Aubree helps Lachriel get the man onto the boat. He's still got one good leg-- the other has an arrow-shaft through it, though the part with the arrow-head has been broken off-- so they support him as he limps onto the boat. The man relaxes only slightly. "Now cast off again," he urges. "Just in case."

(I really should have started this non-Haven thread a little while back, but forgot. Oh well, I'm doing it now!)

Once the man is mostly situated in the boat, Aubree did what she could to help get the boat back in the stream and away from the difficulties on shore.

In reply to Aubree Farwalker (msg # 2):

Olewyn settles herself clutching her injured arm. It is sore from being shot and from firing her bow. She waits for the others to settle themselves before she glances towards the man.

"I expect that there will be more trouble. I am down an arrow and... injured. How do you fare, stranger? "

Marthine and Lachriel appeared to be the only persons not to get injured in this fight. Goblins are no joke.

 Marthine seems satisfied with her work... and Olewyn's.  As she boards the boat and helps steady the man, making sure that he can't reach her gun in case he decides to get up to antics, she keeps an eye out for any critters on the horizon... or in hiding.

 "You are safe, now..."

 But there is the matter of the tip of her staff being covered in blood and mucus at her feet... Ah, well.

05:53, Today: Marthine rolled 11 using 2d6 ((5,6)).
Riddling - Seeking out Goblins!

(On one hand, you shouldn't have rolled 2 dice, since you don't actually have the Riddling trait-- the traits you currently have are Fighting and Magic. You should have only rolled 1d6.

On the other hand, you got a success with both the dice you rolled, so I guess we don't have to worry about which one we should count.)

Marthine keeps a sharp eye out for any sort of thre--

--THERE! Someone's trying to climb onto the back of the boat-- goblin!!

A goblin downstream must've spotted the boat from the reeds, waited underwater until it started passing by, and now it's trying to sneak onboard...

Get 'im!

At first,  Aubree thought what she was seeing was just another sparkle from the magic dust she'd accidentally gotten blown into her own eyes.  But then it moved again!
Not wanting to crop dust the members of her party again, She took up her bow with the decades of practice that elves had, and fired

OOC:

18:18, Today: Aubree Farwalker rolled 5 using 1d6 with rolls of 5.  Bow shot

Pow! Got 'im!

The goblin falls backward into the water... and soon sinks, and is left behind.

Olewyn gives Aubree a quick nod.

"That was a good shot. Let us keep moving before we attract more of their kind."

Which that requires no work on her part. Olewyn will wait to ask for help until she knows they are properly out of danger. At least a quarter of a mile from their current location should do the trick for settling her nerves.

Aubree grinned at her new friend
"Thank you.  My Master taught me many things about magic, but one of his first lessons was 'Not ever problem needs a magical solution'."

The boat starts to continue down the river with no further interruptions nor threats of danger.

(Feel free to ask for help a quarter of a mile, half a mile, 1 mile, 2, 3, 5. As long as no one LOOKS for danger for a while, I shall give none for a while.)

Aubree kept her elven eyes open, but did NOT look for trouble.

 Marthine started when she saw the goblin and reached for her staff, but then relaxed when she saw how deftly Aubree dealt with them.  What luck to be in the company of such as her!  And as Olewyn!  ...the others might be competent in their own regards, but time would tell in their cases.

 To the elf, she says, "Yes, sometimes a practical approach is the best one."

---

Her eyes and ears are half on her companions and charge and half hopefully aware for foes for a good while, and she might seem distracted at times... but, she is paying attention.

In reply to Marthine (msg # 12):

Once Olewyn herself is sure they are safe she finally settles herself down properly. She sets her pack down properly at her feet and shrugs off her cloak.

"I have been shot. Now that we are no longer under threat of attack would one of you check my injury as well... as our guest's injury? We would not want infection to set in."

This is said as calmly as one might discuss the weather. Olewyn is in pain but she isn't going to let it stop her for longer than needed.

Tirien examines the rescued man, and Olewyn. "You'll both live. You just need rest," he says, smiling.

Then Tirien draws his allies closer. "I can use magic to heal one, or both of you. But... it takes energy to do so. I can almost guarantee that the man's leg won't get any worse. But you... you should probably be in better shape for the days ahead. Shall I heal Olewyn? Or wait, in case there's a greater emergency later on?" he asks quietly.

You get the feeling Tirien kind of wants to act now, but since his magic is a valuable resource, he's checking, just to be sure what the policy on this sort of thing should be.

 Marthine hesitates.  "These are never easy answers..." Her eyes flick from the man, to Olewyn's injury, and then to Tirien.  "I say we heal Olewyn's injury, and at least mend or treat the man's." After a moment, she adds, "I don't know much about healing, but I can follow directions..."

 Memories flood her mind, of her cats seemingly coaching one another through things in their own strange ways...

Aubree didn't feel qualified to make that decision, so she merely nodded in acquiescence to whatever the her Traveling Companions decided

In reply to Aubree Farwalker (msg # 16):

Olewyn understands magic is as finite as  her arrows. Everything runs out eventually. However, she can still use her dagger and perhaps provide for the group in other ways.

"I understand. Resources and simply having the energy to do so are... limits. I say take care of my arm now. I am an archer and my life is in the strength of my arms."

Tirien mutters some words very quietly in elvish, draws little runes with his finger on Olewyn's arm.

(09:44, Today: Tirien rolled 7 using 2d6 with rolls of 5,2.  can he heal it?

5! Success!

Olewyn gets 1 Toughness back. Tirien loses 1 Fate point for the moment.)

Olewyn's arm feels fine!

Hurrah, magic!

Lachriel has been talking to the rescued man, and applying herbs to his leg. "...We went out into the woods for more wood," he said. "We thought it would be fine, north of the road... but we got lost. We couldn't have gotten south of the road, but... we couldn't find our way back. And then goblins found us and started chasing us. We tried to run southeast, toward either the road or the river... I'm the only one that made it-- and even then, they got me with an arrow just before I made it to the water, and then saw you..."

 Despite the marvels that Tirien works, Marthine can not help but sigh and shake her head at the man's story.  "How fortunate that we found you...!  What is your name?  I am Marthine, originally of Lake-town."  Olewyn's recovery would prevent tragedies from befalling others given her strength of character and body, but a tragedy was a tragedy, and Marthine would at least listen for her part.

"I am Arno Ullerson. My family has long lived in Lake-Town, but I now live in Dale, working on restoring it the way it was before the dragon destroyed it."

Aubree nodded sympathetically to the human
"Your people have done great work.  Hopefully the town will stand for a very long time"

"You've seen Dale since we started rebuilding? How recently?"

Aubree smiled slightly and nodded.
"My wizard master took me by there recently.  Though I don't remember  when exactly.  We didn't go into the city, just looked at is from nearby."

Arno smiles weakly, but at least it's the first smile you've seen on his face. "It's looking fine, isn't it? Soon anyone that wants to can come, and it'll be just like the old days, when trade with the dwarves brings everyone and there's prosperity for all. ...We're being careful about how we use wood, though-- Gonna make everything harder to burn, this time. So there's more work for woodcutters and carpenters like me here on this Mirkwood project, for now."

Aubree pondered the man's problem,  and tried to think about things that Radagast had said about fireproofing.  The man lived in the middle of trees, after all, where forest fires were a constant worry.
OOC:  17:24, Today: Aubree Farwalker rolled 11 using 2d6 with rolls of 6,5.  Using logic to remember studies
If she could, she would recommend different kinds of wood that were harder to burn, and perhaps some techniques for fireproofing key areas.

She raised a delicate eyebrow
"The Mirkwood project?   That sounds fascinating.   What's that?"

"Oh, just this thing we're doing to build the watch-stations along the Old Forest Road. The idea was that when it was done, the road would be safe, like it used to be, and hobbits and elves and men could cross Mirkwood in peace. ...But that idea was based in the idea of there being a lot less goblins since th' war, among other things. Maybe it's not going to be that simple..."
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:50, Wed 15 Mar 2023.

Aubree chuckled sympathetically
"Sadly, it seems, Goblins are not like mushrooms.  They tend not to stay in place for long.  They have their native habitats, as do most of us, but the war shuffled everyone around it seems."

 A grateful nod is given to Arno when his help is brought up.  Then, Marthine seems genuinely interested when talk of this "Mirkwood Project" is brought up.

 After Aubree's words, she says, "So true... But, it seems like sometimes the greatest things are the hardest to get.  Coffee that doesn't keep you up at night... A good, sturdy jacket..." She looks off into the distance.  "Watch-towers that can only help everyone..."

(I edited my previous post because I'd messed up the formatting. Want to make sure you see what I said about rolling.)



"...Oh! ...Oh! I understand what you mean! You mean... a lot of the nearest goblins and wargs probably died in the war... but now a lot of them that were too far away to come fight in the way... have realized that the places where the dead ones were living would've been left empty... and they've come to move in! Well, if that isn't just... I bet you're right, miss!"

"Sure!" says Arno, "but you-all saved me! I bet you lot'll end up saving th' whole expedition!"

And so, the boat floats on downstream for miles... Until finally, it comes to a large and well-built dock and ferry.

Those there-- mostly humans, but a few dwarves and elves as well-- greet you, and welcome you to the start of the Old Forest Road.

They are shocked and horrified to hear of the goblin attack, but thank you for saving Arno...

Aubree will talk to the people at the construction site, particularly the elves, as they might be more generous with her with information.

In reply to Aubree Farwalker (msg # 32):

Olewyn who had largely been silent will see if there is anyone with a spare arrow or two they would be willing to part with. She considers what is being said and finally interjects with her own thoughts.

"The towers would even be of use to my clan should we come north. This... This will help many people. I would like to see it succeed."

(Is she asking about anything in particular?)



There's no shortage of arrows right now, and others are glad to share with you.

Aubree will ask for a few arrows as well, since they were in more dangerous areas than they realised.

She asked about general information.   How far along they were, what the general path was going to be, and if there were others deeper in the woods they needed to look out for.

In reply to Aubree Farwalker (msg # 35):

Olewyn will only take enough to restock with thanks given to those willing to share. Their kindness will not be forgotten. Olewyn does however linger near Aubree to listen in on what the elf learns. This is vital to their journey.

"Have you seen signs of larger predators?" It is not only goblins they should fear.

 Marthine does not take much, if anything, only taking stock of what is available.  When Olewyn asks about predators, the Skin-Changer listens carefully.

 "Yes... anything that poses a threat to your safety ought to be taken care of."

"Ah! Well!" Arno points out a wooden structure nearby. It's three stories, and it has steps that turn and turn and lead up to the top. The top has a peaked rooftop, but is open on all four sides. "See, we went with steps instead of a ladder in case anyone gets wounded and you have to move 'em down after the fighting's over-- cursed hard to do that with just a ladder. We'll have a system of lanterns-- if one goes out, that means trouble, and everyone at the next tower'll know to come running to help. Too many lanterns'll mean that you're not in trouble, but someone up or down the line past you is, so to come help." Arno points down the road. "See, you can just see the next tower down there. They're a bit closer together when the road curves, but it doesn't do that often. It's mostly pretty straight. The stretch we've worked on so far has been, anyway. We've finished four of these towers so far, and we're working on the fifth now."

"Almost done with the fifth," someone tells Arno. "Just about ready to start on the sixth."



"Haven't seen any, but we've seen signs," says a dwarf.

"Spider-webs," says an elf. "Dark creatures, grown more dangerous by the black magic of The Necromancer. But we haven't seen any so far."

"And sign of goblins, twice," says the dwarf. "A broken arrow, at one point. A recent carving, at another-- they mark the trees with their tribal signs, with various meanings."

"I know some of the marks," adds Lacriel. "I will be watching for them."

"Still, everything we'd seen so far was south of the road," says the dwarf. "I had thought it safe to let Arno and his cutters venture north for lumber..."

Aubree nodded to the dwarf, smiling at their achievement.
"I'm not precisely sure where our Adventure will take us, but if we get a chance to check in with the other towers, we certainly well.  A bit of communication never hurts, after all.  This is a mighty accomplishment, my friends.  You should be very proud."

"Oh, we absolutely will be," says Lachriel. "We'll be passing them all, and scouting the road farther ahead to make sure it seems safe. We'll also be scouting off the road as well, to make sure no one's preparing any ambushes."

She does not mention what happened to Aldo and his fellows-- it's just too obvious and painful to need to be pointed out directly.

And so, a meal is eaten, and everyone except for those on watch eventually go to bed for the night. The workers offer to keep watch for you tonight...

...But nothing bad happens during the night.

After a pleasant-enough breakfast, you all set out, in the morning, travelling west on the road...

(Y'all seemed not-sure what to say next, so I thought I'd move things along. Gonna pause here so y'all can do reaction posts if needed...)

After a filling meal (humans and dwarves loved greasy food, though Aubree had to admit there was something appealing about it), Aubree was shown a guest sleeping pad.  It was less luxurious than she was used to, but that was what Adventures were all about.
As the people settled down for the night, Aubree pulled out some travel games, including a deck of cards and a chess board like game from the elves.
Later one, she broke out her elven flute, and played some elven melodies, and also a few human ones she'd heard recently.

Breakfast was much the same as supper, with flavors consisting mostly of salt and grease, but it was oddly satisfying and filling.
Elven food was about nutrition and fuel for the body.  Humans, and to a lesser extent dwarves, seemed to use food to express love and affection.
Aubree had to admit that she approved.

 Marthine seemed to enjoy the fare... any baked goods, almost, but not quite, as much as that from Lake-town!  As far as Aubree's offered entertainments, the normally... strange, short woman attempted to play the games with her.

 Her own contributions to entertainments included stories about her anywhere from eleven-twenty cats.  She actually got carried away telling tales of their silly antics, laughing as she did.  Perhaps this near-anthropomorphism of these meowry mousers was stress from the recent fracas, perhaps it was just Marthine being Marthine.

 But, while rest was welcome and the woman's dreams weren't the worst, better days were to come... and she had to see to that with her companions.  Following her breakfast and gratitude to her hosts, Marthine took to the road with elves and woman.

Lachriel leads the party west. Every time one of the three-story watchtowers is almost out of sight, the next one comes into sight.

Effort has been made to widen the road, too, around each tower.

Each tower has a garrison of five fighters, with horses or ponies. Each has at least one elven archer and at least one human fighter in the complement.

The garrisons are all happy to see the party passing, and there's much smiling and waving.

Finally, Lachriel takes you past the last fully-completed tower.

The next tower does indeed look almost finished. "This one should be finished before sundown today!" a dwarf says proudly.

The next tower you come to is barely started, but the structural supports for the first two stories are already in place. Dwarves and men are also hard at work widening the road on either side of the tower. "Don't want any wagons running off the shoulder in the future because of the watchtowers!" chuckles a woman.

"This area has already been scouted," Lachriel explains. "Our job today is to scout the area for the next tower, down the road, and to make sure there are no surprises nearby. Ready to continue? Any questions?"

Aubree enjoyed their wander through the woods, and waved to all the sturdy men and woman guarding the road.  She'd play her flute as they walked by, hopefully providing a bit of entertainment during what was probably a long day of mild tedium.

As they reached the more uncivilized areas of the forest, she put her flute away and readied her bow, ajd inventoried her various pouches.

"I'm ready, my friend.   On to Adventure, eh?"

In reply to Aubree Farwalker (msg # 45):

"I have none that will not be answered by pressing forward."

Olewyn had been content last night. These people reminded her of her clan. Perhaps by leaving her people to see the world she  was coming to find that people, at their heart, had much more in common than she thought.

It was a thought to explore while they scouted out the land.

"This is going well. I think once we have scouted it will be safer for the people at work down the road. I suppose I should ask how far we will be between this tower and the one yet-to-be-built?"

 Marthine only shook her head at Lachriel's question.

 She found herself quietly enjoying the flute, but still remained vigilant.  Her hand was on that staff of hers, the weapon finding itself less and less tap-a-tap-a-tapping on the ground, and more just rested against her shoulder.

 "Yes, and what should we be on the lookout for, outside of the unusual?"

"Anything at all unusual. Any sign or sound of movement. Any sign that anyone or anything might have been around recently. Be sure to look not just at ground level, but also up in the trees. Watch for any sign of unusually-large spiderwebs or cobwebs. If you happen to see any footprints once we're off the road, get my attention quietly and tell me. Truly, I even want you to tell me if you smell a strange smell, or if you just feel as if someone's watching you."

"About as far as the distance between the others-- about as far as an arrow can fly over level ground."

Thinking, the two humans realize that about as far as an arrow can fly over level ground is, in elvish thinking, a bit farther than humans might think.

Aubree remembered her studies, with Radagast would speak of how anything, strange smells, sounds, and even strange tastes, could be a clue about danger.
The wizard was wise, but had a weird habit of putting almost everything new into his mouth, like a human toddler.   It was a strangely effective method of investigation, though.  At least when he did it.


She nodded to their guide and took to examining everything

In reply to Aubree Farwalker (msg # 50):

Why are elves like this? A question many a child of man has thought since the first time a human had to deal with that kind of explanation. At least she knows it is less than a league. That is a unit of measurement that she can deal with.

"Then that should not be too terrible."

There she stayed polite and did not lose her calm demeanor. On the outside.

 Marthine does not seem to think that Lachriel is at all being unreasonable or silly, and in fact nods her agreement to her.  "Understood."  But, well, arrow-flights were another thing entirely... there were so many factors that went into that sort of a measurement!  She seems like she is almost beginning to say something, but at the last minute... does not.

 Instead, she sets about her duties as needed.

In reply to Marthine (msg # 52):

Olewyn starts to silently look for signs as they travel. She wishes to see if she catches anything that should stand out. However she neglects to look up because hers are not the only eyes looking for danger as far as she knows.

Is that a bent branch?

Olewyn pauses to inspect something with a careful gaze not knowing if it is a sign of something to be weary of or in a branch is just a branch.

( Olewyn rolled 4 using 2d6 with rolls of 3,1. )

zip!

Olewyn disappears.

Wait, what? How could she just disappear? Did she fall in a hole? There was a sort of movement, but it--

--Oh, there she is, hanging from a branch overhead. A giant spider has webbed her up with a web like a noose, and she's dangling by her neck (well, and her left arm/shoulder, so she isn't strangling yet, but still).

(1. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! A giant spider has webbed Olewyn by the neck and she's hanging from a big tree limb overhead!

2. Olewyn is in the perfect position to attack the giant spider with her dagger right now, but she'll start taking damage next round if she doesn't swing over to the nearest branch right away. (Alternatively, she could just cut the web that's holding her, but then she'd drop to the ground and probably take damage that way.

2a. Since you have Foraging: Surviving (in the wild), I'll let you roll 3d6 to try to swing to aforementioned nearby branch.

3. Note: Olewyn has not lost any Toughness points YET. The bad consequences (besides giant spider attack) is that she's in a very awkward position right now).

4. Everyone else, feel free to use ranged attacks to attack the giant spider. Doing that won't cause Olewyn to fall. (Aubree, you're not close enough to use your magic powder at this time.))

Aubree blinked in surprise as her friend Olewyn seemed to vanish, but that expression was replaced with alarm when she saw the spider.  Radagast had warned about such vile, monstrous creatures.  Nefarious predators who disrupt the natural order of things.

Too far away to use her alchemical powders, she quickly drew her bow and shot at the spider.

OOC:
13:51, Today: Aubree Farwalker rolled 3 using 1d6 with rolls of 3.  Bow shot
This message was last edited by the player at 18:55, Thu 23 Mar 2023.

In reply to Aubree Farwalker (msg # 55):

Olewyn tries to swing herself using her skills in climbing. Surely she can get away from this spider long enough to untangle herself from it's web. She is much better with her bow.

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

 )

It doesn't quite work how she would like because she cannot quite manage the angle she would like. She can tell something is about to not go in her favor. Again. At least she has friends to help.

The arrow misses. The spider spits a bit of webbing at Aubree-- Aubree is covered with sticky webs.

(Aubree takes no damage yet, but she can do nothing further of use until she frees herself, which will take up the next two rounds. (You can shorten it to one round if you use your remaining use of Adventuring Gear to pull a knife of some sort from your pack.))




The limb proves harder to reach than Olewyn had hoped. She's still stuck-- but the webbing has come loose from her shoulder, and now it tightens about her neck...

(Olewyn loses 1 Toughness...)

 Marthine starts when Olewyn vanishes.  What?!  When she sees the source of this commotion, she clicks her tongue.  Spiders!

 So many had hurt her cats... And this one was about to hurt Olewyn!  And they were dodging an elf's arrows!  This was bad news...

 Putting discretion and caution and even the common sense that told her to avoid showing others her ability to the wind, Marthine falls forward and her form warps... distorts... a very alarming sight, to be certain.  What sounds like a loud exhalation turns into a feral, guttural sound.

 Where before was a woman of below-average height, now stands a mountain lion!

Burning 1 Fate to take an animal form (cat).
 13:18, Today: Marthine rolled 10 using 3d6 ((2,4,4)).

(OOPS, no 5 nor 6s...!)

The great cat climbs the tree in a split-second--

--Uh-oh, the spider's thought ahead and put webbing on the tree there!

The spider attacks the cat!

(Marthine the mountain lion loses 1 Toughness.

On the other hand, you can try to counter-attack next round. I'll let you count it as Up-close combat with weapons.

I'll post for Lachriel and Tirien soon...)

Tirien fires an arrow at the spider, but it barely misses.

Lachriel pulls out a short bow and does the same, and misses by a foot where Tirien missed by an inch...

(Okay, y'all's turn again...)

Aubree creied out when the webbing hit her, unable to fire, or properly drop, her bow, the elven apprentice squirmed around until she could pull a knife from her pack, to try to escape


OOC:

18:09, Today: Aubree Farwalker rolled 2 using 1d6 with rolls of 2.  Knife

(I didn't expect you to roll for that, but since you failed... Hmmmm...)

As Aubree frantically searches in her pack for her knife, she finds it, but when she pulls it out, her gaming dice fall into the high grass. Darn!

(Mark that you have a knife now (but no more Adventuring Gear), but that you lost your dice.

You'll be able to rejoin the fight next round-- you spend this round cutting yourself free.)

 Meowarthine groans, and attempts to free herself of the webbing... and, to bat at the spider.  With paws and claws.

17:12, Today: Marthine rolled 11 using 2d6 ((5,6)).
Attacking the spider with hand-to-hand martial combat.

(Actually, you could have rolled 1 more die-- but you didn't need to, so don't worry about it.)

Marthine claws the giant spider something awful. It even loses two of its legs on one side.

But it's not dead yet.

It crawls down the far side of the tree trunk to try to get away from the wild cat...

In reply to The GM (msg # 64):

Olewyn takes a deep breath. There is a great cat in the trees with her. She was aware that it was no natural beast but one that was also somehow Marthine. She would ask questions when not being choked out by webns.

Olewyn sings herself once again aiming for a branch so she can safely free herself.

(  Olewyn rolled 12 using 3d6 with rolls of 3,5,4. )

Olewyn uses her skills for Surviving (in the wild)

Olewyn safely swings to the nearby branch this time, and frees herself entirely from the webbing, taking no further damage.

(Olewyn may climb to the ground next round, and may continue the fight the round after that... OR may try leaping directly from the branch to attack the giant spider death-from-above-style...

Martine-the-cat, being more built for such a move, may try that now (That webbing only slowed Martine-the-cat down for one round, it's not a problem anymore)

In reply to The GM (msg # 66):

Using her studies of how spiders moved and other lessons from Radagast, like geometry, angles, and mathematics, Aubree tried to line up another bow shot on the spider.

OOC:
15:16, Today: Aubree Farwalker rolled 5 using 2d6 with rolls of 3,2.  logical bowshot.

While Aubree is calculating angles, the spider rushes up and attacks her.

(Aubree (since her armor was damaged earlier) loses 1 Toughness.)

 Good!  That spider would feel that in the morning...

 Marthine attempts to launch herself from her current place at the spider... This one didn't deserve a morning.  She swipes at them, in the hopes of realizing this judgement.  It's one thing to bite a wolf, or another cat, or even a man or a goblin.  Spiders, though?  Well... where was their venom stored?  To say nothing of getting a mouthful of webbing!  Pfaugh!  There were too many risks involved.

17:42, Today: Marthine rolled 9 using 3d6 ((5,1,3)).

Pawing at the spider.  Unsure if additional rolls are needed.

The great cat leaps from the tree and hits the spider, clawing it as it goes.

The spider loses another leg, too.

The giant spider decides it's had enough of this-- it turns and starts to leave the battle (heading southwest).

"It is hurt very badly, and seeks to escape!" says Lachriel. "Should we let it?"

Aubree staggered back, struggling to get her bow out
"No, my friends!!!  Finish it!!!"
OOC: 21:24, Today: Aubree Farwalker rolled 2 using 1d6 with rolls of 2.  Bow shot

Radagast had taught her a reverence of the natural world that went beyond even what most elves naturally felt, but these was a creature of evil

In reply to Aubree Farwalker (msg # 71):

"We cannot let it escape."

Olewyn has been spending this time finding a path down to the ground. If there is a chance to get a shot in Olewyn will take it.

(GM rolls dice for Lachriel and Tirien: fail.)

Aubree, Lachriel, and Tirien fire arrows, but all miss. Olewyn gets down from the tree safely, but too late to fire.

"The creature is gone," says Tiriel. "We should pursue, I think, yes? Are we all ready? If so--"

Arriving at the watchtower to be informed that he'd missed the rest of the party by minutes didn't help when he had continued, and then heard fighting going on, the grunts and groans of battle, he moved fast but didn't wish to be out in the open on his own, he rushed to catch the others up quickly.

He saw the group, had the battle finished or was he there on time?  Maybe his turning up convinced the enemy to flee?  Either way, he had arrived.

From around 30 paces away he slowed and called forward, "hey there, you need some help?  You match the description I was told to meet up with, I'd missed you by only moments at the watchtower."  He was hoping it was the right group, too late now to think otherwise.

He finished the rest of the way walking, cloak settling as he slowed pace, tilting his wide brimmed hat so they could see his face.  Young yet wise (not that you'd think with calling out to these people before knowing for certain that this was the right group).  His staff in one hand held out sideways, the other hand holding his cloak open so they could see his crossbow and leather armour.

"I'm Ronald R. Dodaden, but you may have heard the kids in Laketown calling me 'Doodad'.  Sorry I'm late"

 As the others convened on the spider's fate, Marthine lowered herself from the tree and returned to human form.

 Just when she began to speak, a man - and from Lake-town! - made himself known.  But, she tries to place the name... She was a bit of a recluse, relatively speaking, but did know some people.  Have I heard that name before... 'Doodad'... Did one of the kittens say it?  Or maybe it was Old Otis when he started to meow at the walls... Oh, well, whatever.

 "Good day to you, I am Marthine."  Her voice is somewhat deeper than might be expected, and nasal with a slight lisp.  She points to herself.  "...also of Lake-town.  I used to own a rat-catching business, with my cats."  She is short, with long golden-blonde hair that frames an almost feral-aspected face.  Her attire is fairly simple, with a long vest, leggings, and a cloak with what looks like cat ears hangs around her shoulders.  A light rustling as she moves suggests that she at least has a chain byrnie underneath the vest.  There is also a pistol at her hip.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:36, Sun 26 Mar 2023.

In reply to Ronald R. Dodaden (msg # 74):

An elven woman, beautiful like all her kin, though looking a bit harried at the moment, turned quickly to look at the new voice speaking to them.
"We were attacked by a monstrous spider, one of the denizens of darkness from deep in teh forest.  We've managed to drive it away and wound it, but I fear we haven't seen the last of its evil.  We should pursue and finish it, lest it menace other travelers or innocent folk.""

The elf was in a hooded cloak, currently hood down, and was wearing nice traveling clothes, but with many pouches and bags scattered higgledy piggledy all about her person.  She had a small bow in her hand, and a quarterstaff by her side, as well as a knife in a hip sheath.

He'd seen a few Elves and as a Human, admired how they moved like flowing branches or a stream through the hills, this one seemed like her kin.  She spoke of danger, he looked around the direction she looked and pointed.

The Human with the cat's eared clothes, Marthine, he wasn't sure he'd seen her before but had seen lots of cats. "I'm actually from just outside on the land, I don't go out that much anyway but I'm known for toys."

Thinking of the danger. "How big was the spider? Size of a cat, a dog, a cow? Now that would be monstrous indeed.  How can I help? I agree, if so big, there is Evil behind it."

"A cow, or almost as big." Tirien turns and checks on the ladies: "Should I attempt healing for anyone, or should we hurry in pursuit?"

Aubree winced at her wounds, but shook her head
"We shouldn't tarry. That monster is moving fast"

Tirien turns to Olewyn. "Care to try to track it?"

Tirien turns to Marthine. "Or, on the other hand, anyone who can turn into a big cat is going to have tracking skills as good as mine, or better, I would think..."

In reply to Tirien (msg # 80):

Olewyn starts to look for signs of which way the spider is going. She has yet to say a word to Dodaden. There has been little time for her to do more than make sure she has no more webs sticking to her person.

( Olewyn rolled 9 using 2d6 with rolls of 5,4 )

"It has less legs than it started with. Finding it will not be hard. The trick is getting to it before it finds others."

Olewyn has SEEN things.

Olewyn leads the party to the spider.

Its back is to them. It's traveling on the ground, headed almost straight southwest, following a rough trail.

It's moving faster than a human can walk, but not at all as fast as a human is capable of running, its injuries are clearly slowing it down.

It also doesn't seem to have heard you coming up behind.

Attack? Or follow it to see where it goes? Or something else?

In reply to The GM (msg # 82):

Despite her elven heritage, Aubree suspected that she was far from the best shot with a bow.  She'd spent far too much time in the libraries than on the archery field as a child.  So when they were within a comfortable distance for a bow shot, she motioned for her friends to take aim and fire.

He may have only just joined this group, but he was willing to stop a Spider of THAT size if only so it didn't produce babies that would grow to a similar size and terrorise people.  He was ready and jogging with the rest of them, ready to use his Crossbow or his Magic.

In reply to Ronald R. Dodaden (msg # 84):

Olewyn drops her voice to a whisper in spite of knowing that spiders don't actually hear the way others do. It might be different with these kind, they are sort of magical and very evil.

"It may be better to stalk our quarry. See if it brings us closer to something else. I can move silently."

If the rest do not agree she will do what they ask.

Aubree nodded to Olewyn, trusting her judgment

He'd not met a Giant Spider before but had met a few cows and horses, he surmised his Trinket could help stop it, but what if it was going back to mum, an even bigger spider?

"How sure are you that it's not just a baby or that it's not, inadvertantly, leading us to a lair?

Silently following could work, like a cat stalking it's prey, we follow a short ways behind! Is that what you mean?" He'd had the thought, so thought as he was new to this group, he'd voice it.

 Marthine was surprised that no one retreated in terror from her turning into a cat, and then back!  Ah, well, explanations would be called for soon enough...

 To Tirien's suggestion that she might be a good tracker in cat shape, she began to stammer, but then noticed that Olewyn had things in order.  Phew!

---

But, then, the spider was found again...

 Marthine says in the same low voice that Olewyn is using, "There is wisdom in Ronald's words... and, in yours." She nods to Olewyn.  "If a pursuit is called for, I can take my shape once again...  Perhaps you could stalk from one side, I could stalk from another, and everyone else could follow us at a safe distance?" To illustrate what she means, she fans her right pinky and thumb out, while her ring, middle, and index fingers curl inward a little bit.  Everyone knows that adventurers can understand idiosyncratic gestures!

 The rat-catcher-turned-adventurer seems a little anxious -- not for the fact that she is talking about pursuing a large arthropod, but rather that the cat's out of the bag, as it were.

In reply to Marthine (msg # 88):

"Yes. We follow and see if there is a lair. If there are more we can plan accordingly. This is a hunt to make these lands safer after all." The hunter in Olewyn knew exactly how she would do it. With Marthine she can do this even easier.

"Marthine's plan works. That way we can flank it and... avoid any mishaps should either one of us make an error. The rest of you follow from a safe distance. Are we in agreement?"

Aubree smiled at Marthine, still absolutely enchanted that the human can change into a large hunting cat.  She'd heard rumors of such beings, but never thought she'd be lucky enough to meet one.

"Agreed, my friends.  That sounds like a good plan. "

He hadn't seen these 'Cat Forms' yet, so hadn't reacted.
"Changing shape? He wasn't sure what this meant, maybe they grew a hand making tracking better but someone had mentioned a Cat! Maybe a familiar. Oh! That was me he chided himself.

"Agreed" the plan made sense to him.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:25, Tue 28 Mar 2023.

 When it seems like a consensus has been reached, Marthine lowers her staff to the ground.  Gently!  "Then let it be done."

 "Some people can change their clothes... I can change my skin.  I suppose if you should get lost, you could meow as best you can.  Then, look for my tail."

 With this vagary, declaration, and instruction, Marthine falls forward, landing on paws and not hands, once again becoming a great brown cat!  A mountain lioness, if anyone should be so knowledgeable.

 She sits in that proud and almost statuesque pose that every cat does, but her look and the cock of her head says, "Well?", much like a domestic cat might do when expecting something of their guardian.

16:58, Today: Marthine rolled 10 using 3d6 ((4,3,3)).

Burning 1 Fate to become a cat again.

03:39, Today: Marthine rolled 5 using 2d6 ((2,3)).

Burning 1 Fate to add to a Sneaking (Move Silently) roll.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:40, Wed 29 Mar 2023.

Aubree smiled brightly, like a happy child seeing a rainbow
"How marvelous!"

In reply to Aubree Farwalker (msg # 93):

Olewyn proceeds to start sneaking off into the trees. Probably not as well as intended but really it's still strange suddenly being around a large cat.

( Olewyn rolled 8 using 3d6 with rolls of 3,3,2. )

Marthine turns into a mountain lion again, and goes forward, but to the left. Olewyn goes forward, but to the right. The rest of the party moves forward along the very rough trail.

Eventually (less than five minutes later, really), they all discover that the giant spider has stopped at a very small clearing-- to talk to a couple of goblins!

"...Yesss, yesss, a large cat, and humansss and elvesss, one of the humansss can become a cat, pay attention!" (The spider can talk!) "They came from the road, and acted like they were looking for sssomething."

"They must be after the treasure," says one goblin.

"Maybe," says the other goblin. "Who knows what they're after. It doesn't matter if we kill them-- ho, there's one now!" he says, spotting Olewyn.

"And a big cat, like in the mountains!" says the other goblin, spotting Marthine at the same time on the other side of the small clearing.

The one goblin unleashes an arrow at Martine. It doesn't stick in her, but slices open a long, shallow cut. Not so bad-- but it starts bleeding, so that's a problem.

The other goblin charges at Olewyn with a sword and hits her, oww!

(Marthine and Olewyn each lose 1 Toughness (mark it in your bio lines, please).)

Aubree gasped fearfully at the danger her friends were in,  though she was more upset at this strange alliance between goblins and monster spiders.
She shot her bow, hoping to at least distract the vile creatures

OOC:

15:11, Today: Aubree Farwalker rolled 2 using 1d6 with rolls of 2.  Bow shot

The head of Aubree's arrow glances smoothly off the spider's body in a sliding motion-- but oh no! The spider turns and attacks Aubree!

(Aubree, her armor already damaged, loses 1 Toughness.)

In reply to The GM (msg # 97):

Olewyn tries to fire a shot off at the goblin attacking her!

<orange>( Olewyn rolled 9 using 3d6 with rolls of 3,5,1.  Bow shot.)</orange)

Whew! Right in the head! The goblin goes down immediately, dead.

 Marthine growls, exclaiming when hit with the goblin's arrow.  She charges at them, and attempts to take their throat out..  or, at least to take a chunk out of something else.

16:07, Today: Marthine rolled 9 using 3d6 ((3,3,3)).


Hand to hand against the goblin archer.

The goblin archer switches to a sword as Marthine-the-lion rushes him, and he fends her off-- she just gets hurt worse.

(Marthine loses another Toughness.

Doodad, you wanna take a shot? If you do anything with your magic stuff, you'll roll 3d6. (If you do something more traditionally-fight-y, you'll just roll 1d6.)

A fight, he'd not really been in more than a play fight before but this was the real thing, lifting his Crossbow, cocking the string and sliding a bolt in place, channeling his magic through to the string to aim truer, one swift move and it was aimed at a Goblin.  He fired.

He doesn't see if it does anything, his new focus is the Spider. Dropping the Crossbow back on its belt hooks, and too two belts from his arms, one from each, they seemed to snake around as though trying to find something yo wrap around, like the Spiders Legs.

(ooc: 3D6, 4, 4, 3.. seems a miss.
00:54, Today: Ronald R. Dodaden rolled 8 using 2d6 with rolls of 4,4.  Xbow bolt at a Goblin.
01:08, Today: Ronald R. Dodaden rolled 3 using 1d6 with rolls of 3.  Missed a D6 for magical help.)
(Edit: missed Die roll - rolled 3 using 1d6 with rolls of 3.  Missed Die for xbow attack.
Humph, should have tried to make more accurate instead...)
This message was last edited by the player at 09:55, Thu 30 Mar 2023.

With a roughly-cow-sized giant spider RIGHT THERE IN FRONT OF HIM, Ronald gets a bit rattled. One leather tie falls to the grass, uselessly writhing around trying to grab something. The other does connect with a spider leg, but the next-nearest leg is just too far-- it just wraps itself around the one leg.

Then his crossbow bolt misses, and the spider attacks him.

The spider's first attack seems to just bounce off him-- but his protective bracelet breaks.

The spider's second try actually hurts him.

(Ronald now has no active protective bracelet, and he's lost 1 Fate point (just for trying) and 1 Toughness. Be sure to change those in your character's bio line, Ronald.)

Lachriel nocks arrow after arrow, singing:

"Amarthien then saw the spider bite
her love the archer Istion-- So fell
the one whose love she'd won through battle, fear,
and darkness, so she sped her arrow home
to slay the foe. Her tears were not in vain--"

But she is unable to kill the spider, nor is Tirien with his sword.

(GM rolled dice... Fail.

I tried using the Sing For Success rule to have Lachriel sing a bit of epic story (which I just made up on the spot) in order to turn a roll of 4 into a 5 if need be... but she got a 1. Heck. Even iambic pentameter didn't help, at least not on this particular try. I thought I'd show how to do it, though...

Not that you have to use iambic pentameter to use Sing For Success. I just felt like it.

Okay, y'all's turn)

Feeling badly wounded, Aubree knew it was time to use whatever she had available to defend herself and her Traveling Companions.
She put a hand into her satchel, pulling out a ready made pouch of red hot mushroom extracts, and tossed it at the spider's face.


OOC:  09:34, Today: Aubree Farwalker rolled 9 using 3d6 with rolls of 6,1,2.  Magic powder

The spider walks right through the powder, and attacks Aubree--

--and then it shudders, and jumps back five or six feet (a good trick, considering it's got half the number of legs it had this morning) and it screams. "The Witch-King! The Witch-King hass come back to punish uss for our cowardicee! No! The Defiler! Hide! Flee! Abandon the ssearch for the treassure! Nothing matterss now! Doom is upon uss all! Fleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee...!"

The spider attempts to run off to the north-- trips and falls face-first into the grass-- and lies there shivering and shuddering and crying and wailing.

 Marthine steadies her breathing in the split seconds between swings and swipes and bites, and makes a very deliberate attempt to pin the Goblin and take a chunk out of them.

16:21, Today: Marthine rolled 8 using 3d6 with rolls of 1,3,4.  Marthine Hand-to-Hand Martial Combat: Goblin Archer.
 16:22, Today: Marthine rolled 6 using 1d6 ((6)).

Hand-to-Hand combat against the goblin.
Really, really trying to throat the goblin, or at least break something, here... That totals out to 14!

Martine removes a large portion of the goblin's neck. Unfortunately for the goblin, it turns out that the rest of the body is not prepared to continue the fight on its own.


"Hey-la! The goblins are dead... the spider, defeated... Shall we put it out of its misery?" Lachriel asks...

 Marthine spits out blood (most of it the goblin's), voice box, bone, and flesh.  Looking up at Lachriel, she lets out a low growl of approval.

In reply to Lachriel (msg # 107):

Aubree paused to catch her breath, looking at the spider with wary eyes.
"Unless we can get some kind of information out of it.  Who is the 'witch king'?  Is that just some spider monster folk tale, or is this creature working for some dark master, like the goblins were working for the spider?  And what treasure did they mean?"

She tried to look back at the stories and histories that she'd learned at the feet of her wizard teacher.
OOC: 18:54, Today: Aubree Farwalker rolled 7 using 2d6 with rolls of 6,1.  magical history.
I'm not sure if I can use "logic" or just the "Magic" category for this

"That... is outside of my area of knowledge. I would prefer to track where they came from to see if there are any hidden clues."

She gives one last look to the spider and draws out her dagger.

"We have learned what we can. Best to kill this beast out of mercy, now."



She considers the creature and begins to hum the tune of a lullaby.


(Olewyn rolled 2 using 1d6 with rolls of 2.

Sing for Success (not high enough??)

Adding a Fate!

Olewyn rolled 5 using 1d6 with rolls of 5. )

(I'm not sure either, but you rolled a 6, so who cares, I'm gonna make it work anyway! (In future it might be better to ask me before rolling for a thing like that, though, at least in these early days of the game when we're all still getting a feel for how to roll for unusual things...))

"The Witch-King of Angmar was a dark and sorcerous ruler who terrorized the northlands many centuries ago," says Tirien. "I suppose that in spidery legends, he is a figure of menace who threatens to come back and punish the spiders for the eventual downfall of his kingdom. Perhaps spiders tell it as a warning to younglings to be careful in the wilds..."




To everyone's surprise, the shivering, shuddering spider speaks again in its fearsome delirium-- although whispering, now, instead of screaming: "The treassure... Give up hope of finding it...! We sshall have to convinsse the goblinss to ally with uss without it ssomehow, ssome other way... The Witch-King comess! Cursse Gungwin, for eating the only goblin who knew where it wass hid! Now iss the time for uss to hide...!"

"Well, well," muses Lachriel to you softly (too softly for the spider to overhear). "A burgeoning alliance-- and a potential obstacle to it. Would that we might find this treasure ourselves, and help to thwart this would-be alliance..."

Aubree nodded to Tirien, tapping her lips with a slender finger.
"That sounds like a noble cause, certainly.  An allience of these dark creatures would definitely be an obstacle to the civilized people here."

 A little more slowly than might be normal, Marthine returns to her human shape... and in pretty bad shape!   "We... can not let that happen.  I wonder if Gungwin has any relatives remaining?  And, if he might not like to see a gun to him." She pats her pistol.

Olewyn kills the spider.

Olewyn also finds something on the goblin she killed-- a dagger with unusual runes engraved into the blade...

Olewyn right away drags the dagger.

"Aubree. You are the scholar. What do you make of these runes? I am.... not well-read like you."

She rather likes the weight of the dagger and may add it to her own small collection of weapons. It would prove useful to have a second dagger given what they are speaking of dealing with.

In reply to Olewyn (msg # 115):

He had been hurt....OUCH  Yes it was after the fact but adrenalin, it had been hiding the pain.  He rubs his injury as Olewyn holds out the dagger.  He sees Runes on it I studied Runes if that helps any!  I could take a look if Aubree is unable to decipher them, I'd give it a try anyway.

As he picked up the leather straps from the spider and the floor, trying to ensure they didn't wrap around his legs or arms, or both; He thought to himself that there was actually a possibility that he could actually be useful.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:44, Fri 31 Mar 2023.

(You have the Reading Runes skill, so roll 3d6, Ronald.

Also, adjust your Toughness and Fate points in your bio line.)
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:44, Fri 31 Mar 2023.

In reply to The GM (msg # 117):

With the blade close, he studies the blade but he is struggling to read the runes.

[18:44, Today: Ronald R. Dodaden rolled 7 using 3d6 with rolls of 4,2,1.  Reading Runes] (Can he spend a Fate to this?)

(You may spend Fate points to roll an extra die, 1 for 1. (So, a second Fate point for ANOTHER die if the first extra one doesn't work.) But if they don't get a 5 or 6 either, the Fate points are still spent!)

In reply to The GM (msg # 119):

(ooc: Both dice failed -
18:52, Today: Ronald R. Dodaden rolled 4 using 2d6 with rolls of 1,3.  Spending Fate for the Dagger.
Changing remaining Fate)
This message was last edited by the player at 23:13, Thu 06 Apr 2023.

<Orange>(Ah well! Be sure to subtract those two Fate points from your total in your bio line.)


Ronald studies the dagger, but most of the runes are new ones to him. He isn't able to figure out what they're for.

In reply to The GM (msg # 121):

Is there anything that can be taken from the Spider that could be helpful?  I think a few trinkets could be made later....!  He contemplates taking a leg to help with marking out a Ward, or maybe an eyeball to see into it's spectrum what ever that may mean.  If the hairs on it's back or legs into gloves to stop.....His mind carried on like this for some time whilst others talked and looked at the blade.
Taking his whittling knife, he trims the longer hairs from the spider, enough to fill his hand that puts the evidence into his pocket.  He then looks at teeth and takes a few of the smaller ones.  He eyeballs the eyeballs and fangs.

(Hmm. Mark Spider Ingredients on your Character Sheet as a parcel of things you're carrying. We might work out you being able to do something with them later.)

Aubree took a look at the dagger, in case the runes were something she'd read or heard about in the infrequent times that Radagast spoke of them. Though as wise and scholarly as any wizard, at least allegedly, the brown mage was more interested in the natural world, rather than ancient text and runes.

She was a bit distracted by their new friend's work, shaving the spider corpse and possibly gathering other body parts.   Intellectually, she understood that gather such flotsam was useful in many ways, especially to scholars and hunters, but the idea of carving up a corpse unsettled the elven apprentice.    She was happy to leave Mister Dodaden to his work


She glanced at the dagger, trying not to think of dead spider legs.

OOC:  14:16, Today: Aubree Farwalker rolled 3 using 2d6 with rolls of 2,1.  Runes

Sadly, Aubree can't work out what the runes do, either.

Suddenly, there's a shrill, piercing noise to the south (more or less, maybe a bit to the west too).

It sounds a lot like the scream the spider had given out.

(I decided that this was a lot of failed dice rolls to not have something spooky and dramatic happen, so here's some consequences starting.)

In reply to The GM (msg # 125):

Roland heard a scream and looked up from his 'work', putting things in his pack and pockets.  What was that, another Spider getting attacked?  It wasn't his first scream of the day, he hoped it would be the last, that wound the spider's leg caused, began to itch as it started to dry.   looking back at the others... "Do we head that way?"

"Mayhap-- Marthine, though, is badly hurt. Stand by..."

(13:52, Today: Tirien rolled 10 using 2d6 with rolls of 4,6.)


Tirien speaks some words under his breath, and Martine feels a little better.

(Martine gets 1 Toughness back.)

Aubree was also feeling very tender, but nodded with resignation
"We definitely need to prepare for the worst "

In reply to Aubree Farwalker (msg # 128):

Looking closer at the weary warriors and felt it a good time to mention.  If I have time, I can create a Ward that would protect us a little, at least once, whether a line or circle, it should if it works correctly, cause harm to the one crossing it.

Lachriel fusses over Marthine. "You are a fearsome fighter as the lion," she observes, "but until this part of the adventure is over, perhaps you should fight as a woman, at least for a while. The lion wears no armor, as do you."

In reply to Ronald R. Dodaden (msg # 129):

Aubree nodded to the human gratefully
"That might be very helpful indeed.  How much time do you require for such an Enchantment?"

In reply to Aubree Farwalker (msg # 131):

Olewyn has no complaints yet about her own injuries. She would rather the others get tended to first. Especially the ones with damaged armor. Olewyn wears none but feels more secure the way she is dressed.

"I will hold onto the dagger for now. Perhaps we can try looking at it later... For now we should focus on our task at hand. Making this land safe."

Olewyn slips the dagger into another loop on her person to keep it next to her primary dagger.

While Lachrien speaks to Marthine, Tirien comes and speaks to Olewyn quietly. "If pressed, you might try the new dagger in combat. Perhaps it may reveal its nature then."

In reply to Aubree Farwalker (msg # 131):

I just need my staff or some kind of stick to draw the line and say the right words.  Not sure how many lines I can have around or in front of us at a time, worth trying when not pressed though

Aubree got out of the magician's way, waiting to help if he requested it

(Hm, good question. One line operating at a time, please.)

Olewyn considers the elf and gives a solemn nod.

"Aye, I am only used to trusting my bow." Her voice was kept low, just for Tirien.

She knew her bow. The weight of it in her hands, the spot where her hand could best hold onto it. This dagger would have to start to be the same eventually.

To the rest Olewyn raises her voice to address them. "When we are ready, we should move on. At the very least we know we need to start seeking signs of what was hidden. It... could help us if this 'Witch-King' proves to be more than mad ramblings."

Tirien looks up, looks like he's thinking of saying something... then he doesn't. Perhaps he's saving his thought for later.

Having given a quick explanation of how he worked his Ward, he listened to Olewyn regarding their next move. He wasn't too sure what this 'Witch-King' was all about but it didn't sound good to him.

Nodding his accent, he walked on as the others started to move.  How many of those Spiders and Goblins have you come across so far on this job?

"Three goblins on the way to the start of the road, and then those that you have just seen. That was our first spider," says Tirien.

Lachriel leads the way, as she attempts to guide the party-- as quietly as possible-- to the sound they'd heard.

(09:41, Today: Lachriel rolled 8 using 2d6 with rolls of 6,2.)

It takes a bit longer than one might think, but when they arrive at the scene, they find a battle underway-- arguably almost done, in fact.

Ahead of you is a battle between spiders and goblins-- there are even two dead wargs on the forest floor, and several dead goblins. Webs are everywhere.

There are a number of dead small giant spiders-- each a little larger than, say, a full-grown rooster.

There is one dead spider of about the same size as the one you just killed.

There is also one large spider still alive-- but it's larger than the one you just killed-- a little bigger than a large haywagon (not a haywagon filled with heaps of hay, but still!)-- on the other hand, it is already obviously rather wounded, with many arrows and a few swords sticking out of it here and there.

It's on your left. On the right are three goblins.

Suddenly, the largest goblin sees you. "Look! Elves! And Men!" Everyone turns slightly to look at you.

"What next, dwarves?!" moans a wounded goblin.

"This is why we should have been in alliance all this time!" says the first goblin, who looks a bit wounded himself now that you look at him. "Attacks from such adventurers are the first thing an alliance could put a stop to! Well, it's not too late-- attack them!"

The spiders and the goblins each turn to face you, their common foe.

(You are up against:

--1 very big spider (already badly wounded)
--3 spiderlings (don't seem that wounded, but one good hit will put them down)
--3 goblins (already wounded, though.)

Ronald: You don't have time to do a whole circle, but you have time to try to draw a long, curved line on the ground in front of you-- if you're quick (that is, if your roll of 3d6 goes well).)
This message was last edited by the player at 16:33, Sat 01 Apr 2023.

Olewyn doesn't even think of waiting for the others. There are too many possible outcomes if she hesitates so she fires off a quick shot from her bow going for the giant spider. It is already hurt so maybe one more shot will handle it.

( Today: Olewyn rolled 12 using 3d6 with rolls of 1,6,5. For a shot at the big one! )

The arrow hits the giant spider hard, and it screeches, then slowly sinks to the ground, getting more and more still...

In reply to The GM (msg # 142):

As the Goblins and Spiders come into view, Roland prepares his staff, ready for the call, to draw the line.  There wasn't really time to do a circle but a curved line was well within the possibilities.  So as the Goblins call, it is almost like a warning to set the end of his staff to the ground, then as Olewyn lets loose an arrow, he sweeps a wide arc as he recalls the words he has used before "Line of strength against, our foe in the ground I lay; Cause them pain and keep them at bay - ymladd yn erbyn ein gelyn".

He watched as the magic took hold as the last of his word inflections landed on the air.  He then stood with staff prepared to defend.

20:36, Today: Ronald R. Dodaden rolled 12 using 3d6 with rolls of 6,4,2.  Ward Line Activation.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:58, Sat 01 Apr 2023.

Ronald finishes just in time, as a spiderling comes running up to him.

It crosses the line--

--ZAP! It's dead!

Two of the goblins had come a-running, too, but when they see this, they slow to a stop before reaching the line. They're not sure what to make of this, but they're smart enough to figure out that they don't want to just rush across that line anymore. Even the two remaining spiderlings stop in their tracks, confused (for the moment, anyway) about how to proceed...

Being some distance away, Aubree drew back her bow.   She smiled in relief as the large spider (the SIZE of the thing!!) was hit and killed by Olewyn.   She fired at the goblins.

OOC:
16:53, Today: Aubree Farwalker rolled 5 using 1d6 with rolls of 5.  bow shot.

Aubrey takes down one of the three goblins, the one who hadn't said anything (in your presence) yet.

Now, he'll never speak again.

 Marthine took things in as best she could with her blood loss and adrenaline levels being what they were... There was also the nausea that might accompany a spider being, oh, how might one say, prepared?  She'd seen the upsetting things that her cats were capable of doing, but this was a different territory!

 But, then, she feels everything begin to steady... and notices Tirien's healing being worked.  What a relief!  Thanks were uttered.  And, an agreement and embarrassed smile was given to Lachriel's fussing.

---

"It looks like you get to sing, after all..."  Marthine frowns, nay, scowls, and draws her pistol.  With all the calm in her world, she points the Dwarven-made device at the greatest of the spiders... And then, her finger pulls the trigger.

 !

 Such an unpleasant thing... In sound, in effect, and in unnaturalness...

04:43, Today: Marthine rolled 8 using 2d6 ((6,2)).
Firing the pistol at the big spider...

The extra-large spider screams! It wasn't dead yet! It rises up to rush the adventurers...

...And falls over, upside down. Its legs twitch a couple of times, and then it dies.

(Everyone knows that bugs die upside down with their legs up like that. I was gonna wait and see how the rest of the fight went-- if it went too easy for y'all, I was gonna reveal that the biggest spider wasn't really quite dead yet and needed one more hit! But Marthine put a stop to that. It's really dead for sure now.)

Olewyn gives a nod to Marathine. She is pleased to see the skin changer try something that doesn't put her in as much physical danger. Olewyn had started to wonder if she was going to have to take to a more leader-like role than she preferred to keep the group safe. While she had never imagined joining a group of this size for an adventure she wouldn't change it now.

In spite of her preferences Olewyn genuinely enjoys these people.

She takes aim at one of the other remaining goblins.

( Olewyn rolled 12 using 3d6 with rolls of 3,4,5.  Firing an arrow at a goblin.)

SHhhhhhhhTHOK, the goblin who complained about the possibility of dwarves showing up will never be bothered by the threat of dwarves again.

(Remaining threats: two spiderlings and the militant-talking goblin)

(I just realized that all y'all have acted this round.

GM rolls dice...)

Lachriel fires an arrow at the nearest threat, a spiderling, but it dodges-- but Tirien nails it.

(Okay, y'all's turns again.

Current threats: 1 spiderling and 1 talkative-but-pre-wounded goblin.

In case you were gonna ask because you wanna run up on anyone: Ronald's line on the ground won't harm you. It's magic, so it knows friends from enemies.)
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 17:27, Mon 03 Apr 2023.

And he put the term "Foe" in his spell words just to make sure.

Ronald had seen the success of his ward line but the last Goblin and Spiderling were too far to be affected now. He was staying behind it though. As rubbish as he was with a Crossbow, for now he used it, reminding himself to collect the bolt afterward this fight (maybe with a missed Dagger thrown by a companion!!!!).

It wasn't good, maybe he'd got some of that Goblin on the cord or forgot to oil the wood, something thunked when it should have twanged.

(ooc: Rolled 1D6 and got a 1. Going with it though)

Now with her pistol holstered and her staff in hand, Marthine approaches the goblin with much deliberation and attempts to beat their weapon out of their hand.

 Or, to trip them...

14:40, Today: Marthine rolled 18 using 3d6 ((6,6,6)).

Attempting to disarm our trip the goblin, depending on their weapon situation.

Aubree tried to shoot the last spiderling

Emphasis on tried.

OOC:

17:10, Today: Aubree Farwalker rolled 1 using 1d6 with rolls of 1.  Bow shot

As Ronald misses, the remaining spiderling runs around the end of his curved line, and attacks him!

Fortunately for Ronald, his leather armor is too much for the spiderling's mandibles, and he's unhurt so far.

But there's a spider on his leg! Ahhhhhhh get it off!


(Then when I was about to post that I saw Aubree's post)





Aubree carefully tries to shoot the spiderling-- but she misses.

But it jumps onto her and bites her! AHHHH get it off get it off!!!

(Aubree loses 1 Toughness)

The remaining goblin had gotten his sword ready, then when he'd seen the problem of the magical line on the ground, he'd started getting a short bow out... then when he'd seen how badly things were going for the anti-humans-and-elves side, he'd put it away again in preparation for making a run for it... but each time, the spider-inflicted wounds he had (and some webbing) slowed him down. Now, he drew his sword again, seeing that it was too late to try to get away-- but Marthine's staff just knocked it out of his hands.

He tries to pick it up, but he can't in a hurry-- he's too hurt and too webbed. He knows he's at the human woman's mercy, if any...

Aubree stepped forward, bow in hand, pointed at the goblin.
"You're spider masters are dead!  If you want to live to see the sun rise, tell us what you're doing here!!"

Her wounds, unfortunately, might have affected her eloquence.
OOC: 17:48, Today: Aubree Farwalker rolled 6 using 3d6 with rolls of 1,1,4.  logic, languages for interigation.

Like a genius, Aubree simply walks forward. As she crosses Ronald's magical line on the ground, the spiderling on her leg squeaks and falls off, dead.





Maybe it's Aubree speaking what she knows of goblin that makes the wounded goblin start talking, or maybe it's something else that loosens his tongue... "Those weren't our masters... that's part of the problem... Spiders don't care if they eat goblins, as long as they eat... so goblins don't want to ally with spiders without getting something out of the risk... But one big spider had treasure from his kills over the years... But it had to be moved so elves like you wouldn't find it... but the only goblin who knew exactly where it was hidden... got eaten by a spider!" He sinks to the ground, sitting now... "So close...! So close to an alliance that could drive men and elves from Mirkwood forever...!"

(You can try a follow-up question (without rolling further) if you want...)
This message was last edited by the GM at 13:13, Wed 05 Apr 2023.

Aubree tried to focus past her wounds
"Where are your leaders, and where are the spiders?"

"Hmph..." He gives a very small, derisive chuckle. "The spiders... are... everywhere..." This sounds like only a partial truth, but he keeps talking before she can press him on it... "My leader is... the newly-crowned... Queen of the Goblins... Long... may... she..." He slumps over. When he does, she can see the far side of his right leg clearly for the first time-- a big bite, fanged, and so purple around it as to be almost black. Poisoned by a spider! The biggest one must have been venomous! No wonder he was slow to fight, and didn't run...!

But he was starting to reach for something in a pocket right near the end, there... something important, maybe? Better search him...

Aubree will search the goblin, though she was wincing the whole time

In reply to Aubree Farwalker (msg # 161):

Olewyn isn't surprised by what happened. The spiders wished to be in control apparently. She approaches the goblins looking them over silently. If only she were a better tracker than she actually is.

"We need to track where they came from. We also now know they have a Queen they are following."

They had no idea before. Slowly they are beginning to discover the threats to Mirkwood. This Queen must be defeated as she is a threat to everyone here.

Olewyn attempts to look for signs that will help her track the goblins and where they came from.

(Olewyn rolled 8 using 2d6 with rolls of 4,4.  Looking for goblin-related signs. )

Aubree sat down to rest.
"I fear, my friends, that I might slow us down if we wish to continue.  Those spiders can certainly bite hard"

 Marthine sighs as the goblin perishes.  While something was gained, most of it was more questions!  And, Aubree was wounded!

 The woman remains standing, pistol in one hand and staff in the other.

Aubree finds a note.

It's written in goblin, torn at the bottom, and written... badly. Whoever wrote this had terrible handwriting.

Aubree understands, and can speak, basic goblin, but reading it is harder. Sometimes the note also seems to use borrow-words from dwarvish, or something else...

The basic gist of the note involves the hidden treasure. Something about... It was too near the halls of the elven king of Mirkwood, so it had to be moved in a more southerly direction... It's somewhere on the tallest of the Mountains of Mirkwood... or that's where you start in order to find it...? Something about water... a river? A spring? A... hole? Or tunnel?

Lachriel and Tirien are looking over Aubree's shoulder. "This is terribly written," says Lacrhiel. "The part missing that was torn off at the bottom doesn't help, either. No wonder the goblins no longer know exactly where to find the missing treasure."

"We should take this note back to Lake-Town," says Tiriel. "I know an old dwarf there who should be able to make more sense out of it. And besides, we all need more rest and healing than I can provide in a hurry here."



Olewyn finds no such signs. Everything on the small battlefield is too confused, track-wise, and covered with webbing otherwise.

(You'll be getting some bad consequences for that roll sooner or later, Olewyn, but not quite yet...)


"The only monarch of goblins I have ever heard of rules from under the Misty Mountains," says Tirien. "Of course, he was slain almost three years ago when Gandalf the Gray led Thorin Oakenshield and his party, including Bilbo Baggins, through those tunnels. It's not surprising to hear that they have crowned someone new by now... The fact that it is a queen and not a new king is more surprising. She must be very fierce, if she has won the loyalty of the goblins. It would be strange to find her here in Mirkwood-- more likely she is giving orders from afar. But then, as I say, it is strange that they have a queen at all, so who knows."



"I can attempt to heal you," says Tirien, "but perhaps we should rest here-- not even for half an hour, but a little while, while I attempt to do so...?" he suggests, looking at the faces around him...
This message was last edited by the player at 14:32, Wed 05 Apr 2023.

The elven scholar nodded, wincing in pain. "I've no problem getting assistance with the note.   My Master always says that it's not weakness to get help when it's needed.   And while I'd mislike to be the cause of a delay in our journey, a rest would perhaps be for the best"

(11:22, Today: Lachriel rolled 8 using 2d6 with rolls of 3,5.  Take Courage!

11:22, Today: Tirien rolled 11 using 2d6 with rolls of 6,5.  Healing Aubree.

I was willing to have Lachriel burn Fate points if needed, but she (and Tirien) (each) aced it on the first try!)

While Tirien starts trying to heal Aubree, Lachriel softly sings a ballad of ancient times to occupy Aubree's (and everyone else's) attention, to help her (and everyone else) relax for the moment, about the beauty of The Greenwood before it became Mirkwood Forest in winter (and elven forests in general).

It ends:

Listen, the snow is falling ev'rywhere
Listen, the snow is falling ev'rywhere
Between your bed and mine
Between your head and mine
Listen, the snow is falling ev'rywhere

Between Rivendell and Lorien
Between Nivrim and Arthórien
Between your love and mine
Listen, the snow is falling ev'rywhere

Snow dream, snow fall, snow fly...



(

quote:

Take Courage!
Courage can be found in many places.

--If you sing and/or play a song, recite a verse, or tell a story of heroes of yore while in a dark and dangerous place, roll Rhyming.

--If you drink an excellent brew or vintage, and/or cook and/or eat a delicious meal while in a dark and dangerous place, roll Carousing.

On a success, each player involved (even if just listening, drinking, and/or eating) chooses to get 1 Fate point or 2 Toughness back. (The GM may offer other choices.)

The best subjects for Rhyming are natural wonders, bountiful feasts, humorous anecdotes, and tragic tales of lost love or great sacrifices.

Everyone, choose: Each of you may get up to 2 Toughness back, or 1 Fate point back.

You cannot get more than your maximum.

ALSO, THOUGH, Tirien is successful in healing Aubree for 1 Toughness.)

Aubree loses herself for a while in the hauntingly beautiful singing, letting the magic of the Land and their Fellowship restore her energy and her spirit.

 "My sincerest thanks, my friends. Your words and skills have revitalizedby very being.  "

Looking to the Spider falling of Aubree's leg as it cross his magical ward line, he nodded to himself, smiling, it had done well, as had his now broken bracelet, which had caught a Spiders leg earlier, his bands, not so good but could have. Speaking quietly "Must sort these out again and practice more"

As the Goblins note was read out, Ronald just listened before ... "Does anyone have a map that would show the area?". If anyone did, there may be enough information to cut a search area down.

Ronald looked for some finger width sticks that he could whittle down and make Rune Sticks to read and see what Fate or Destiny had to show. Maybe that will bring some hope, more Courage!

In reply to Ronald R. Dodaden (msg # 169):

"Hold off, friend. I believe we should decide if we are pressing forward or going back. We... have worked hard thus far but some of us have tapped ourselves."

Olewyn could keep going if they needed to. She is just aware magic is a finite thing and the others may need to get a proper rest.

"I do not have a map. I never needed one... which makes me wonder if perhaps we should go get one?"

(You can get a new bracelet for free (that is, without having to roll to craft it) back at a Haven.)



Lachriel shakes her head. "Of the Mountains of Mirkwood? Not particularly, I'm afraid..."




There are plenty of sticks of the right thickness.

In fact, Aubree takes an interest in all the webbing around. Some of it is... stretchy. And losing its stickiness. She gets an idea... it might be useful for a sort of... hand-held... missile weapon... it could shoot stones...

She should collect some of the stretchiest strands of webbing...




"I think it would be hard to find one-- and I'm not sure there is one, even in the halls of the King of Mirkwood." (She refers, of course, to Tharanduil, the Elven king of Mirkwood.)

(I've decided Tirien is a Star Elf from Rivendell and that Lachriel is a Wood Elf from Mirkwood.

So anyway, if you guys have a great map of Mirkwood, especially of the north half of Mirkwood, especially of the Mountains of Mirkwood, feel free to link me or something, but I don't have one I super like at this time. But if you do, feel free to hit me up with it)

While the others debated, Aubree collected webbing and sticks, experimenting

Ronald collects stick, enough to make a good set, strong wood so when the Rune stones/sticks are dropped, they won't break. He collects a few wider bits too for carving.

Seeing Aubree collect webbing... "Aubree, do you think the Webbing would be useful for something? Won't it degrade or do you think it could be used for lightweight string and rope too? Sees strong."  If it was strong and could be treated to not degrade or just not degrade too fast in general, making the thin lines so thrown blades could be retrieved or lightweight rope for climbing or getting a captive Goblin, could work well for them. He collects appropriate pieces and lengths, coiling as he goes.

"Since we were scouting gir the towers, we aren't that far from safety, some of you were could by the spiders, maybe worth getting you checked out so you don't end up like this Goblin" He points to the last Goblin that the captured "Back to safety to recover sounds good don't you all think, OR have I misjudged the situation?"

He felt he needed time to recover too but not so badly, he did however want to take his broken bracelet so he can repair it and get a new one so he can make more trinkets.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 09:18, Thu 06 Apr 2023.

  Marthine is regaining 2 Toughness.

 Marthine, at the time still surveying for trouble, softened a bit when she heard a possible return to Lake-Town being mentioned.  The mention of a Goblin-Queen intrigued her, however, and she turned to face her companions, listening...

 Oh, but then came a song!  Any thought of Goblin-Queens left her head, and instead she came to yearn for more pleasant scenery... and a nice, warm bed.

---

The deliberations and discourse of her companions brings her back to reality, though.  A very dire reality...  "Perhaps we should turn back around, for now..." The woman then looks at the poisoned goblin, and the spiders.  "If only we had something that could prevent us from becoming poisoned... or, that could counter-act them." She frowns, idly tapping the butt of her staff on the ground.

(08:18, Today: Lachriel rolled 8 using 2d6 with rolls of 2,6.  Guiding..

A 6! She's done it!

Olewyn, the trouble the dice owe you will have to be paid back at some future time...)

Lachriel carefully guides everyone back to the Old Forest Road. She has to go around big spiderwebs a few times, but she manages to lead everyone safely.

All the people working on the towers agree that if the treasure can be found and therefore kept away from the goblins, then, well, obviously preventing a unified goblin/spider alliance would be in the best interests of the already-extant Man/Elf/Dwarf alliance. They also agree that your adventuring party is just the group to do it!

But they also agree that you look worn out. Best to go heal up in Lake-Town. So, you go back to the east end of the Road, and hop on a boat back north.

(Well, it turns out we didn't need Take Courage-- but who knew? If Lachriel had failed her Guiding roll, I probably wasn't gonna have her burn Fate, and then you absolutely would have needed more health.

But that's not what happened, so everyone return your Toughness and Fate to their maximums.

BUT ALSO... You survived dealing with more danger! So you get a new XP point!

So let's see... Goblins-at-riverside plus First Spider plus Spi-Gob battlefield plus Dagger plus Lachriel's first song... Aubree, Marthine, and Olewyn can level up now!

IF you so choose! You can also save up your XP more. (What if someone rolled all-sixes again but didn't have 3 xp to burn to get a Critical Name?!?!)

But if you do so choose, then remove 5 xp, and then either:
--raise your max Toughness by 1, or
--raise your max Fate by 1, or
--Get a new Trait you don't already have, or
--Get a new Skill you don't already have in a Trait you do already have.

If you get a new Magic skill, just talk to me about what you want.

Doodad, buddy, it's gonna take you just a little longer, but if everyone gets 4 xp between now and the next Haven visit, you'll be leveling up and they'll be twiddling their thumbs.)

Everyone rests in the Elven Quarter, eats more honey-cakes and sweetbreads and has coffee in the mornings, and receives healing befitting heroes.

Aubree talks to various Elvish and Dwarven craftsmen, and soon she has a sort of stretchy stone-thrower that she calls a "sling-shot."

(Aubree, add your slingshot to your gear list. It starts with Ammo 3/3, a bag full of excellently-rounded stones and dwarf-made metal bullets.

Oh, and everyone top off your Ammo for all weapons to 3/3.)

Aubree also takes the note to various learned people in Lake-Town, most of them dwarves. They conclude the following:

The way to find the treasure is to start at the tallest of the Mountains of Mirkwood. They aren't really tall mountains like the Misty Mountains, they're really just very big hills, so that's not so bad.

Then one goes west, and looks for "the bushes above the spring."

There's reference to "the cauldron," but the author used an old dwarven word for it that has magical connotations. When this is explained, Lachriel says it's a big cauldron-shaped rock that she knows the location of.

Then, however, the message got torn off, and the rest is missing. "It's a start," says Lachriel. She feels that it's enough to start looking based on what is currently known.

"There also may be other goblins looking in those hills," says Lachriel. "What if one of them turns out to have the bottom half of the note?"

(Okay, let me know when you're ready to go out again!)

ALSO, the runes are analyzed on the dagger Olewyn found.

It's enchanted to be a more effective weapon against spiders, seeking out their weak spots.

It's even enchanted to point toward the nearest giant spider (spiderlings count) if any are nearby. You just hold it in the palm of your hand, and the point should turn in a given direction. If one is very close, the point should actually pull the hand in the right direction.

(When used to attack giant spiders (spiderlings count), this dagger does normal damage, but the wielder gets to roll one EXTRA 1d6 to try to hit. Yes, even if they were already getting 3d6 for combat with weapons-- now they'll get 4d6.

On the other hand, it could give someone who's no good at combat with weapons a useful edge against spiders.)

It's impossible to say what the spider-detecting range of the dagger is, but there are no spiders close enough in Lake-Town to test it. The dwarf who analyzes the dagger guesses that the range is perhaps 100 yards, but might be more, or less. Also, the size of the nearest spider might be a factor. (In other words, the bigger the spider, the more the dagger will be "interested.")
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:34, Thu 06 Apr 2023.

On the way back to Lake-Town, Ronald whittles away at sticks, teeth an bone, almost bumping into the others as they walked back.

Spider fang arrow heads, Giant Spider fang Dagger, Rune Sticks, leaving the Spider silk cords for later.

The Trinket that becomes a Ward on his wrist, he uses some bits from the Spiders to fix for him, to enhance the resistance to the Spiders and other pointy things like arrows and daggers. It worked before and he is made up about that, some work needed on the straps though. In town he'll get a new bracelet too, just in case.

Aubree, depsite her love of forests and wilderness, was happy to return to civilization.  Perhaps it was the influence of Radagast, but she almost prefered the hurdy gurdy tumult of the bustling mostly human town even more than her beautiful elven home of Rivendell.
She thoroughly enjoyed the restful night in the elven quarter, despite the loud nearby shenanigans of men and dwarves. To relax, she made a few spider web sling shots for her and her friends. In the morning she felt refreshed, her magical essence returned on full.   She enjoyed a large meal, one that would impress a Hobbit, and went out to replenish her herbs and powders on her alchemical supplies.
She'd learned a bit from there guide about how to forage for various plants and mushrooms, adding to what She'd picked up from Radagast, who, truth be told, was a better magic user than a magic teacher, as the eccentric man tended to do things by instinct rather than written rules.

It was strange how the straps had reacted around the Spider, trying to reach for the leg that unfortunately for Ronald and fortunately for the Spider, was one of the missing ones, not the ones he had retrieved.

He wondered what he could make, what amulet or Trinket could be fashioned that could protect against spiders on a larger or multi-use way, something to think about and consider.  He'd heard of Trinkets not breaking when used...his thoughts of achieving...anything. I will do it

RESERVING XP for later.

 Marthine is happy to see Lake-Town again, even if it is so soon.  Bed-rest with familiar scents and sounds, food from familiar sources, and even familiar sights, were all very welcome to the woman.

 A few spare bullets for her noisy, but very effective pistol were procured, and she briefly considered purchasing a quieter means of striking from a distance.  But, then she recalls all the times her companions quietly dispatched foes, and resolves to only use the pistol when truly pressed.

 When it is convenient, she will definitely convene with her companions on what supplies to bring, given that everyone has seen what Mirkwood has to offer...

In reply to Marthine (msg # 180):

Olewyn is a stark contrast to her companions. She requires little to keep her happy. Instead once she is done learning about her dagger she seeks out a few locals that she is friendly with. They spend some time together as Olewyn learns more about fighting up close.

They run her through a few drills until she is happy enough. She departs from them before too long and quietly rejoins the group. She had no intentions of worrying them over her lessons, she simply wanted to be better at protecting them.