Mallory's giving dirty looks again.

Poppa and Ralph aren't here.  There was a lot of fighting and the big church in Lincoln got banged up.  Or so Hugh says.  So Poppa and Ralph got work making it better, like when they rethatch the roof or put a board up over the holes the weasels make chewing through the walls of the chicken coop.

So the shearing is getting done by Hugh and Cousin Randall.  Momma is too busy to be around.  Momma is always too busy.

Gran just acts like you aren't there.  Not in the same way other people act like you aren't there.  You don't think anyone "is there" as far as Gran is concerned.  She just sits on her stool in the corner and hums old songs.

So right now it's just you and Mallory out in the garden, pulling at the weeds.  Out of everyone, Mallory likes you least.  She's as tall as Hugh even though she's not as old as him.  And her punches are like if the mule kicks at you.  So her giving you dirty looks is never a good thing.

She hasn't started grunting.  She usually grunts before she starts hitting.

"If you don't start pulling these weeds faster, we're not going to get done," she mutters at you.

So you are in the garden in back of the family cottage with your older sister who has a tendency to beat you up.  Her name is Mallory.

The other members of the family around are Momma who is probably inside the cottage cooking.  Gran or Grandma, who has dementia.  An older brother Hugh and older cousin Randall who are out in the paddock, shearing the sheep.  There is a younger sister, Muriel. But she is just a baby and is inside with Momma.

Your father and eldest brother are away in Lincoln, working on repairs of the church there after some fighting damaged the town last year.

You may add any other family members you care to.  Your uncle's name is Uncle Dolph.  He is not around at the moment.

You sleep in the stables, in an upper loft away from the animals.

“I’m pulling fast as I can, Mallowy!” And he is.  His little hands are black from pulling roots out of the dirt.  “Why are we doing this?  It’s stupid.”

He wonders if his overgrown sister will beat him again.  If she did, he’d get away from her and run away into the woods again, if he could.  Thinking of doing that made him smile.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:58, Tue 17 May 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 2):

Mallory rears back, putting a hand on her hip, just like Mother does before she gets cross.

"You're stupid!  We have ta eat, don't we?  You think we can eat weeds?"

She throws a handful of weeds at you, grunting as she does so.  She also is starting to smile.  Not the nice kind either.

"You're so ugly and smelly Tristan.  Lazy too.  Stupid boy.  Should I beat some smarts into you?"

Feel free to try an ability or make a run for it.  You can shoot towards the woods or the stables.  Or what have you.

Thanks
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:21, Wed 18 May 2022.

Tristan briefly considers running.  Instead, he rolls his eyes, sighs, and continues yanking weeds out of the ground.  Mallory’s insult against his intelligence doesn’t phase him at all, of course… he knows he’s as far above her intellectually as she is above these weeds.

He keeps working as he waits to get hit.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 4):

You don't have to wait too long.  Mallory goes quiet.  Then you hear a grunt behind you.

There's the usual sharp moment of pain through your backside.  She's kicked you this time it seems.

You land on your face.  The garden is full of soft dirt.  So it doesn't hurt.  Much.  But you have that soft dirt all up your nose and in your mouth.

You hear her braying away, like she always does.

And then she's quiet.

When you look, she's gone.  If she ran inside to tattle to Mother on you about something, she really ran fast.  Much faster than her pudgy legs can usually move.  But there's not many places she can hide here.  You don't see her in any of those places.

Although he’s sorely tempted to run off into the woods where his stupid relatives would be hard-pressed to find him, this time Tristan chooses to simply get back up, dust himself off, clear the dirt from his sinuses as best he can and continue yanking weeds out of the earth.  He does this knowing full well that his good behavior will merit no reward, but it seems the best play at this time.

And Mallory has to sleep some time.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 6):

You finish your section of the garden.  It's the hottest part of the afternoon and you've probably built up a good sweat.

Still no sign of Mallory. Her section of the garden is still unfinished.

The rain barrel by the side of the house should still be full of water.  But if you go to the well and draw up a bucket, the water will be cooler.  But that damn bucket is soooooo heavy.

Or you could go find some shade.  You don't have any more chores right now.  Though you could ask Mother.

Mallory is AWOL.  You are hot, sweaty, and maybe thirsty.  Could be hungry too.  Your call.

Where does Tristan want to go now?

Tristan heads to the well.  Even at his age, he understands that he must be willing to suffer to get what he wants.  If that means pulling up a heavy bucket, so be it.

A funny thought crosses his mind then.  Mallory, clinging to the edge of the well by her fingertips, crying for help.  Begging him to help her up, because only he can.  But he doesn’t.  Then one after another, her fingers give way.

It’s a bad thought, but he giggles anyway, as he runs to the well.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 8):

The well is around on the other side of the family house from the garden, between the front door and the stables.

You happily bounce along the wall of the house, coming from out of the sunshine and into the shade as you round the corner.

Your thumbs feel prickly.  Like an ant is crawling across each one.

Standing by the wall is a tall, lanky man.  He has thick brown hair spliced with wide streaks of gray that hangs down to his shoulders.  He has no beard, but from the blanket of coarse stubble that lines his jaw, it is not for lack of trying.  His shirt is a patchwork of squares of red cloth and strips of silvery cloth.  His breechs are plain, tan linen.  Over one shoulder, hanging by a worn but stout coil of rope, is a large sack.  It's seamless from what you can tell. A grayish burlap.  It's large enough to cover his back.

The man has pulled up the bucket and is hoisting it up to his chin as you arrive.  He puts the lip of the bucket to his mouth and begins to chug. Glug, glug, glug.  He seems intent of draining the whole thing.

He puts it down, balancing it on the edge of the well wall, and smacks his lips with a loud "POP" sound.

He looks over at you as you stare at him.  His wide mouth arcs upwards in a grin, but he doesn't say anything.

You do not know who this is.

Tristan keeps a safe distant and simply asks, “Who are you?”

He prepares to run, if necessary.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 10):

The grin gets grinnier.

"Well aren't you a cautious one.  But I'm just Good Simon.  Hello.  It's a hot day so I helped myself to your well.  You wouldn't begrudge a taste of water, would ya?"

“It isn’t up to me,” The boy replies.  “It’s not my well.”

He then leaves in a hurry, back to the house, where he plans to check that rain barrel for water.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 12):

Writing up a post doesn't do us any good if I don't post it, does it?  Sorry.  Thought I had posted this previously.

You rush around the side of the house.

The water in the barrel is cool.  The barrel is made out of a plum tree.  Though there's no scent of plums to the water, you recall your older brothers used to joke that it always made the water from this barrel tastier.


Inside, Mother is leaning over the fire pit, stirring a kettle full of soup.  Gran is in the corner, humming one of her old songs and spinning thread.  The baby is asleep in it's crib.

Mother glances your way and flinches.  She always flinches when you come inside.

"Where's Mallory?  Did you two finish the garden?"

“I don’t know if she finished her part yet,” He says sheepishly, realizing he has no way to win by answering this question.  So, he tries changing the subject.  “There’s this weird man by the well. Do you know who he is?”

The baby wakes up, crying.  It seems to do that a lot when it hears you.

Mother shoots a look at you, clearly annoyed.  She sets the ladle aside and tromps over to the baby.  "What man?  What are you talking about?  You better not be lying about it."

She picks up the baby and starts to coddle him.  Without looking back at you, she says, "Go see if your "man" is still there.  And while you're at it, find your sister.  Tell her to come here."

---

Assuming you head outside...you find...

The man is no longer by the well.  Mallory is nowhere in sight.

“Oh great,” He mutters, wondering how he could have been so stupid as to tell his mother about the strange man.

Since he’s here anyway, before setting off again in search of the old cow, he takes another look around to make sure that guy is really gone, and then tries to haul some good water out of the well.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 16):

You stand at the corner of the house, scanning the yard and well and the fields you can see. No sign of either the man or mallory, though you can find his boot prints by the soft mud near the well.

The stable door is ajar, which it shouldn't be.  Your brothers will have the sheep out in the field with them.  And the two cows are in the pasture.  But a weasel could get in.

You drag the bucket up.  The water is clear and cold.  It tastes clean.  There's no real way to describe it other than that.  It's fresh and it makes the inside of your mouth a little numb and takes the bad taste away.

Couple of things.

You may call for a skill roll when you believe one is appropriate.  Magic Sensitivity for example is something you can trigger.

Also, did you read the section in Apprentices on Turbulences?  Not saying one is about to happen, but with a child character, one occurring would not be surprising. Call for one if you feel the situation may be appropriate.

Where do you want to look for Mallory? Or do you want to do something else?

Curious about the stable door being open, Tristan pokes his head inside and calls his sister’s name.  He forgets to check the ground for potential tracks leading inside…

In reply to Tristan (msg # 18):

The stables are empty.  You don't even see the cat that lays around in here during the afternoon.

That's when you hear two small voices.  They aren't familiar voices.  Not quite whispers, but more like people talking far away.  It sounds like someone is behind the hay bale near the back of the stables.

"Is he gone?"

"Oh my oh my yes I hope so.  Who would think he'd come around these days?"

"Well the children have been naughty."

"Naughty naughty"

"I blame the parents for not offering proper guidance."

"Oh yes oh yes."

"Children these days need a firm hand to guide them."

"Otherwise they'll all go wrong."

"Like a cart where the driver just lets the horse go where it wants."

"Indeed indeed."

"Do you think he'll be back?"

"Oh yes indeed!  As you said...the children are..."

"Naughty naughty."

"Naughty naughty indeed."

Tristan gets a pugnacious look on his face.  He enters the stable and closes the door behind him.  Forming fists, he shouts, "Who you callin' naughty?  Say it to my face!"

In reply to Tristan (msg # 20):

There's a silence after you shout.

Then, from behind the hay bale...

"Oh my."

"That is just the kind of behavior we were talking about."

"You can just feeeeeeel the naughtiness oozing from him, can't you?"

"Same way snot runs out of his nose."

"Well, naughty children are usually snotty, aren't they?"

"Oh most assuredly.  Most assuredly."

There is a brief moment, and then both voices call out:

"SNOTTY NAUGHTY! SNOTTY NAUGHTY! SNOTTY NAUGHTY!"

"SNOTTYNAUGHTYSNOTTYNAUGHTYSNOTTYNAUGHTY!"

"SNOTTYNAUGHTYSNOTTYNAUGHTYSNOTTYNAUGHTY!!!"

“Am not!” He screams, then runs out of the barn.  He already has a family… he does NOT need this!

In reply to Tristan (msg # 22):

You can hear the voices laughing as you burst out of the stables.

"Child...you're being quite loud.  What's wrong?"

The voice isn't familiar.  It's a man's voice, deep and baritone, but it sounds tired.  Like Father does when he wakes up from his nap unexpectedly.

Sitting on the lip of the well is a large white owl.  The owl cocks it's head to one side.

"Well? Cat got your tongue?  If so, you should make him give it back."

“There are these weird people in the barn,” He replies, deciding to trust this talking owl for some reason.  It simply doesn’t occur to him not to trust it.  “They keep saying means things to me.  And if my mother finds out about ‘em, she’ll think it’s my fault they’re there.  And I have to find my sister or I’ll get whupped, but when I find her, she’ll kick me again.  And there’s this other weird guy I met at the well, but the only one who saw him is me.”

In reply to Tristan (msg # 24):

"Voices saying mean things?  That's probably the mice.  Mice are wicked creatures.  Their only redemption is that they taste delicious.

"If you find your sister, you get a kick.  If you don't find her, you will get whupped.  That is the indeed being damned if you do, or damned if you don't.

"So which is worse?  The kick or the whup?  Because I can tell you where your sister is.  So once I tell you, you'll know.

"It will then be a question of...will you do anything about it?"

Tristan is confused.  “What can I do about it?  She’s bigger’un me.  But I have to find her ‘cause the whoopin’s always worse.”

In reply to Tristan (msg # 26):

The owl chuckles.

"There's no point in wondering what you can do when you've tried to do nothing.  Stop wondering and get to work.

"Go into your garden.  Go to the fourth turnip plant and pull it up.  You'll find a large turnip at the end of the stalk.

"Go in and listen to the song your Grandmother is singing.  Sneak in if you don't want your Mother to know you're inside.  Make sure you learn the tune.

"Next, go to the field your brother's are shearing in.  Walk widdershins around it and look for the first black lamb you see.  When your brothers shear it, take a big handful of the wool.

"Then go to the road and turn left.  Take each left you come across.  You'll meet the man you saw before with his sack.  Find some way to put him to sleep and then crawl inside his sack.  You'll find your sister there."

The owl seems to shrug.  "Or don't do any of that.  Take your whooping and live a terrible life.  It's your choice."

And with that, the owl flies away.

For a moment, Tristan just stands there, stunned, his mouth a big O.  He hasn’t lived long, but he has existed long enough to know that this sort of thing wasn’t supposed to happen.  Talking owls, mice, etc.

But he frantically repeats the owl’s instructions to himself, over and over again.  They seem terribly important, and he is fascinated.  Could there be another life at the end of this?  A more dangerous life, perhaps… but one that promises more than a meager life of farm drudgery?

As soon as he’s confident he’ll remember the owl’s advice, he returns to the garden and hunts for the storied fourth turnip.  He’ll try to dig it up when he finds it, but first he’ll check to make sure he isn’t being watched.

Then crawl inside his sack… you’ll find your sister there. He wonders what that means…
This message was last edited by the player at 22:55, Mon 20 June 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 28):

Alright.  Let's start doing some rolls.

You sneak out into the garden and look around for this fourth turnip bush...

Let's start with a simple test.  Awareness/Perc test please.

It's a simple die, so you can't botch here.  A 0 will count as a 10.

Let me know if there are questions.  Thanks

OOC: Here goes nothing.

08:11, Today: Tristan rolled 9 using 1d10.  perc/awareness.

My Perception is -4, so my result is 5, I take it?
This message was last edited by the player at 12:12, Fri 24 June 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 30):

Yep.

Obviously one of the disadvantages in playing as a child are those characteristic penalties.

But this story is scaled.  Just getting you used to the types of rolls is all.

And so...

You dig through the ground for what feels like forever, sweating beading on your forehead and dripping off your chin like rain water coming down a spout.

But you manage to finally get your hands on what feels like a turnip.

It's a big one, and it's colored all purple instead of just a little on the top.  But it look plump and juicy, as big as your fists bunched together.

This surely must be the one the owl was talking about.

Now then...getting inside...

You glance towards the cottage door.  From the sounds inside, it seems Mother may be in your parernt's room, trying to rock the baby to sleep.  You can faintly hear Nan singing, but can't make out the tune or words.  It's all sort of a steady drone from where you're standing.

Now we'll deal with stress die.

You can try to sneak into the house.  Stealth/Quickness please.  This is a stress die, so remember the rules around those.

If you don't want to sneak in and want to try something else, go ahead and do that.

Your call.

Thanks

Repeating the owl’s instructions, Tristan hides the strange turnip and then tries to sneak inside the house, knowing the next thing he needs to do is learn his grandmother’s song.

17:40, Today: Tristan rolled 9 using 1d10.  My first stress roll. (Modified by dex?)

OOC: As I recall, I don’t need to worry about rolling again unless I get either a 1 or 0.  Is this correct?
This message was last edited by the player at 21:42, Sun 26 June 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 32):

It would be Dex in this case, yes.

Correct.  On a stress, you would only reroll on a 1 or 0.

As your halfway across the floor, Mama stops talking in the other room.  Perhaps you freeze for a moment.  But soon she's grumbling again.  Apparently the baby bit her while it was feeding.

Nan is humming something.  You hear her mumbling the following words

...round an' round...
My love's fair... Something.  You can't make out this bit.

Like the finest robe
Oh like the finest of fine robes
I ever did wear

Mama is still grumbling in the other room.  You missed part of what Nan sang.  Maybe you could ask her to sing it again?

You can try to talk her into repeating the song again.  I'll need to see what you tell her.  Then you'll make another stress test.  Either Charm, Folk Ken, or Leadership/Comm or Pres.  Depends on what you do.

I'll let you decide the ability/characteristic combo you want to use if you go that route.

Thanks

Has Nan stopped singing?  If not, Tristan simply waits and listens for her to repeat it.  Otherwise, he’ll walk up to her and attempt to charm her into repeating herself, although that obviously isn’t his speciality.  Either way, he’ll do his best to avoid running into mother.

OOC: Could Sharp Ears help him succeed here?
This message was last edited by the player at 19:16, Wed 29 June 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 34):

Nan takes a deep breath and starts her mumble-singing again...

See my post in the other thread.  Yes, it would apply.

Thanks

09:21, Today: Tristan rolled 4 using 1d10.  per + aware.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 36):

She's definitely repeating the same song.

...round 'n round
she spins around
My love's fair hair
All flying 'round

So soft
Like the finest robe
Oh like the finest robes
I ever did wear

She repeats the line again.

From the other room, you can hear Mother starting to soothe the baby back to sleep.

Silently repeating the ditty to himself, Tristan attempts to sneak out of the house, and then stealthily approach the field his brothers are shearing in.  He is determined to follow the owl's instructions to the letter, although he has no idea where this path will take him.

Surely some place better... could there possibly be anything worse than 'living' here?

In reply to Tristan (msg # 38):

You know the field.  It isn't too far away.  Your brothers are shirtless, covered in bits of wool.  The sheep have been put into a large pen, and the family dogs are lazily keeping watch over them.

You start to walk the widdershins.  The sun is dipping down past the noon now.  You figure Mother will come yelling for you and Mallory to get ready for dinner soon.

You spot the black lamb.  It's the only one left not yet shorn.  Randall wipes sweat from hsi forehead with one forearm and walks over towards it, apparently about to bring it forward for the shearing.

Make me a Stealth/Qik check please.  This would be a stress test.

13:43, Today: Tristan rolled -1 using 1d10-3.  Stealth/quic.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 40):

"Tristan?  What are you doing?"

Randall stops in his tracks and looks over at where you are, one hand on his hips and an eyebrow raised.

Randall is...tolerable.  He doesn't yell at you like the others.  And he doesn't hit you.  Or at least he hasn't yet.  Then again, he doesn't really say much to anybody.

“Can you show me how to shear?  Dad says I have to learn how to do it.”

In reply to Tristan (msg # 42):

Randall gives you a sideways look. But he shrugs.  "You're too little to handle the sheep and the shears right. But if you want to help.."

He points at the piles of wool they are pulling off the sheep.  "You can gather that stuff up and move it to the wagon there.  That's something you can do.  And maybe next year, we'll have you at 'em.  Fair enough?"

Since your response was both reasonable and believable given the situation, and there's not really much of a chance to for things to go too wrong, I'm good with giving it to you.

Some SGs might require you to make a check.  Probably something like Charm/Comm.  If you want to roll it for the sake of practice, you may.  It would be a simple roll.  But that's up to you.

Hugh frowns as you trundle along behind Randall, who's holding the squirming black lamb in his arms.  Randall quickly explains, and Hugh spits to one side.  But he motions for  you to get on piling the wool into the cart.

You grab armfuls of the scratchy, smelly wool, moving it to the cart as quickly as you can.  Your feet keep wanting to trip.  How is just wool so heavy?

When you come back from your second loand, the black sheep is being sheared.  Hugh pulls on the coat after a few snips and it seems to slide off, like the skin from a turnip after Mother peels it.

Hugh tosses the black wool behind him.  "Make sure you pile the black wool over in that box.  Needs to be seperate from the white wool.  Got it?"

Hugh mostly ignores you. But he and Ralph both can hit pretty hard.

There's a large box to one side.  It's about half full of black wool.  You pick up some of the new wool and waddle over as Hugh goes to get a new lamb.

In the distance, you can hear Mother start to call.  She's still distant.  Probably just leaning out the doorway of the house.

Hugh calls out to you.  "Hurry up!  Dump that lot in and go tell Mother we're almost done!  Hurry!"

He barks this last bit.

You can pocket some wool easily enough.

If you're going to to try to disappear on the way back to the house, you'll need to make me a Stealth/Qik check.

Thanks

Unable to believe his good fortune (so far), Tristan pockets some of the black wool and then attempts to disappear on his way ‘back to the house’.

19:22, Today: Tristan rolled 7 using 1d10-3.  Stealth/qik. (Botch?)

One thing bothers (and to an extent, distracts) him.  It’s one of the lines from the owl’s instructions.  He tells himself it’s nothing, but…

The owl said, Walk widdershins around it (the field) and look for the first black lamb you see.

Why would you look for something you already see?
This message was last edited by the player at 23:28, Tue 12 July 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 44):

You rolled a 0 then huh.

We need to check to see if it's just a zero or a botch.

Reroll a d10.  No adders.  If it comes up 0 again, it's a botch.  If not, it's just a zero

Thanks

16:13, Today: Tristan rolled 8 using 1d10.  To botch, or not to botch?

In reply to Tristan (msg # 46):

If that was the question, your answer is no.  You only botch if you get another 0 on the die(dice)

Keep in mind, you usually have to reroll more than one die.  I'm keeping it easy for the moment.

Thanks.

As you head into the woods, you hear Hugh yelling after you, "Hey!  Shithead!  Where are you going?"

Hugh only calls you "shithead".  So it's pretty obvious he sees you heading in the wrong direction.

Your only chance now may be to make a run for it Or you can do something else.  Your call.

If you want to make a run for it: Athletics/Qik for me please.

Don't worry.  We're almost to the road.

Thanks

Tristan shouts something about dad telling him to fetch his axe for him, and keeps walking.  But he watches to see if Hugh comes after him.  If he does, he will run for it.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 48):

You can hear Randall say, "I thought Uncle was in Lincoln?"

"He is.  HEY! SHITHEAD!"

And you take off.

The woods seem to close in as you scurry under the tall trees.  You take a quick shortcut through some brush.  It's the kind of small opening only children know about.  And you know about this one.

You rush through another stand of trees and almost literally stumble onto the road.  It's a wide patch, the dirt packed down by generations of feet and hooves and cart wheels.

It stretches off to your right.  And off to your left.

You go left.  You soon come to another fork, which is odd.  You've been down this road before and you don't recall this fork.

It stretches off to the right.  And it stretches off to the left.

Heading on?  And keeping left?

Remembering the owl’s instructions, Tristan presses on, turning left again.  Only now is he starting to worry… how will he put a grown man to sleep?

In reply to Tristan (msg # 50):

The sun starts falling behind the tree line.  It seems to fall pretty fast too because before you realize it, it's night time.

It gets chilly rather quickly.  More so than you would think for the season.  Pretty soon your thin shirt isn't doing much to keep the cold out.  You start trembling and your breath makes large clouds in front of your face.

Ahead, you can see a light.  It's flickering and you realize someone has made a fire by the side of the road.

As you come closer, you can see a man, THE Man, sitting on a stone beside a large, roaring fire.  The bag he had been carrying is set by his feet, tied tight with string.

He watches you approach, saying nothing.  Just sitting, elbows on knees, hands clasped together.  A brief, mocking smile ghosts on his lips.

"Well.  I remember you. Surely I do.  Out in the night all alone?  Good children should be in bed.

"Well.  You're a long way from your bed.  Would you like to climb into my sack?"

He reaches down and pats the sack.  It seems to flinch.

"It's nice and warm inside."

"Is it okay if I sit by the fire first?  It's nice and warm."

If permitted, Tristan will cozy up to the fire, warming his hands.  He'll try to get the man talking.  (Maybe if he talks long enough, he'll fall asleep.)

In reply to Tristan (msg # 52):

Bag Man's grin doesn't drop.  He gestures to a place across from him, and you're soon warming yourself before the flames.

He studies you across the fire.  His smile looks amused, but there's an oddly blank expression in his eyes.  He looks up at the night sky.

"Sure is getting dark earlier this time of year, huh?

"You got anything to eat?  I provided some warmth.  Shouldn't you do your fair share?"

“Just this.”  He digs out the turnip plant and shows it to him.  “Do you want it?”

In reply to Tristan (msg # 54):

The Bag Man's grin gets wider and wider.  Little rivulets of drool start to form at the corner of his mouth.

"Now that is a fine looking turnip!  Much obliged.  Much obliged!"

And without further ado, he neatly plucks the turnip which is the size of both your fists and chomps it gone in three bites.

Bag Man pats his belly and yawns.  He grabs the bag and lays it sideways, then lays his head down on it like it was a pillow.  He yawns again.

"Now if I only had something to lull me to sleep.  Do you know of anything that can lull me to sleep boy?"

“I know a song that my grandmother likes to sing.  Would you care to hear it?”

The excitement was growing inside him.  It seemed to be working.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 56):

Bag Man nods, slowly.

You begin to sing...

I don't think you have any points in Music.  But for giggles, make me a stress test, Music/Comm please.  Thanks

:17, Today: Tristan rolled -5 using 1d10-6.  Music/comm roll.  (Looks like I rolled a 1.)

In reply to Tristan (msg # 58):

So if you roll a 1 on a stress die, it's like a critical success.

You get to reroll the die and double the result.  If you roll another 1 you reroll and quadruple the result.  And so on.  If you roll a 0 on any reroll from a crit, it just counts as a 10.  You do not botch once you've rolled a 1.

Ex:  You roll a 1.  A crit.  You roll again, and get another 1.  You reroll a second time.  This time you get a 0.  That now stands for 10.  So your final roll before adding in your abbility/characteristic bonuses is a 40.  Make sense?

So reroll and double, etc. please.  Let me know the final number.

Thanks

23:49, Today: Tristan rolled 6 using 1d10.  Second roll.

Do I double it first and then subtract six?

In reply to Tristan (msg # 60):

Yes.  So you whould get a 2 total.

Bag Man hums along.  He seems to know this tune.  But as you watch, his eyelids droop and soon, he is breathing in a deep and slow way.

He turns onto one side, throwing an arm around the top of the bag.  But he doesn't seem to wake up.

Tristan cautiously approaches the man.  Then he tries to get underneath his arm and crawl inside the sack.

If he awakens suddenly, Tristan plans to explain that he was checking to make sure he was okay.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 62):

The Bag Man snores with a sound like a tree toppling over in a storm.  He shows no signs of waking as you crawl into the bag.

You must be smaller than you thought your were, because the bag seems much larger than you thought it was.

You crawl for what feels like hours.  Your knees get sore and your palms get tender.  But at last the bag opens up.

Ouch.  You get s splinter right off the bat.  The floor is old, splintery wooden beams that aren't laid together well.  There's gaps in the floor and long blades of grass poke up from between the cracks.

The room you are now in seems to be some kind of hallway.  It stretches to your left and to your right, each way disappearing into the darkness.

The only light is coming from a candle.  The candle is being held aloft by a young girl, maybe no older than you.  Her hair is dirty and swept over half her face.  She's wearing a sack with holes cut out so her head and arms can stick out of it.  She's got a sandal in one hand and none on her feet.

She's staring at you, then at the bag you just crawled out of, and then back to you.

"You don't look like you can make shoes," she says after a moment.

“I can’t,” Tristan replies.  “Who are you?”

In reply to Tristan (msg # 64):

She frowns harder, wiping snot off her nose with the back of the hand holding the sandal.

"Mary?"  It's more a question than a reply.  She cocked her head.  "Do you have a sister?  You look like that noisy girl that came not too long ago."

OOC: Do I have a sister named Mary?

In reply to Tristan (msg # 66):

You do not. The sister you are chasing after is Mallory.  And Mallory is noisy.

Mary here answered your question in a manner that may make you think that she's forgotten what her own name was.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:36, Sun 07 Aug 2022.

‘I have a sister,” Tristan says cautiously.  “What’s your name?  You look… lost.”

In reply to Tristan (msg # 68):

Mary blinks and then brings the candle closer towards you.  "I'm not lost.  I'm just in a hurry.  I have to..."

She stops and blinks at you.  Then peers at your face.

"...I have to get to the workshop.  You don't work in the workshop yet, do you?  You look like you still have some hope."

She turns and starts to head down the hallway.  "You should come along with me.  You'll end up in the workshop sooner or later.  Mr. Boots will find you.  It'll be easier on you if you go to him first."

She is headed towards the left.  The hallway also goes to the right, though it's quite dark in that direction.

“Wait… don’t go yet.  Who is Mr. Boots?  Maybe we can whoop ‘im.”

In reply to Tristan (msg # 70):

Mary sighs.  "Everyone wants to fight.  At first...

"Mr. Boots is Mr. Boots.  He runs the shop.  We make shoes for him.  We were bad and now we have to make shoes until we're good.  Did Mr. Boots brother Mr. Grin not bring you here?"

As she speaks, you can see a small light down wink on at one end of the hallway.  It starts to get larger, and you realize it's someone carrying a candle and getting closer.  You start to hear their footsteps.  It's an odd sound.  Like they're shoes don't fit right, and keep slapping the ground just a moment before their foot does.  Tha-thump.  Tha-thump

Mary looks over at you. "I told you Mr. Boots would find you.  I guess you could try to run..."  She looks down the other side of the hallway.  It's still dark in that direction.  "But he'll find you sooner or later."

The candle is approaching from your left.  The hallway to your right is still dark.

Staying and meeting Mr. Boots?  Or scurrying away? Or something else?

Tristan grabs the girl by the wrist and then runs for the dark hallway, dragging her along if need be.  He knows he’ll need to find a weapon to beat Mr. Boots.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:01, Tue 23 Aug 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 72):

Mary doesn't put up any resistance, but she isn't being particularly helpful either.  She just kind of trails along after you, clutching the shoe in one hand.  Her candle winks out as you rush along.

The hall goes dark after that, save for the flickering light of Mr. Boots candle far behind you.  Luckily you don't stumble into anything as you lurch forward.

You almost run into a wall.  The hallway turns a corner after what feels like an impossibly long time, heading to the left.  You can see light up around the bend.

It's a window.  Outside it you can see a rather pale looking crescent moon.  The curve of the moon is rough and irregular, suggesting a crooked nose and gaping mouth along the crescent.  A large, sickly silver eye is pasted on the side of the moon.  It rolls around in a kind of wet fashion and focuses on you as you stare back at it through the window.  A few stars are glittering beyond the moon.  They look like chubby stick figures holding knives, waiting for you to turn your back on them.

Across from the window is an open, dark doorway.  The hall runs straight ahead past it.

Behind you, you can hear Mr. Boots tromp, tromp, tromping down the hallway after you.

Tugging on Mary’s wrist, Tristan heads through the dark open doorway, looking desperately for anything that might be useful as a weapon.  He reminds himself not to look through any windows at the moon again.  Even the sky was treacherous in this terrible place.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:48, Wed 24 Aug 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 74):

The door leads to a short hallway that ends at another entrance, this one covered by an old smelly curtain that is stiff to the touch.  There seems to be some kind of light on the other side and the sounds of someone humming.  You recognize the tune as the one Gran Gran was singing.

Beyond the smelly, stiff curtain is a small room lit by a candle on a stand.

An old woman with a big wart on the tip of her chin is seated at a spinning wheel.  There are coils of thread stacked by her feet, but at the moment she isn't toiling.  Instead, she's sitting on her stool, lightly tapping her knees and studying you and Mary as she hums her song.

She doesn't do anything else.

You can hear the tromp tromp of Mr. Boot's boots coming down the hallway outside.

Not knowing what else to do, Tristan says, “Hello.  Can you please help us?”

He tries to stay calm as the cold, horrifying realization comes over him that there is probably nowhere left to run.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:22, Wed 31 Aug 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 76):

The old woman studies you at a relaxed pace.  She seems not to be overly concerned about the approaching tromp tromp.  But then again, she isn't the one who needs to be concerned about it.

Finally, she opens her mostly toothless maw and raises a finger to scratch the tip of her wart as she says, "Well well.  Why should this old granny help?  I'm much too busy waiting.  I'm all out of wool to spin for my thread.  And until I have more, I can't stop waiting.

"I'm much too busy waiting to be able to help." She shrugs.  "Sorry."

Tristan looks to the girl, desperate.  “Is there anything we can do?”

In reply to Tristan (msg # 78):

Mary shrugs, rather laconically.  "I dunno.  You got any wool?"

OOC- Do I still have it?

In reply to Tristan (msg # 80):

Yep.  You pulling the black wool out and offering it to her?
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:24, Sat 17 Sept 2022.

Tristan quickly shows her the black wool, handing it to her if she wants it.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 82):

The crone gapes at the wool.  She snatches it up and begins to rub it against her chin.

"Oh my!  What fine wool!  Oh this will make a lovely thread.  Just lovely."

TROMP TROMP.  The boots sound like they are right outside in the hall.

The crone wags her chin at a pile of thread.  "In there with you.  Quick as cats."

The pile is a huge mass of spun wool thread.  Easily large enough to hide under.  It's scratchy against your skin, but you can hunker down inside it well enough.

TROMP TROMP

The boots are inside the room now.  You could peek out from under the thread if you want.  See what this guy looks like...

If you are going to try to peek out from under the thread, please make me a Stealth/Pres roll.  Thanks

Tristan can’t resist taking a peek…

17:21, Today: Tristan rolled 3 using 1d10-5.  Stealth/pre.  (I think I did that right.)
This message was last edited by the player at 21:21, Sat 24 Sept 2022.

I accidentally "edited" your post.  Think it's back to what it was.  But if it changed, that's why.

Anyway, the roll looks good.  I'm just impressed you got a positive number out of it.

Mr. Boots could pass for the twin of the Bag Man.  Tall.  Lanky.  Wild, frizzy dirty blond hair.  Same vacant, big grin.  The only difference are the boots.  Stiff, black boots that run up his calf.  They have a metal stud on the toe that juts out like a dew claw.

The Crone is sitting at her spindle.  She is already busy wrapping the wool on to it.

"What?" she asks Mr. Boots.

Mr. Boots takes a while.  He looks around the room.  You realize just then Mary also hid.

"I thought I smelled children."  His voice is different from Bag Man's.  His voice is rough and twisted.  Like the sound of cart wheels going over a rock strewn path.

Crone shrugs, not stopping her work. "You have all kinds of naughty, lazy children in your workshop.  Of course you smell them.  Their stink is probably all over your clothes."

Mr. Boots pivots.  He turns and scans the room.  It's odd the way he does.  It's like he can't swivel at the hips.  Instead, he sticks one of those metal studs into the floor and then turns his whole body around on it, not moving his head or shoulders or torso. But instead his whole body.

"One of the children went on an errand and hasn't come back."

Crone is quiet, intent on her spinning.

Mr. Boots comes to a stand still, staring at her.  "That is some fine looking wool you have there."

She looks up at this, meeting his eye.  "Isn't it?"

There's a long, long pause.

Mr. Boots digs a metal stud into the floor and turns around.  He starts to walk out the door.

"If you see that child, send her my way, will you?"

Crone says nothing.  Mr. Boots leaves the room.  His Tromp Tromp recedes into the distance.

Mary comes out from under a loop of thread, her eyes wide and shaking.  "He's going to kill me!  He's going to eat me he is!  I've been naughty!  Naughty naughty!"

Tristan tries hard to shush her, encouraging her to continue hiding with him for a while.  He suspects Mr. Boots is still just outside, listening.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 86):

Mary shakes you off, her eyes too busy being wide and her mind too busy being scared to pay much attention.

"Oh please!  I didn't mean to be naughty!  Naughty naughty naughty!"

You stay in your hidey hold until

Tromp.  Tromp

Seems you were right.  You see Mr. Boots come in and snatch Mary by the arm, dragging her out of the room.  The Crone cackles but doesn't stop her spinning.

You hear Mr. Boots tromp down the hallway, followed by Mary's squeals.  Both sounds start to fade into the distance.

As a side note, it's not common to have a "light hearted" Ars Magica game.  Just saying.
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:21, Mon 26 Sept 2022.

As as Tristan is confident that Mr. Boots is gone, he turns to the crone.  “Can you help me?  I want to do something about that guy.”

Real life isn’t light-hearted.  Why should this be?

In reply to Tristan (msg # 88):

The Crone stops spinning.  She watches you for a moment.

"And if I help you, what do you promise to give to me in return?"

Tristan shrugs.  “What do you want?  I’ll do anything… almost.”
This message was last edited by the player at 00:04, Sat 08 Oct 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 90):

The crone considers.  She stops spinning to appraise you.

"I'll give you a choice."

She points at your right eye.  "Your eye."</eye>

She points at the left side of your chest.  <red>"What you will hold dear."

She points at your feet.  "The path you wish to tread.

"Chose one.  Or go take care of yourself."

Tristan thinks about it.  He realizes that he needs both eyes to see with, and that there are chunks of meat in his chest called ‘organs’ that he needs to survive.  ‘The path you wish to tread,’ on the other hand, doesn’t sound like such an unbearable sacrifice.

“The path I wish to tread,” He says after a moment’s consideration.  He slightly mispronounces the word ‘wish’.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:51, Mon 10 Oct 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 92):

Welcome to your first gained flaw!  Which we'll talk about after this story is finished.

The crone smirks and smacks her lips, as if you were offering her a honey comb to snack on.

"Done and done!  I will now take your path.  And you...you will "do something about that guy"."

She suddenly cackles in a way that is not at all reassuring.  She stops her spinning to point at a pile of thread.

"Under there is a box.  In the box is a candle.  Take the candle to light your way.  And take this..."

Her large, warty hand uncurls, revealing a small ball of twine.

"Go back the way you came.  And then keep going.  You'll hear the sound of children weeping.  Snuff out your candle and feel along the wall on your left.  You'll feel a face and then they'll ask you who you are.  Tell them you're just a mouse who's looking for crumbs under the table.

"They'll tell you where to go.  Once you are under the table, you must sneak until you see the largest set of feet you can find.  Tie the twine around both ankles, so that they are tied together.  Then come out from under the table and yell

"Olly Olly Oxenfree!"

She picks her distaff back up.  "Then you and the children must run.  You'll see some stairs.  Climb up them and don't look back.  Anyone who looks back will not like what they see.  You should remember to tell the others that.

"Those who make it to the top of the stairs without looking back can pass through the door.  Those who don't..."

She shrugs.  Then goes back to her spinning.

He respectfully takes the ball of twine from her hand, then digs under the pile of thread for the box.  Assuming he finds it and that it does contain an unlit candle, he politely asks her how to light the candle.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:47, Sun 16 Oct 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 94):

As soon as you pick up the candle, a small flame ignites at the end.

The Crone giggles and makes a shooing motion.  "Hurry now.  We'll see each other again later."

You follow her instructions.  The hallway bends to the left after a while. A long while.  And then it continues on.  And on.  You're starting to get tired when you hear it.  The sound of children crying.

You snuff out the candle and move forward, feeling along the wall.

Ahead, you can see a glow.  It starts to get brighter.  It seems you are coming to a set of stairs that descend.  At the bottom of them, there some kind of light.

As you move towards it, the wall suddenly gets squishy.

"OUCH!  Who the hell just put their dirty finger in my eye?"

The voice sounds like a man's voice, except the man's mouth must be full of brittle, autumn leaves.  There's a sort of royalred>crunch crunch</royalred> sound everytime he speaks.

“I’m just a mouse looking for crumbs under the table,” Tristan says, hoping he isn’t forgetting anything the crone told him.  And also hoping she hasn’t set him up to be eaten…

In reply to Tristan (msg # 96):

"Ha!"  The voice barks a laugh.  It's loud enough it could easily be heard by those in the room.

"If you really want to find the crumbs little mouse, you need to crawl not walk.  Kneel down and feel along the wall.  You'll feel a hole.  Crawl through that and you'll come to your crumbs.

"But mind the shoes."

You kneel and feel along the wall.  There, just a hands span away, is a large hole in the wall at floor level.  Big enough for you to crawl into.

The floor of the hole feels damp and a bit slimy.  At one point your hand comes down into something...sticky.  But, perhaps thankfully, you don't have enough light to see.

The passage way turns and suddenly you are coming out into a larger space.

You quickly realize you are under a table.  A large one, maybe one meant for ogres to sit at.  And there are large people sitting at it.  All kinds of them.

Whoever "they" are, they are all seated at the table.  Their big feet clad in well made shoes stick out into the space under the table, leaving only a narrow pathway down the middle.

On the other side, what feels like almost a mile away, you can see the other end of the table.  No one is sitting there.  You can get out that way.

By walking down between the long, long rows of shoes on each side...

So you have to walk between the shoes/feet of all the people sitting at the table.

I want an Athletics/Qik test please.  This one is a stress die so remember:

1s should be rerolled and the next result doubled.

Zeros are potential botches. If you roll a 0, reroll and hope you don't get 0 again.

Questions?

No questions… yet.  Here goes nothing.

19:42, Today: Tristan rolled 6 using 1d10-3.  Ath/qik.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:42, Thu 20 Oct 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 98):

You scurry down the narrow aisie of...feet.  You stomp down on one shoe.  You can't help it.  It's the largest set of shoes under the whole table.

"Hey!" bellows a voice from above the table.  "Did someone drop crumbs?  I though I felt a mouse run across my toe!"


Other voices say no, no crumbs dropped.  You hurry forward.

You come to the end of the table.  Peeking out, you can see the stairs the Crone was taling about.  Near their base, a herd of children huddle, crying.  You can see Mallory among them.  She looks small.  Tiny.  She's one of the ones crying the hardest.

Remember what the crone told you to do.  All the hints I can give you.

Thanks

Tristan goes back until he reaches the largest pair of feet again.  Then he ties them up with his twine.

Then he yells, “OLLY OLLY OXENFREE!” As he runs to the weeping children.

When he reaches them, he urges them to run up(or is it down?) the stairs and warns them NOT to look back.  Naturally, he also conveys this by setting a good example…
This message was last edited by the player at 03:56, Sun 23 Oct 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 100):

Sorry.  I somehow missed your post.

When you come shooting out from under the table, you can only see one person seated at it.  He's the man you saw in the hallway before.  The one who looks like the man with the bag, except bigger and somehow scarier.

He lurches upright and then falls over, his feet tied together.

The children all look up, staring at you in surprise.  As if the Olly Olly Oxenfree was like some kind of slap or a bucket of cold water, they seem to come to their sense.

The stairwell runs upwards.  And at a steep angle.  The children, including you and Mallory and Mary, start to surge towards it.

So I need you to roll me a social check here.

Either a Charm, Leadership, or Intrigue roll/Pre roll.  If you don't have levels in any of those skills make, you can still make the attempt.  Just remember if you make a skill roll in a skill you have no levels in (and it's a skill you can attempt untrained), you roll three extra botch dice if you botch.  And yep, this is a stress test.

Also, are you running up the stairs ahead of the group?  In the middle of the group?  Or at the end of the group?

I’m grasping Mallory’s hand while running up, if she’ll let me.  And going up the stairs as quickly as possible.  If it’s up to me, I’m either in front or the middle… but I suppose that also has something to do with how quickly the other kids react.

I have none of those skills, and also suffer a social penalty of -1.

:30, Today: Tristan rolled 4 using 1d10-1.  Unskilled leadership roll.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:31, Wed 26 Oct 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 102):

Mallory seems a little surprised when you grab her hand, but she obligingly trundles along behind you.  Mary and the other children start to stumble after.

You start up the stairs...they seem much steeper than you thought they were.  At the top, you can see a light, like a lantern lit outside an open doorway.  You pull Mallory along.  You can hear the other children scrambling after you.

The stairway suddenly starts to shake.  Like it's been struck by something large.  You tremble, and you hear a couple of the others behind you shriek in fear.

Someone behind you pushes at your back. You hear Mary shout, "Keep going!"

You rush forward, about three quarters of the way up.  The light seems to be getting brighter and brighter...

The stairs shake again.  This time enough so you almost stumble.

"Hey!  He said not to look back!"

You can feel Mallory start to pull away from you a bit.  As if she was turning around...

"No!  Don't look back!"  Without turning, Tristan tugs her hand HARD.  "Do what I say or you'll DIE!"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:57, Fri 28 Oct 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 104):

So one thing we haven't really touched on yet is Tristan's magic itself.

Starting on Pager 22 of the Apprentices sourbook, it talks about Turbulences.  I think that the amount of stress Tristan has suffered thus far, coupled with his reaction to Mallory's turning around warrants a check for Turbulence.  No, we're not following the rule as written.  But the moment feels like it warrants it.  And I want you to experience making a magic type roll at least.

You will need to roll a stress die+Int+4 for the aura of this place.  If your result is higher than both my die roll or Tristan's age, we got a turbulence.  I can tell you that you've already beaten my die roll which was a 3.   With Tristan being just 5, I think we're almost guaranteed a turbulance.

Go ahead and make the roll for the turbulance.  And if you want, make the roll for trying to control it described in the Apprentice sourcebook.

Questions?  Thanks

19:55, Today: Tristan rolled 4 using 1d10+1.  stress die roll.

That’s lower than my age.  Do I still need to try to control a turbulence?
This message was last edited by the player at 00:06, Sat 29 Oct 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 106):

You still have the adders.  So -3 on your int and +4 for the aura.  So your total was 4+4-3 or 5.

But that ties your age, so you are good.  No turbulence.  Thus far.

You hear Mary shout something and then the weight at the end of your arms suddenly gets lighter.  Like you aren't dragging Mallory behind you but something else.

You are almost at the top of the stairs.  The light is an opening like an arch of some type.

Turning to look behind you?

Tristan refuses to look back.  He pushes forward until he reaches the light…

You push through into the light...

You find yourself somehow crawling on hard packed dirt.  The light is daylight.  A bright, sunshiney day.  You realize you are back at the camping spot where you met the bag man.  Behind you is the bag you crawled into.  You are now crawling out of it.  No sign of the Bag Man.

Mary is crawling out now.  She hits your leg to make you move aside.  The other children seem to be trying to crawl out after her.

You don't see Mallory.  That's when you realize you're holding the laces on a pair of pretty brown shoes.  The kind fancy ladies wear, though to your eye, the heels look a little scuffed.

Mary finishes crawling out and glances at the shoes. Then at you.  "Sorry.  I couldn't stop her from looking back.  But at least they can't wear her."

We are coming near the end of your first story.  It was a bit railroady and I apologize for that.  But I wanted to give you a taste of some of the die rolling and ability mechanics as well as a taste of a typical storyline.  Or at least what I think is a typical storyline.

We will be continuing of course. But we need to consult on a couple of things.

You agreed to pay the Crone with your path.  Kind of a bold choice on your part.  Here is what that is going to mean.

Below are three options.  You must chose one of them.

1) Tristan gains the No Sense of Direction flaw.  This may morph into something more serious later on in his apprenticeship.  It will definitely be a recurring theme at least.

2) You the player lose the right to chose what House Tristan will apprentice into.  I will decide it for you.

3) Tristan must take one of the two Major Story Flaws: Plagued by Supernatural Entity or Supernatural Nuisance

How the rest of this story will go may depend on which of the three you chose.  So please let me know.

Please feel free to ask any questions.  Thanks

Hey, I liked the game just fine.  Not too 'railroady'.

I'll choose doom #2, which is letting you choose my House.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 110):

You watch the children crawl out of the sack.  One girl stops, blinks in the sunlight, and then stares at the sky, breaking into a big smile.  She then turns to dust.

Some of the other children start to fall into dust as well.  A couple get up and run off, heading into the woods.

You look back from the pretty pair of shoes you are now holding and back at Mary.  She smiles gently at you.

"Thank you.  So much.  I thought I'd end up like her..."  She nods at the shoes.

"I don't know if you can get her back. But there's supposed to be a way. But I don't know what it is.  You should run away now.  I hope you live a happy life.  Goodbye."

And she turns to dust.  A wind springs up and picks the dust up, carrying it away.

So it's just you, a sack, and Mallory-who-has-turned-into-a-pair-of-shoes.

On the plus side, you get XP.  I'll give you 3 XP for this one.

Questions thus far?
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:00, Mon 31 Oct 2022.

Does Mallory fit on my feet?  And is there enough dust left for me to gather up a sample?

In reply to Tristan (msg # 112):

The shoes seem designed for a rich girl.  They're decorated with ribbon shaped into flower petals.  But you think your feet could fit into them.

You can pick up a handful of dust is you like.

Anything else you want to do here?

He considers putting the shoes on… then refrains.

Nope, I’m done.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 114):

Okay.  Let me know if you have questions about spending your XP.

I need to jigger something.  So I will post the start of the next storyline tomorrow or Thursday.

Let me know if there are questions thus far.

Thanks

Awesome.  Looking forward to the next one.

Will it take place immediately afterwards, or is there a time jump?
This message was last edited by the player at 15:02, Wed 02 Nov 2022.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 116):
The very next day.  See the new thread please.

Thanks