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(In which I say "I'll run it tomorrow" and a sudden onset of Life gets in the way, back again now, and with a small map for your troubles.)
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/44307895/
You are an elf, 24 years old, and you just embarked on a literal and ritual journey into adulthood. The literal part got horribly mangled when a human somehow knocked you off course in the middle of traveling into another world and you crashed into a jungle. She came after you because she thought you were a dragon she was hunting... and while true, she's not certain and is willing to work with you to get back home.
You had just come across an abandoned cabin on top of a cliff next to a waterfall, and a quick search revealed two things.
1. Whoever was here before left in a hurry.
2. There's a warband built by ogres, creatures you had assumed to be mindless animals, approaching.
You were just asked a question: "Hey, Poe... you just got kind of pale. You see that dragon or something?"
>>44346787
"Uh...'or something.' Looks like ogres...that are organized into a warband. I guess that explains why the previous inhabitants of this cottage left in such a hurry, eh?"
Antimony gives you a look. "Now isn't the time to joke Poe."
"No, really, look for yourself." You step aside so she can have a look at the telescope.
"That... is fairly unnerving... but I was trained to handle well in stressful conditions." She's visibly shaking, but is actually doing a decent job of keeping her voice even... so that's something. "What do you think we should do Poe? Not... not that I don't know what to do... just... looking for your input is all."
(Was an hour ago just poor timing or is there genuinely no interest?)
Hey op you glorious faggot itsa me the anon who suggested the mace.
My suggestion is to search the cabin, check on the warband, and go from there.
Search the house for valuables or items of interest, tools, books, anything.
Rolled 3 (1d20)
>>44348108
>>44348160
Well shit
>>44348056
"One more pass over the house and then we figure what to do?"
Antimony nods and starts frantically scooping up the scattered papers on the ground. "Yeah... sure... need to know what we have to work with... there's... a bunch of papers. A bunch of papers with Dwarvish script in a language or code we can't understand. Oh we are so screwed aren't we?"
The obvious papers aside, you find a weird ring in a drawer somewhere, it looks like has Dwarvish script on it too, but Antimony's the one that can read it, not you.
"Hold up, let me see that?" She turns the ring around in her hand as she picks up a bag she filled with the papers. "I think this must be a decoder ring... I want to get as far away from those Ogre's as possible... my teacher avoided them one on one and that was when I thought they were wild animals... but when we have time I might be able to see what's on these papers. Anything else before we get out of here? I think we found everything we can use..."
>>44348160
So glad I wasn't actually making you roll yet. XD
Rolled 19 (1d20)
Rollan again to bump the thread, and to search the house
Well, ill try to gather the papers, and take off without her, as she seems pretty useless. If she follows, ill just start hopping through the tree to lose her.
Rolled 6, 15 = 21 (2d20)
>>44348271
You look at the bag Antimony filled and the ring she's holding onto. Whatever's in them probably isn't that important to getting home and so far Antimony has been more trouble than help. If you leave her behind you probably wouldn't be losing much.
You run out the door and start sprinting away from the cliff edge. Down below it was a jungle, but up here it's more of a forest proper.
Antimony follows after you. "Hey, Poe! Hold up! There's no need to go that fast! You trying to leave me behind or something?" You don't respond. You just need to move.
Roll 2d20
Rolled 6, 9 = 15 (2d20)
>>44348399
Here ya go
>>44348437
Antimony's keeping pretty good pace with you. If you could, you probably would swing through the trees like a monkey to get away from her... but you're a dragon. Not a monkey. With you in such a rush, neither you nor Antimony notice the Ogre in dark leather armors until you literally run into him. If it's any consolation he looks just as surprised to see you as you are to see him. He draws what must be a shortsword for him but would take both hands for you to wield and drops into a fighting stance.
It is your turn, decide on an action.
(Basic Attacks:
Mace +1 hit 1d8 damage
Sword +1 hit 1d8 damage
Backhand +1 hit 1d6 damage, can use sparks +2 hit 1d4 -1 damage)
>>44348559
First back up, try to at leat communicate with it.
Question
How long does it take to transform, for future refernce.
>>44348591
You back up a step and take as non-threatening a pose as you can. Given that you just appear to carrying a cane, you don't necessarily seem too dangerous. You try talking to the ogre... not something you thought you would be doing a week ago. "Hey! Calm down I just... I was just trying to get somewhere... and I... yeah..." Times like this you wish you were better at speaking. Antimony has her hand on her sword, but it's remained sheathed so far and she's following your lead... though with a nasty look on her face. "What my -friend- is trying to say is we got lost and were looking for the nearest town..."
The ogre looks at the two of you and after a tense minute of what appears to be deliberation it speaks... but not well. "Hooman no good. Know little. Friend Ogre? Friend Lord Kaloth?"
Antimony looks to you, clearly expecting you to answer for whatever reason.
>>44348633
It would take a little under a minute, though while transforming you would be fairly impervious to harm... that said, it feels like part of you is missing right now, as though your true form is just out of reach and you can't quite grab it. In short, you're bound as an elf until you can figure out what's blocking you, and you have been since you crashed in the jungle.
Friend, maybe. enemy?no. I ju a t want to find food, and a bed. I can help you of you want.
>>44348939
OP, i secretly have a soft spot for dumb races, and try to help them out if they arent absolute angry marines. Pic kinda related
Rolled 6, 15 = 21 (2d20)
Thanking providence that the ogre's speak simply, you try to follow the pattern he set up. "Friend maybe... enemy no. I just want food, and a bed... I can help you too?"
The ogre tightens his grip on his sword. "No need help scouting. Hooman not Friend Lord Kaloth." The ogre swings at you...
>>44349101
...and Antimony's sword takes the hit. It's obvious from her face that it stung a little, but it probably would have hurt a LOT more if it had hit you.
It is your turn.
>>44349007
I typically play Paladin in games, so I can get behind helping out those that aren't actively trying to kill you... unfortunately, this guy while cautious is now actively trying to kill you.
Rolled 3 (1d8)
I try to evade him while swinging with the cane
Rolled 2 + 1 (1d20 + 1)
>>44349145
I will assume i roll d20 to hit right?
>>44349189
Well fuck
Rolled 15, 11 = 26 (2d20)
>>44349145
>>44349189
Thankfully, evasion isn't all too necessary, Antimony took the shot and doesn't look to worse for wear for it.
That said, you're caught off guard and though you manage to hit him... it doesn't have any force behind it and just glances off his armor.
Antimony tries to counterattack, striking carefully at the ogre, and seeing her as the most obvious threat, he swings at her again.
>>44349228
Antimony strikes true, her sword biting into the ogre's shoulder and keeping him from effectively hitting her. It was a solid hit but he's still standing.
It is your turn again.
Nigga im running
Rolled 8 (1d20)
>>44349306
Seeing you starting to run, the ogre swings his sword wildly to try and hit you.
Roll d20 to evade, if you succeed you'll break off of combat.
Rolled 18 (1d20)
>>44349356
Dont worry, my plan is to disengage, hide, and watch
>>44349374
Seeing you start to run, Antimony goes for one final strike at the ogre and follows after you.
With him distracted it's a nasty shot to the gut and he looks a bit panicked as he begins to go in the other direction, back towards the ogre camp, himself. Antimony catches up behind you and glances back. "So, I suggest we keep running... it looked like we... well... I hurt him something good, but with the force he put on my sword arm, I'm wouldn't want to be hit directly, that's for sure. Unless you want to chase after him? He does seem a bit slower than us... and I think we could take him." Her face almost lights up at the idea of besting an ogre.
Ill humor her
>sure why not, ill head dead on, and you flank him.
Rolled 19, 20 = 39 (2d20)
>>44349601
You nod the affirmative. "Sure, why not. I'll head dead on, and you try to flank him." Antimony looks like a small kid in a candy shop for a moment before she gets a serious look on her face. "Yeah, seems like a good plan." She takes off a little to the side of is trail.
Following his trail is fairly easy, he left big thumping footprints and you can still hear him bounding through the underbrush ahead.
Roll a d20.
Rolled 3 (1d20)
>>44349780
OOC i want you to know im keeping the sword hidden for a reason.
Rollan to follow quietly
Rolled 13 (1d20)
>>44349780
>>44349849
This ogre was faster than you expected... his footprints start to get farther away from eachother as what was apparently a jog turns into a full on sprint on his end. You eventually catch up... but the ogre's already dead, and Antimony... who must have gone an insane speed to catch up to him herself... is wiping blood off her sword and armor. She gives you a grin. "Took you long enough. This guy was a quick runner... but let me tell you, he didn't get a single hit on me! My Knight is going to be so proud when I tell him I..."
She stops smiling. "We need to get home... I don't even care if you're a dragon or not anymore... I just..." She sighs. So... what you want to do with him... I would kinda feel bad giving him the usual treatment... it might be respectful to great animals... but here I think it would be like desecrating a corpse."
>>44349849
Figured as much, even if the reason was just generally staying on the side of caution.
>>44349936
Welcome! Glad to have more people.
Well, ill follow her to wherever shes going, eat sleep, and possibly find some sort of mages or fighters guild.
>>44350014
>Welcome! Glad to have more people.
thanks just got home... plus you said you'd run yesterday so that might be why people might be a bit slow. Anyways
>what you want to do with him.
What can we do with him? I mean I guess we could put his sword in his hand and lay him out like they do to solders before they bury them but with the war band coming this way and with how big he is... plus with no digging tools I don't think there's a lot we can actually do.
Also can we tell how far away the orgers are or no? Because I'd rather leave now before his friends show up.
>>44350235
Well m8
We could rummage through his pockets, take his sword fold up his armor to strip down and sell, eat him, etc. All the typical things PCs do. Also reference ops pick for the distance between us and the ogres.
>>44350107
Antimony continues to muse out loud... now that the rush of combat is over... she seems nervous about dealing with the aftermath. "I mean... that;s exactly what it would be right? Cutting off his head and stuffing it... I've seen ogre heads mounted before, in some of the higher ranking members chambers but... this guy talked... I can't just... should we bury him?" She sounds like she's going to keep going on in this manner unless you do something.
She's really showing she's just a Squire, not used to making decisions for herself. You come up with a suggestion though. "I guess we could put his sword in his hand and lay him out like they do to solders before they bury them but with the war band coming this way and with how big he is... plus with no digging tools I don't think there's a lot we can actually do."
Antimony nods, and gets to positioning him. The main ogre encampment is still a good distance away, you hasn't yet reached the cliff yet so there's however far away that is and the entire jungle... that said, you find a piece of paper in his pocket that basically amounts to a crude map, little sketches of potential sources of water and food in the area as well as an X marked where the cabin was. The warband probably plans to move in this direction, and sent scouts to survey the area for useful resources. It might be a while before they get here, but there's still no time to rest.
>>44350370
yeah but that might piss off antimony plus didn't OP say the camp was on the move?
>where is your masters camp, little one?
I just want to find food.
>>44350390
right well... Should probably start moving again sooner rather then later. We really need to find a town or something to find out where the hell we are... or at least somewhere safe to set up camp to try and decode the papers.
>>44350470
We dont need her, shes a silly mortal girl, who, while a SQUIRE has aquired plate armor. Shes a meat shield. We are a dragon who is stuck in thier shapeshifted form for plot reasons.
>>44350540
no but she is the only one here that can read dwarvish. And until we find out where we are it might be a bad idea to ditch the only thing in the world that is willing to help us at this time. I mean where else can we find a minion when we don't even know how the world works?
>>44350458
>>44350470
Using the map as reference, you are able to find a decent amount of food. Several fruit trees make feeding Antimony easy... and while it's a little harder for your carnivorous diet, the starts of trails for deer and rabbits are marked as well. Antimony doesn't seem too keen on going off on her own out here, so she's with you for now at least. The both of you begin looking for shelter... the further away from the cliff you get, the ground seems to be getting rockier until you're in more of a hilly zone. It isn't marked on the map, so either they didn't plan to move here yet, or the scout never got this far. Antimony pipes up. "We should probably look for a good site to camp or something... or if we're lucky, a town. The warband can't just be marching on nothing, I'm not sure if it would be good or bad for us to find their target."
(Just gotta say, I'm loving this discussion that's going on while I type this up.)
Roll d20 please.
Rolled 18 (1d20)
>>44350714
Op ya forgot yer name.
Rolled 18 (1d20)
>>44350714
>>44350648
No she fucking cant. She recognizes it as dwarvish, and has the decoder ring, but besides her plate and blade, is useless.
>>44350799
>>44350791
Ayyy lmao
>>44350844
she knows local dwarvish, as in dwarvish from back home, that's still more dwarvish then we know.
>>44350869
So will the local towns wizard or clergy/whoever is learned. Im not for killing her, just not jumping to her aid.
>>44350909
but they cost money
>>44350791
>>44350799
(Funny how that happens sometimes.)
You notice more plumes of smoke, deeper into the hills... farther away than the ogres were, but there nonetheless. Antimony notices something else. "Hey, there's a cave over there. Might get us out of the elements and out of direct line of sight. What do you think Poe?"
>>44350844
(Sorry If I was unclear, she's totally got dwarvish. It's just that the symbols on the paper amounted to 'aobgu sbjIhin bvcuy.')
>>44350926
She may cost us our life.
>>44350936
>What do you think Poe?"
how the fuck should I know? But it's better then being out in the open. But know my luck there's something living in one of those things.
>>44350954
how? Because she wants to slay a dragon? Even if she figures out we are a dragon she has no way to get back home without us. We have the better hand here shitty though it may be
>>44350936
(Sorry about that then)
No, a cave is a dead end, plus, who know whats in there. We run perpendicular to the path of the ogres, swinging through the trees like a monkey, like op said earlier.
>>44351008
we're in the hills now I think, not sure how many trees are still around
>>44350989
No because shes inexperienced and foolish, though she seems to be plot enabled. So 50/50 i guess.
>>44351033
(Nah man, I'm just consistently rolling high for her and low for enemies, the dice gods are fickle. She's only taken a total of 1 hit for one damage and that was with 3 wolves gangbanging her basically.)
>>44351033
eh, I mostly want to keep her around because of dragon mentality. Dragons hoard shit, right now the only thing we actually have that isn't just ourselves disguised as a weapon is a squire
>>44351057
(Name dropping, the danger of multiple thread viewing...)
So, right now I'm seeing general "avoid the cave, could be bad" sentiment. Follow through?
>>44351096
yeah that works
>>44351116
seconding
>>44351116
You consider the cave for a moment, and shake your head. "No... who knows what's in there, given my luck it's probably a bear or something." Antimony nods. "Or even the dragon... if it isn't you after all, I'm probably not feeling too good on my chances... not sure what I was thinking, diving into that swirly... thing. So, any other suggestions?"
"We could follow the treeline, hope we go around the ogres." You briefly consider swinging like a monkey. You need to stop thinking like that. You AREN'T a monkey.
"Ok, sure... I kinda do want to rest soon, but getting out of their way doesn't sound like a bad idea... any reason not to just go straight ahead though?"
(This took longer to write than it should have...)
>>44351268
any reason not to just go straight ahead though?"
we are only 2 ppl?
>>44351268
well without being able to scout ahead I rather not walk into another ogre war camp and beside I have no fucking idea what the hell I'm even doing. I was on a journey of self enlightenment to a world where I actully had a good idea on what to expect, now I'm here because of you... Whatever let's see if we can't get an eye on where the smoke is coming from and if it looks bad we go with following the tree line plan.
>>44351377
"Well... there's only two of us... and I saw a bunch more smoke, don't want to walk into another ogre war camp... besides, I have no fucking idea what the hell I'm even doing! I was supposed to go on a journey of self enlightenment in a world where I had an idea what to expect... but you kind of messed that up. Lets... lets see if we can't get a good view on this second line of smoke, and decide what to do from there."
Antimony blinks, a bit stunned by you going off like that... for some reason, she probably should have expected a freak out sometime with all these annoying questions. "I... ok... yeah lets... lets do that..."
>>44351491
You try to get a good vantage point, climbing the highest hill you can. But it seems that it's just going to be smoke on the horizon from this point... so will you follow through with the tree line plan, or will you do something else?
>>44351558
fuck it let's go towards the smoke. We haven't much else to go off of.
>>44351618
seconding
>>44351618
You look at the smoke, staring for a short while. "Fuck it. Let's go that way."
Antimony raises an eyebrow. "After all that? Your just... you know what. I'm putting my foot down. Before we go that way, I'm getting some rest. The sun's starting to go down, and travelling THROUGH the hills at night seems like a bad idea. I guess I'm sorry for having you make all the decisions, so here's one I'm making. We can either go to that cave, or find a clearing somewhere to set up camp." She crosses her arms and tries to put on what she must see as a stern face.
>>44351848
...fair enough. let's just look for a hill with a steep edge and build our camp on the side facing away from the forest so we don't have to worry about them seeing our fire if we make one. That sound good or do I need to come up with something else?
>>44351848
cave
>>44351918
"...fair enough. let's just look for a hill with a steep edge and build our camp on the side facing away from the forest so we don't have to worry about them seeing our fire if we make one. That sound good or do I need to come up with something else?"
Antimony thinks for a moment and nods. "Yeah, that'll do. This hill should work... I'll go get some firewood so we can actually cook that food we caught yo- oh yeah... you ate that raw... hmm... well, I could see about getting some fallen trees and stuff for a couple lean-to's in any case. I'll be back... we are kinda close to the cave... you could check that out while I'm gone, see if there's signs of habitation if nothing else... lets see... anything else I'm not thinking of?"
>>44352067
sounds fine, I'll start on getting camp ready... god it's been a long day.
Hey faggots im back
Gather logs and branches for a leanto, use some fresh bark to tie a supporting log between two trees, and lean the rest on and around that.
>>44352128
"Sounds fine, I'll start on getting camp ready... god it's been a long day." Antimony nods and heads back into the nearby forest, while you try and get supplies a bit closer... looking at the cave it was empty... but would have been cramped anyways.
You prepare for your first night in a world away from home.
(Yeah, I need to call it a night, sorry to everyone that's just showing up. I'll probably be gone until the 27th... I certainly could have picked a better time to start this... I might show up before then, and if I do it would be around 5. So, just a heads up. Happy Holidays and good night everybody!
Also, OOC... one of the main reasons Antimony is still a Squire is because of how much of a doormat she is.)
>>44352422
it's fine, I'm crashing myself.
Also if you plan to run this quest in the long run I suggest getting a twitter.
>>44352422
Well, its been fun, see you around, Ill always be here.
Its been a genuine pleasure and I thank you.
