Solo 'Through Sunken Lands' RPG, Part 5

leaving the swamp, the quest continues.

Time 6am 
Date 13th March
Weather - Overcast, Strong wind and a little warmer than normal for the time of year.

(unused intervention points from last session 1)

To recap part 4, my PC's and Tilly met with Karloak the old hermit in a hut in the middle of the swamp.  They were attacked by soldiers, probably sent by the Merchant from Jundarr whom Tilly stole the document which describes the location of a lost treasure.  The soldiers were fairly easily seen off but Tilly suffered 8 hits from the great warrior she rashly engaged in combat.  Everyone was given a drink by Karloak, including Sana who was ill due to swallowing rancid swamp water, this drink knocked them all out and they slept soundly through the night, each recovering 1 HP.

It is now the following morning, Karloak has disappeared but he has left his sword on the cart which will certainly be useful for the adventures.  Sana is now well and able to travel again, the group are making ready to leave the hut.

ALRIK - I can cast a healing touch spell once per day, so, before we leave here, I will cast it on Tilly to restore some of her lost HP.  I roll d8 and get 7, so she recovers 7 HP.

GM - Sana and Tilly are both now nearly fully recovered, the rest of you are back to full HP, the bites from the insect swarm are now healed.  Tilly picks up Karloak's sword, she is as puzzled by his sudden disappearance as she was by his sudden appearance.  Keen to get on the move in case more soldiers turn up, she thanks Alrik for his healing spell use and leads the horse and cart along the road.

I ask the oracle if anything else untoward happens on their journey through the swamp, roll d20 =10, d6 =6, so a straight no and +1 intervention point (making 2 intervention points now).

GM - Tilly is keen to push on, she is concerned about Karloaks disappearance, telling the group that his cottage is about 9 miles east of the swamp, if they keep up a good pace they should be there by midday. 

SANA - I am a little worried about our lack of food, I suggest we look out for a village or town and purchase some provisions.

MARIANNE - we are low on silvers as well, maybe if we find an inn for the night I can raise a little cash by playing and singing, I agree we should look for a village or town.

DORANUS - a comfy bed and a glass of ale would be most welcome after a long day, does Tilly know of any such place.

I ask the oracle if Tilly knows of a village, town or even just an inn where they can spend the night, roll on d20=6, roll on d6=4, so 'No(in order to)'.

GM - Tilly says that she doesn't and makes it clear that in order to avoid a repercussion of the surprise attack in the swamp, it would be best for now to keep off the beaten track, 5 strangers with a horse and cart would be sure to draw attention.  She is certain that when they arrive at Karloaks cottage he will be there and give them provisions.

After just over an hour, the party finally leave the swamp land which gives way to rolling grassland, Tilly continues to follow the road east for a couple of miles.

GM -  You reach a junction in the road, at that point, almost as if out of nowhere a group of fellow travellers on horseback spot you.  Tilly is keen to avoid the travellers.

I ask the oracle if its possible to avoid being seen by the travellers, roll d20 =2, d6 = 4, so a 'No(and).

GM - unfortunately for Tilly, the travellers see the party and hail you, a charisma check is made to see if they react in a friendly manor to the party.

MARIANNE - I will approach the travelling group, my charisma is 15 and with my Friendly Face trait bonus of +2, I need to roll 17 or less, roll d20 = 11, they are friendly towards us.

SANA - we need to ask them why they hailed us down, do they need our assistance.

I ask the oracle if they need help from the party, roll d20 = 3, d6=6, so that a 'No' and +1 intervention, that's the third intervention point, so I roll d6 on MUNE intervention table, roll on d6 = 1  meaning we get 'New Entity' 

GM - one of the travellers, a young man, colourfully dressed and wearing a broad brimmed hat festooned with feathers jumps off his horse and, with a smile and a low bow, introduces himself to Marianne as Gedyel Moodlum, warden of Karmble Hold.

Once again, I turn to UNE to work out who Gedyel Moodlum is and hopefully get an idea of why he hailed down our adventures.  I find out he is a skilled warden, for his motivation rolls I get 
1 - Hinder Religion
2 - Obtain Legends
3 - Execute Zeal

To get a better idea of what Gedyel Moodlum wants from the party, I roll on the Mythic event tables and get 'Waste, Rumour'.

GM - Gedyel tells the party that he has heard a rumour that there is a ship sailing on land as if it was water, wasting everything in its path, the source of this rumour comes from some of the outlying villages and he and his men are investigating, he asks if the party have heard or seen anything.

DORANUS - we will say we are sorry, we have neither seen nor heard anything about a ship that sails on land.

SANA - does Tilly recognise Gedyel.
Roll on oracle, d20 = 7, d6 = 6, so a straight 'No' and +1 intervention point.

GM - Tilly has not seen Gedyel before.

ALRIK - we will tell Gedyel that we are on our way to see a hermit called Karloak, does he know him?
Roll on oracle, d20 = 3, d6 =2, so 'No(Surprisingly)'. I also get two random verbs to see if it gives me an idea what the surprisingly part could be and get 'hesitate' and 'watch'.

GM - Gedyel seems surprised by the question, he  hesitates before answering and watching his expression, you notice he is a little unsure of how to answer, he tells you that he knows of no hermits around here and cannot be of any help to you.  As he mounts his horse, he wishes you a good journey and ask that if you hear anything of the ship to let him know, with that he and his men move off southward.

DORANUS - I have a strong feeling he was not telling us the truth, a ship that sails through land?

ALRIK - and he seem a little unsure how to answer when we asked about Karloak.

GM - Tilly is eager to get moving, there is still a 3 to 4 hour walk to get to Karloak's cottage, the wind is still strong and the sky is getting ever darker, its looking more likely that a storm is brewing.

I ask the oracle if there are any further encounters on the route to Karloaks cottage, roll d20= 7, d6=2, so a 'No(if)', I decide to simply ignore the (if).
I ask the oracle if after 4 hours walking they are at Karloaks cottage, roll d20 = 9, d6 = 6. so no and a further intervention point (now 2 intervention points.
I then roll a d6 to see how much longer (in 10minute segments),it takes to get to where Tilly knows the cottage to be, roll d6 = 6, so a further 1 hour walking.
I ask the oracle if we have now reached the cottage, roll d20 = 2, d6=3, so 'No(and).
I decide the (and) must mean some sort of encounter takes place, so I roll on the Grasslands Encounter table in Beyond the Wall Further Afield, roll d6 = 3.

GM - you have been walking for over five hours, it is past midday and you have not eaten since yesterday, Tilly is sure the hermits cottage is around here somewhere.  Without warning the heavens open and a violent storm erupts.  I make a Con check against Tillys con of 9 as she is has the lowest con of you all, roll on d20 =11, a fail, you lose the rest of the day seeking shelter, a wisdom check against Doranus as he has the highest wisdom, roll d20 = 15, another fail, the horse bolts in the storm and although you get the beast to stop, it will take you the whole of the next day to repair the harness.

MARIANNE - where do we find shelter, do we find the hermits cottage.

I ask the oracle if they find shelter at Karloak's cottage, roll d20= 17, d6=6, so yes and a further intervention point meaning we roll for an intervention. Rolling on intervention table d6 = 6, so wild intervention.  I generate 2 random verbs and get sooth and undress

GM - you eventually find the old hermits cottage, the storm is still raging and you are all soaking wet and hungry, the door to the cottage is open and you walk in to find a table of food laid out, a fire burning and 5 large bath tubs each full of warm soothing water, For Tilly, modesty goes out of the window, she takes some food to a tub by the fire, undresses and climbs into the warm bath tub.

DORANUS, MARIANNE & SANA - We all follow Tillys actions, eat, undress get into a nice warm bath

ALRIK - okay, me to, I will hang my clothing over the side of the tub to dry. is Karloak here.

roll on oracle d20=12, d6 =4, so 'Yes(While)'

GM - yes, while you are all eating and soaking in the baths, Karloak enters from outside, even though it is pouring with rain, he seems completely dry, he says he was expecting you sooner and that he has made sure the horse and cart are out of the rain as well.  You can repair the harness in the morning once the storm has passed.  He gives each of you a dry robe.

when everyone is bathed Karloak points to some stairs, he tells the group that there are 5 cots on the next floor and they should all take their belongings there and choose a bed for the night.  When they come back down the bath tubs are gone and so is Karloak, the table of food has been replenished and 5 chairs are now placed around the fire, their clothes drying nearby.  Tilly rushes to the door and opens it, looking for the old hermit but the wind and rain drive her back in.  The group have no option but to sit the storm out and see what tomorrow brings. 

Date 14th March
Weather - Overcast, Strong wind and temperature colder but normal for the time of year

GM - in the morning the storm has passed, it takes you all day to repair the harness and you will be forced to spend a further night in the old hermits cottage, but you are all now fully rested and Sana and Tilly are now at full HP.  The day goes by uneventfully, there is no sign of the old hermit and so on the morning of the 15th, with two days food in your bags, you prepare to move on from the cottage.

and that is where we will end part 5, in part 6 the journey continues.

(I think Gedyel Moodlum will make interesting NPC going forward, at this point in the adventure I am not going to do much more with him but he certainly merits a bit of work put into his persona, I am not sure if he will be a constant help or threat to the  PC's but I will work that out in time).