Tuari, despite his enormous size, acrobatically leaps onto Ondina charging into the darkness.


Both Lemak and Belina struggle to get their fearful mounts, who have just witnessed the death of two of their herd, under control, but make their way out of the camp to join Tuari.

You ride into the shadows, about 50 meters south of the camp where Tuari spotted the creature.

Lemak's skin tingles from the presence that had until recently crawled on this ground, but it itself does not seem to be close enough to detect. 
Looking for tracks, you find none in the darkness, but you do see two objects on the ground near the hooves of your steeds.

Scanning the horizon you see no sign of your attacker.

Lemak backs up Lobber, in case the objects bear disease.  "Some light!" he says, trying to make out the objects in the Darkness.

Norajia lights her oil lamp and takes it over to Lemak

As the light from Norajia's lamp falls on the objects,  you can see that they are vaguely round and red.
Belina indicates one of the heads with her spear and says, flatly, "That one was Lonthela. She was Esrolian I think. And the other was Varim, the Lunar renegade. He was the strongest of us and would have been the leader, I think, but he spoke not one word any of us could understand. My... companions. They deserved worse. As do I." 

Unable to match their speed and Mabwe remains back at the camp to look over the dragonewt and the outlander's body. Taking a brand from the fire he goes to look over the fallen mounts to determine exactly what dropped them with a single hit each.

Norajia goes up to Belina, kisses her on the cheek and gives her a one armed hug (she still has the lantern in her other hand).

"We should burn them," says Lemak.  "Destroy any Disease that may infect them."  He looks to Norajia.  "Do you have enough lamp oil?"

Belina does not pull away immediately from Norajia's comforting embrace. After a few moments, she scans the horizon, listening for any signs of the creature, and begins to guide her bison back in the direction of the camp, but pauses, waiting for Tuari.


Mabwe investigates the injuries of the sable and lizard.

In spite of the poor illumination, the Morokanth's keen vision and knowledge of beast anatomy reveals that both creatures were killed by single, well aimed sling bullets with considerable strength behind the projectiles. The lizard was struck in the head and the sable in the heart.

"Whether the Yassa comprises Great Tribes or just a few hunted Independents may turn on how Belina chose yesterday. Judgment is hard to get right, particularly self judgement." Norajia says.

Norajia gives Lemak her supply of oil and the lamp. There is enough to burn the heads.

Lemak accepts the oil and lamp and pours enough to douse the two heads before setting them alight.  Passing the flask and lamp back to Norajia, he chants before the burning heads.

"Great Desert Wind, raise a gale to take these souls,
Grant them your blessed rage,
Lend them your strength,
Gather them to the Eternal Battle,
To face the Devil's spawn once more.
Pin them!
Trample them!
Gore them!
Destroy them!"

With a final roar, he mounts Lobber and returns to the camp.

You return cautiously to the camp, resting little as you anticipate another attack. 
You can decide how to dispose of the two animal carcasses, given the manner of their demise you may not want to consume or butcher them. 
As the night drags on, no further assault materializes.

After a long cold night, Yelm finally rises, giving little warmth. The clouds are still motionless in the sky and in the same positions as when you first emerged from the underground fortress.

Norajia checks on Klanth and Utumna hoping to see some signs of improved awareness since yesterday.

She loads Vorrik's corpse back onto Modesty to continue the journey.

She offers no opinions on the night's events

Returning to the camp, Lemak proposes burning the two carcasses in case of disease, and does so if there's no objection.

In the morning, he mounts Lobber, eager to continue the journey back.  As they ride, he takes the van, trying to feel out any hint of Chaos.

"Well, it was powerful spiritually and it was a mighty shot, it's lucky it aimed for the mounts. It has managed to slow us."

"We've not the fuel to burn the dead mounts, unless you propose scouring the land for sufficient brush? We might have to leave them to the scavengers."

"Are they diseased Norajia?"

"There's no disease in them. I'm suspicious of those sling stones though. Could be poison there"

"How many days to the Block would you say?

<OOC: You expect to reach the block today, barring any interruptions...>

Mabwe is correct, as you survey the area for flammable brush there is very little available. Burning the fallen beasts will be difficult.
<OOC: rolled a 7 "reaction roll" on percentile dice> :(

The scrawny llama is not much help in carrying the scale.
Vorrik's corpse is draped over Modesty the sable.
You have a big Dragonewt and a bigger scale. I think earlier the plan was to drag the scale behind two mounts, maybe with Klanth-and-utumna supine on the scale.
Can someone can describe how you want to organize this (i.e., which mounts?)

"That's true," concedes Lemak.  He'd rather not ask Norajia for more oil.  And at least the healer has confirmed there is no disease.

He sizes up the party and their mounts.  "Perhaps it's best that Tuari and I drag the lizard on the dragon scale.  My high llama and his bison might be best suited to pulling this weight."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:47, Thu 18 Feb 2021.

Mabwe snorts "Or you can walk with me and tie them across your beast."

"Either way we should make haste, I think that there are more dangers than whatever it was last night, and the sooner we get there the better."

As you break camp and resume your southward journey, the scale and mindblasted dragonewt arranged to be slowly and safely dragged behind Lobber and Ondina, you suddenly hear a distant rumbling, crescendoing to a roar.

The thunder is accompanied by a rushing wind from the south and west, the air growing warmer as it continues to spill across the wastes. After a few moments, the air becomes more still but there is still a steady breeze. The chilly mist dissipates and you can see the Block in the distant south.

"It seems that the Little Brother struggle against whatever bonds the Moon has put him under, and here at least might be winning!" Mabwe says as he savours the relative warmth that the wind brings up from the south and west.

"Let us go see how we can help in breaking those bonds completely!" and he sets off for the Block with renewed vigour.

Tuari stood up in the saddle feeling the wind on his face for the first time in too long, he spread his arms wide to increase the surface area of his body.  "I feel you again Wind Khan you return to the world."he breathes deeply as the fresh air blows away the stagnant mist.

"Soon my friends we will see this journey's end and the wind blows is a good sign for all the plains."

"If Waha had intended us to walk, he would not have proposed the Survival Covenant and given each tribe (each tribe of humans at least) a riding animal."  Lemaks snorts in return.  "I won't be walking back to The Block."

Later...



"Perhaps it is the Eternal Battle renewed!" says Lemak.  He wants to kick Lobber forward a faster pace, but is mindful of the scale and lizard that Lobber is pulling behind.

The temptation to take off into a trot and then a gallop is high, but Tuari and Lemak continue their careful, deliberate pace to avoid dumping the Dragonewt in its fugue state onto the dirt.
Making only gentle adjustments and avoiding large hills, you make your way ever closer to the block, and think you should reach Shollak's tree in the next couple of hours. 

Skirting around a small hill you see before you the ruins of an old shrine, which was probably dedicated to Waha but is now out of service.
It is in the form of a circle of large stones with some collapsed structure in the center and piles of debris throughout. 
You see that whatever runes had been carved into the stones have been scratched over and chaos and death runes are in their place. 

You can avoid the shrine or explore it, but you expect that probably can not bring your mounts that are dragging the scale through.

"A curse upon the Devil and its spawn!" hisses Lemak, eyeing the ruins.  But he directs Lobber to head past the desecrated shrine.  "We have a task to complete.  We're not too far from The Block.  I can come back once we've made it to the tree, or let any brothers or sisters that we come across know of this."

Norajia looks tense but says nothing