Aubree clapped her hands in delight
"How glorious!  Then off we go, for a night of frivolity before our Adventure!"

The food is delicious. The time seems to pass by quickly-- all-too-soon, really. Even though the food and drink is excellent (it seems especially wonderful and exotic to the two humans), the singing and storytelling is particularly beautiful, fascinating, and inspiring. (The first time any of you attempt to use the telling stories skill, you'll get a +1 die on your roll (maximum of 3 dice).)

You all sleep comfortably, and very soundly, in guest bunks, and you're awake and refreshed and ready to go the next morning.

Lachriel is absent in the morning, but she's waiting for you (and Tirien) at The Pilings, the place where the docks that form the basis for all of Lake-Town reach back to the shore and meet it.

"Well-met!" smiles Lachriel. "Is everyone ready?"

(Lachriel and Tirien are Companions. They have skills, and can and will help the party-- but while I'll be NPCing them, it might work even more efficiently if you give them orders (or requests, if things are less intense) when needed.


Lachriel:
--Rhyming: singing
--Foraging: herbalism, guiding

Toughness 4, Fate 6

Lachriel is on the expedition mostly to:
--try to guide us around, or out of, trouble, and to
--help with the Mirrorweed sub-quest, and to
--try to use the Take Courage move as needed.

Tirien:
--Foraging: surviving (in the wild), shooting (incl. using thrown weapons)
--Magic: healing with magic

Toughness 4, Fate 6

Tirien is on the expedition mostly to:
--try to help with wilderness-survival stuff in general
--try to help with potential combat situations with archery support
--try to heal with healing if need be with magic.

NOTE:
1. Magic takes Fate points, which can potentially run out.
2. Companions are never as good at doing things as YOU would be if YOU had the same skills, because you're the main characters, not them.

Any questions? (If so, ask me in the OOC thread.))
This message was last edited by the player at 17:54, Mon 06 Mar 2023.

Aubree woke up feelingore refreshed than she had in months.  Her cot in the guest area of the home of Radagast the Brown wasn't nearly as cozy.  Possibly because she could hear the man snoring most nights, and there were always rabbits bouncing around the house at all hours.
She smiled and waved to her new friends, joining them on the docks.
"I'm ready to go, and excited to start our quest.  Perhaps we should have Tirien and Olewyn lead the way, myself and Lachriel walking next, and Marthine walking rear guard.  Does that work for everyone?"

In reply to Aubree Farwalker (msg # 52):

Olewyn had been incredibly comfortable through the night. She was used to far less than what was offered here by the Elves. It had been strange but never had she felt more welcome by a people not her own.

She gives a nod if agreement

"Aye, I cannot do what I am best at from behind. That is a good arrangement to me." She does not mind allowing Aubree to dictate things . It prevents her from having to speak more than she is comfortable with. They have, after all,  five people in this group of theirs. At east she is comfortable with Aubree and Martine. Her comfort with the other two elves will happen in time.

 Marthine awoke in a position that ought to have been very uncomfortable for a human to have been sleeping in.  With a big stretch and a yawn, she planted out of her bed, found herself tangled in her blankets, and then rose.  She would politely decline any offerings to have her boots, her travelling blanket, or her staff's grip washed, saying that they smell of home and old friends.

---

Marthine seems to agree with Aubree's proposed party placements.  "That ought to work just fine... If anything gets too hairy, then I'll get hairier and you'll find me wherever I need to be." There would be blood and hair and fur not long after, in those designated spots... She felt a little bad, not telling these new people about her extraordinary, nay, supernatural, abilities, but she had been taught a long time ago that broadcasting one's ability to change into an animal wasn't the wisest thing to do, and so she resolved to show them on her own time, and in her own way.  They didn't seem like the types to make too much of a fuss, however...

 As she walks, she looks in the direction of her old home and lets out an imperceptible sigh.  But then she looks between these friendlier-than-usual elves, and honorable woodswoman, and blinks slowly.

"Ah, that marching order sounds fine-- when the time comes. But first, we take a boat, south on the River Running. The river-traffic runs regularly-- there should be little problem getting to the east end of the Old Forest Road. There, our journey will truly begin in earnest... Come, this way!"

( https://i.pinimg.com/originals...d2f6d93f86b2f924.jpg )

Lachriel leads you over to some docks, where the five of you are soon upon a boat headed south on the river.

The river is leisurely, and the banks to either side are quite marshy, but they aren't exactly ugly, just... forbidding. It's a pretty day for it, at least...

(Pausing for reaction posts...)

 Marthine watches Lake-Town recede into the distance until it is gone from sight; as it passes out of there, she mouths something and then slowly turns to face her companions.

 She sniffs at the sights along the River Running, but awaits the elves' reactions before saying anything.  Best not to offend someone so long-lived, who might have something nice to say about it, or know something nice about it.  She but stretches, scratches her thigh, and sits back, enjoying the ride.

Rarely indulging in the luxury of water travel, Aubree grinned in delight as she moved to the front of the boat to look out over the water.   The smells coming from the forest, the sparkling of the sun on the lake, and the sounds of the waves.   The elf was truly enjoying herself.

In reply to Aubree Farwalker (msg # 57):

Olewyn is silent. She does not care for boats even if she is a decent swimmer. She just does not like having a vessel be in charge of where she is heading but complaints do nothing so she allows herself to get lost in her own thoughts on what possible dangers they could face. It certainly keeps her from talking for a time.

Finally she breaks and looks to the elf employing them, Lachirel.

"I have not been this way in six months. Have things changed recently or should we expect much of the same, my lady? My clan stays more towards the north."

Typically they like to keep the mountains of Mirkwood to their south during their own travels through the forest. Olewyn has only been south of there a total of seven times in the past three years. Always for a very special reason.

"If you came this way six months or so ago, I would say that things have likely changed little since then," Lacriel smiles.

(The GM rolls a die)

Less than an hour later... Tirien suddenly stands up.

He's looking ahead, at the right bank of the river.

He points, like he thinks he sees something important, but you see nothin--

Wait. Actually, yes. There's a man-- a human. The ground where the human is is solid ground, but just barely. The man has seen your boat, now, and he's making for it as fast as he can, but-- his leg is injured or something, so he's not moving very fast at all, and he keeps stepping in shallow but muddy puddles-- there, he's fallen. He crawls a few steps-- gets up, hobbles some more--

You can hear him easily now-- he's calling for help.

"Should I steer closer to that bank?" the captain of your boat asks you. His meaning is clear-- on one hand, it's so you can jump out and help? On the other hand, the reason he's asking is or should I steer away from that bank, in case whatever's chasing that man attacks us?

You can't see anything chasing the man-- so far. But the weeds and rushes and bushes where the man would've come from are very high and close, so...

Tiriel has already nocked an arrow to his bow and is just grimly waiting for a target to present itself.

Lacriel... turns to you, clearly waiting to see what you say. Maybe because Aubree is Radagast's apprentice, or maybe because this is a human, and she wants a human's reaction...

In reply to Lachriel (msg # 59):

Olewyn has her hand on her dagger as she checks for movement in the reeds. There could be an ambush laying in wait. Her instincts say to move quickly.

<orange) (Olewyn rolls two dice. )</orange>

"Steer in! Watch my back! Marthine! With me. At the least we can pull the man onto the boat to treat him. I do not trust that we are safe should we linger." The snap choice is made as Olewyn moves to a low crouch ready to launch herself out of the boat to move quickly. Her dagger may be the only thing keeping her safe from a threat since close-quarters firing off her bow seems ill-advised should the man be the actual threat. Olewyn will not leave an injured person in danger if it can be helped.

The captain steers the boat to shore, and very soon, any passengers who wish to do so may easily jump off and onto the (muddy) ground...

 Marthine, staff in hand, steps off with Olewyn, boots squelching in the mud.

Gaaah! Goblin! A goblin archer pops out from the bank downstream a bit, and hits Olewyn in the arm with an arrow!

(15:47, Today: Tirien rolled 6 using 2d6 with rolls of 5,1.)

Tzzzok! Tirien's bow takes that goblin down!

(Olewyn loses one Toughness-- for now, anyway. This is the bad consequence of failing the scouting attempt. Of course, the problematic consequence of a failed roll won't always be a wound... it just was this particular time.)

But are there more goblins around? Or anything else? Too soon to judge!

What do you do next?

The elven apprentice had eagerly helped them get closer to shore when they spotted the human in need, but Aubree's eyes widened at the sight of the goblin.  She got her own bow out, as the enemy was too far away for the few magic tricks she knew.

OOC:
17:02, Today: Aubree Farwalker rolled 3 using 1d6 with rolls of 3.  perception.

There! Another!

A bigger-than-average goblin pops out of the reeds much nearer to the boat, and rushes it-- and Aubree!

He slashes downward with a spear at Aubree-- but although he hits her shoulder, her special padded overcoat protects her-- this time.

However, it's damaged! It will need repair before it can protect her effectively again...
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:08, Tue 07 Mar 2023.

Aubree nearly dropped her bow as she was struck by the goblin's spear.  Not sure if she could properly use the bow before the goblin struck again, she reflexively reached into her small pouch of spicy dust and extracts and tried to toss it into the goblin's face.

OOC:
17:30, Today: Aubree Farwalker rolled 2 using 2d6 with rolls of 1,1.  magical spices.

20:26, Today: Aubree Farwalker rolled 4 using 1d6 with rolls of 4.  added d6 to magic
6 total


OH NO!!!  those d6s never liked me, it seemed.  My apologies, everyone
This message was last edited by the player at 02:26, Wed 08 Mar 2023.

Aubree tosses a handful of powder-- but the wind changes, and it blows the powder backwards.

Aubree's eyes, nose, and mouth and lungs immediately burn-- her eyes tear up, and she starts coughing so hard, she can't do anything else...

...And from what she can hear, it's clear that Tirien is having the exact same problem.

(Aubree may post, but may not actually act again until further notice.)

 Marthine gasps at the sudden escalation of things...

 The archer was down, but there was a goblin pestering poor Aubree!

 Not for long.

 Charging the miserable wretch with her staff, the woman swings, aiming for anything like a vital spot... though a good whack anywhere would suffice.

Hand-to-Hand Martial Combat: Goblin

16:53, Today: Marthine rolled 11 using 3d6 ((4,2,5)).

Marthine whacks the goblin right in the face with her quarterstaff. Sounds like she broke his nose but good, and maybe got 'im in his right eye a bit, too.

Slightly dazed, fighting to stay conscious, he backs away from the boat rapidly, vaguely making little swipes with his spear in front of him. Looks like he's probably seeing stars right now-- unless he's faking it to draw you closer?

He's certainly lost the bravado he had just a little while ago. He might even run away soon, if allowed...

In reply to The GM (msg # 69):

Olewyn will not allow that. Instead of running the goblin down with her dagger which she is not so great at Olewyn drops it to draw her bow. She trusts her own skills to fire a shot at the fiend given her occupation.

( Foraging: shooting (including throwing weapons: Goblin

Olewyn rolled 6 using 3d6 with rolls of 2,1,3.

Oh dear! May I spend Fate for a re-roll or to add an extra die to avoid injuring Olewyn more or a party member? )

(You may. It's not exactly a RE-roll-- you get to roll 1 EXTRA d6 per Fate point spent.

Also, a failed roll is unlikely to harm other PCs who aren't you (though Companions could well be inconvenienced, as we have seen, but that's just to give PCs more opportunity to shine). Other PCs who aren't you getting negatively affected by your roll only happens on a roll of ALL 1s (if more than 1 die is rolled).)

In reply to The GM (msg # 71):

(Awesome well I'm spending 1 Fate to add another d6.

I got lucky and got a 5 so maybe the dice gods just wanted me to sweat it out. )

(Be sure to mark off the Fate point in your Bio line, Olewyn.)

Olewyn drops the goblin-- he's not going to ever get up again.

You all wait, watch, listen... Aubree (and Tirien) start slowly feeling better...

(Aubree may act again now as normal.)

No more goblins appear... so far...

Lachriel jumps down and helps the wounded human man. "Get on the boat... get me on the boat... There might be more..."

Aubree sighed dramatically
"Well, THAT wasn't the first impression I was trying for.  Note to self: Enflaming Powders are better out of the Wind!"
She moved quickly to help the man, hoping she could do that right at least.