear, but there are rumors of danger there."

What did Liam do?

Also, I'd like to apologize for missing yesterday. I wrote an update, but then re-wrote it three more times. Future updates shouldn't take so long.

Liam was already wary of touching the stream, but if Ileosa was willing he wasn't going to stop her. Now it seemed the danger was coming from the land.

He carefully removed a clean arrow from his quiver. Using the pointy end, he gently scooped up the sap from his boot, careful not to touch it with his clothes or flesh.

He held up the goo at arm's length, letting Ileosa inspect it and waiting to see if she has anything to say about it.

Ileosa was likewise covered in the ooze. Her eyes darted from Liam to the slime before landing back on Liam. "You want me to identify it?" she stated more than asked out loud. She narrowed her gaze upon the lump and considered it for a moment.
"It appears to be tree sap, although not of any kind I have ever encountered before. The viscosity is slightly less than typical sap, however that is not uncommon depending on the species of the tree and other environmental conditions." She then plucked it from the tip of Liam's arrowhead and rolled it between her fingers. The substance appeared many degrees more malleable than you might have expected. Unphased by the ichor on her bare skin, she popped it into her mouth.
She immediately spit it back out, a look of disgust on her elfin face. "It is not sap," she reported, and again knelt down to observe it on the ground. "Sap is sweet due to the sugars stored in the wood when the tree is dormant, usually during winter. There is nothing sweet about this... whatever it is."
At your feet, the little glob of slime seemed to move. As you watched it, you could swear it inched (or perhaps centimeter-ed). Very slowly, but with intent.
Ileosa's eyes rose to Liam again.

"Should we stay in the water, or out? Which do you think is best? I'm certain this stuff will be attacking us soon." He gives her a look that says, I might be crazy but I'm not joking.

Ileosa regarded Liam for a moment, unsure of the man's mental stability. She cocked her head slightly as if trying to gain a slightly different perspective. After a couple of seconds, she shrugged. "Following the stream is imperative to our arrival at the outpost. Traveling in the stream would be equal measures unorthodox and exceedingly difficult. Perhaps if we were in possession of a vessel on which to ride? Something as simple as a log even..."

Another long and awkward moment passed between the pair as they stood there on the bank, unsure of what to do next.

Does Liam:

• Make a raft
• Clean himself off
• Reconnect with Bryn and Sketch
• Other

"I'm no carpenter," he said. He began to clean himself off. After getting moderately clean, he would try to reconnect with the others.

Seeming more concerned with the slime, Liam waded into the stream. The water must have come from melting ice higher up the mountain because it was very cold. At first it was refreshing, but very quickly the chill began to permeate his bare skin and started numbing his extremities.

Ileosa remained on the bank, watching the man clean himself and his equipment. She called to him, trying to explain his behavior was illogical, citing their need to return the way they had come to retrieve the others, and thus re-saturate themselves with the goo. Further, getting cold and wet would no doubt prove uncomfortable until they reached the outpost. She abandoned her attempts to dissuade Liam when he removed his shirt and began scrubbing the ichor from the fabric.

Focused on the task at hand, Liam didn't notice the creature until it was too late. Without warning, a thick mass of dark-colored scales seized him around his waist and pulled him under the water!

What did Liam do?

Liam thrashed around for a few moments, then stopped. Struggling would only drown him faster. He calmed himself as best he could.

Relaxing his body, Liam studied the scaly creature with different senses. He felt the tension in its muscles, listened to the motion of its coils through the water. He tried to judge its intent. 'Is it sentient,' he wondered, 'or is it merely a beast that feels threatened?'

Knowing its motivation could help Liam determine the beast's next move.

11:36, Today: Liam rolled 8 using 2d6+1.  Discern realities. "What is about to happen here?"

Liam understood the creature, a giant River Eel, was going to drown him, carry his body to its nest, and then eat him. It held him underwater for what seemed like forever. The action was kicked up slit in the stream, but Liam could still see the fish's ugly head. Its beady eyes were black orbs, and its jagged maw was open, ready for a powerful bite!

Defy Danger: Choose an ability to use to escape (or endure) the monster's incoming bite. Don't forget to take a +1 forward (bonus) due to your Discern Realities roll. Remember to be as descriptive as possible to maximize your opportunities to trigger not only Basic Moves, but also hidden GM Moves.

Liam knew what he had to do, but he didn't relish the opportunity.

He offered his shoulder to the eel's open maw, daring it to bite him. Then, he bit back.

After all, fresh eel is considered a delicacy by some. Maybe not raw, but still.

OOC: Not sure if this would be CON or STR. I'll roll at the lower and if you think it's CON, add one.

11:41, Today: Liam rolled 7 using 2d6+1.  STR (add 1 for CON).