The group investigates a disturbance at Westbridge, which ultimately leads them deep into the snowy wilderness.
CW: Please skip 00:28 to 01:04 if you have misophonia triggered by the sound of someone talking while chewing food. We have discussed this above table but want to make sure your listening experience is a safe and pleasant one.
Following the villagers to a farm in the woods, the group finds the remains of Jerry, the shepherd who had been losing livestock. Arthas notices a shadowy figure at the edges of the farm and decides to follow it. The rest of his companions follow shortly after, taking their time to investigate footprints and a trail of fluids among the trees.
As they continue through the woods, each of them begins to hallucinate. They hear things and their thoughts begin to dwell on some of their fears. An overwhelming sense of dread overtakes the party. When they manage to track the beast to a valley, a mournful howl fills the air.
Follow Dax @GM_Dax, Kappa @TheKappaChris, Wren @ThornyDryad, and Worrier @WorrierMN
Transcript by CJ Kallevig
Upbeat piano intro ends[00:28]
Calming piano fades in [00:30]
Kappa (as Rou): [with a full mouth] Welcome to Roads Uncharted. Sorry. We’re finally out of the tunnels after about a week or so. We’ve emerged in this not, not Kidohlva, like we had thought but this town called Westbridge. We’re in this tavern, there’s finally food. It’s so delicious and quite well received. We’ve met this Minotaur, that goes by the name of Big Mood. And we’re sharing cheeses! [normal voice] Wonderful, wonderful things. We’ve learned that Big Mood is also a first time adventurer. So, sharing this table, sharing good food, good drink, what is more that one could ask for? However, there seems to be trouble outside.
Music shifts to a tense melody [01:20]
Dax: Yes, where we last left off in our prior session. The four of you were sitting at a table, five I guess if you count the skull named Arcterus that is sitting on an empty plate being fed eggs and toast from Rou’s plate. Arthas heard noises outside and a young woman has just slammed open the door, declaring that Jerry is dead. And I believe where we last left off last session, Arthas was getting up from the table and charging out. Now, Arthas, if you are going to try and continue to charge out the door, I need you to give me a Coordination check. Give it to me at Hard difficulty, because you are making it at a faster pace. So that’s three purple, please.
Neil: I’m on it! [dice rolls] And I got a… Advantage.
Dax: Okay. So you didn’t exactly fail. I’ll say that you do manage to get through the door, but it does take you a little bit. Maybe in your hurry, you actually wedge yourself at first. So you have to kind of wedge yourself back out and then slide through. So it takes you like two times to get through. You get outside, you see that there are people coming from the various wooden buildings, trying to plow their best through the snowdrift towards an area that looks to be pretty forested, off in the distance. Do you go, or do you wait for your companions?
Neil: I go.
Dax: It doesn’t take you long to catch up with the villagers. They lead you through the pine trees and beyond, into a clearing where you can see that there is a log cabin. There is a fenced off area where you can see a group of people standing in a cluster, and beyond that group of people, within that fenced-in area, is a whole bunch of sheep that are kind of huddled and far away.
Neil: Hmmm.
Dax: From the group of people as possible.
Neil: Can I see any clear tracks? Like, I assume this is a monster so, any bloodstains leading anywhere?
Dax: Give me a Survival check, give it to me at Average difficulty.
[dice rolls]
Neil: I have a Failure.
Dax: Okay. What you probably would be able to see under normal circumstances, given the snowdrift, however with everybody clamoring and walking through this property, it’s very difficult to see anything very clearly. Rou, Eight, and Big Mood. You see this woman come into the tavern, declaring that Jerry is dead. And then Arthas takes off running, and nearly gets stuck in the door on the way out. What do the three of you do?
Worrier (as Big Mood): Is this, is this it? Is it go time?
Kappa (as Rou): Yes, this is it!
Worrier (as Big Mood): Alright, mood. Mood.
Worrier: I pick up the handle that I didn’t ever quite finish affixing to the keg and sling the wagon wheel over my shoulder. Grab the garden hoe and run out the door.
Kappa: I will shovel some food into my mouth and just on the go, on the go.
Kappa (as Rou): Eight, shall we? Arcterus, can you wait here and if anyone tries to touch our food, just scream at them.
Dax (as Arcterus): Yeah, I can do that. Yeah. I won’t be able to help you anyways, so yeah, just go. Just go.
Kappa (as Rou): Right-o.
Kappa: Grab a sausage and..
Wren: After everyone else has just left the table in an awful hurry, I watch everyone go and I turn to Arcterus and I, I say,
Music quickly shifts to a jaunty accordion [04:52]
Wren (as Eight): Arcterus, I have a question for you. I spoke to your body earlier. Did you hear me and understand what I said to you while you were dangling from Bessie’s saddlebag?
Dax: The mouth opens a little bit, and then the jaw slams shut and you just hear that clack of bone.
Dax (as Arcterus): No…
Wren (as Eight): I see. So your auditory senses are limited to your head, just as they were in life.
Dax (as Arcterus): Correct.
Wren (as Eight): Okay, well.
Dax (as Arcterus): Oh, oh! Do this. Go out and look at the body. Do you see my hands moving?
Wren (as Eight): I’ll let you know, but basically what I had said was if you notice anyone trying to abscond with anything on Bessie’s pack, to simply wave your arms around and try and scare them off.
Dax (as Arcterus): Ooohhhhh. Are they waving now?
Wren (as Eight): I, I don’t know. For the door is closed, you see. I will tell you when I return. If the lovely waitress comes to take care of the table, please do not scream at her.
Dax (as Arcterus): You’re no fun.
Wren (as Eight): If anyone else does, feel free.
Wren: And with that, I will push away from the table and I will walk to the woman who was screaming. Is she still in the inn?
Dax: She would have followed out after Arthas, with the rest of the villagers.
Wren: Oh, okay. I will head out that way at a measured pace. I still have my spoon in hand and when I step outside, I will hold it out and hit it with my hand. Like you would a flashlight to make it light up. And if you’d like, I’ll just go ahead and roll a quick Easy Utility check.
Dax: Okay, yep. Go ahead.
[dice rolls]
Wren: That’s a whole bunch of Successes, and an Advantage left over.
Music shifts to a suspenseful melody [06:25]
Dax: Perfect, what do you want to do with that Advantage?
Wren: I mean, there’s not too much I need to do other than just, you know, keep walking in the direction everyone else is hustled off. Perhaps, I just notice, as I’m walking in the direction towards where this woman is gone, maybe there are, I don’t know, some noticeable scuff marks in the ground? Or maybe some signs of a struggle in the area she says Jerry should have been?
Dax: I’ll say probably in this section of town, you wouldn’t see that but I, I’ll give it to you that you at least see the bulletin board that Big Mood was talking about. Complete with a big, empty space where there are pieces of something that clearly was torn off the bulletin board.
Wren: Interesting. Does it look like other things have been ripped off the bulletin board?
Dax: No, there’s only two or three more posters, but they’re much smaller than the one that Big Mood had produced.
Wren: I should probably hurry, but I am curious. Do you, would you be able to tell me what these other things say, as I look at them before rushing off?
Dax: Sure. One of them is from somebody named Saul, who wants to trade in some horseshoes for the service of a tutor. Another is a call for a missing set of tools, and the third one is one that says that there are livestock that are missing. This one seems to be the oldest out of the three that do remain on the bulletin board. Some sheep have been missing. Jerry’s offering ten gold for any knowledge.
Wren: I read that one and I kind of piece together what Arthas said.
Wren (as Eight): Ohhh. Jerry was looking for missing livestock. And now Jerry is dead. I wonder if the two are related?
Wren: And I will hustle off in the direction that everyone else has gone.
Dax: So I will say out of the, at least out of the three main cast, Rou is probably the one that is noticing the cold the most. Big Mood, how often have you been in cold environments? You know, is the cold of this mountaintop village going to be bothering you? Have you come prepared?
Worrier: I have definitely not come prepared. However, I’m just from a couple towns over, so the weather’s probably not super challenging for me. I don’t think.
Dax: It doesn’t take the three of you too much longer to catch up to Arthas and the rest of the villagers. It’s pretty clear where all the tracks are leading, they’re beyond this pine tree grouping. You find Arthas standing on the other side of the pine trees, and beyond is, like I said, there’s villagers all clustered. Then beyond that there’s some sheep, they’re all, the villagers and the sheep are all in this enclosed fence area. Arthas, you now are joined by your companions.
Neil (as Arthas): Hello.
Worrier (as Big Mood): You find anything out?
Neil (as Arthas): No.
Worrier (as Big Mood): Okay.
Worrier: I’ll, I’ll take a look around and see what I can see.
Dax: What specifically are you looking for? I know Arthas had looked for tracks, which you wouldn’t necessarily know. But tell me specifically what you’re looking for, and I’ll tell you what the appropriate roll might be.
Worrier: I’m looking if I can, if I can see what everyone’s gawking at.
Dax: Okay. I’ll definitely say that that won’t require a roll if you want to walk up to the villagers. I mean, you are taller than a good most of them.
Worrier: Okay.
Dax: You can see that they are surrounding a body of a man, who very clearly looks like he’s been ripped to shreds.
Worrier (as Big Mood): [gags] Nope, nope. Nope. Nope, nope, nope. Nope, nope, nope.
Worrier: I just back up, kind of back to the group.
Worrier (as Big Mood): That, that is gross. It’s gross.
Kappa (as Rou): What is gross? What’s wrong?
Worrier (as Big Mood): Um, good news. Um, that’s not my Jerry. Bad news, um, there’s not a lot of Jerry left and it’s gross. [gags]
Kappa (as Rou): Curious.
Kappa: I will push through. Do I recognize anything? Or, not recognize, but like, do I, do I notice anything familiar about any of this? Smells?
Dax: Rou, why, why don’t you do me a favor and give me a Lore Knowledge check? At Average difficulty, so two purple please.
Kappa: Okay. [dice rolls] Three Successes, two Threats.
Dax: Mechanically, why don’t you take some Strain for the Threats. Why don’t you tell me, narratively, what those Threats mean to you before I give you the answers to what your Successes mean?
Kappa: Truly, it’s a horrifying sight. So, I mean that, that could take care of one Strain. And the other one, I’m worried about the implications of this. Given everything that we know and everything that we’ve learned in the past hour or so, piecing everything together. There is definitely some sort of connection between all of this. It worries me.
Dax: Perfect. You’re looking through the crowd and you do see this mangled body of this individual, you can see that there are large slashes. You, looking over this body, would very clearly understand that these are claw marks. Maybe even some bite marks of a very large animal.
Kappa: Suddenly the Strain makes sense. To the nearest person,
Kappa (as Rou): Excuse me. How long ago was this found?
Dax: It’s a, a gentleman with a very scruffy kind of five o’clock shadow, kind of sitting there shaking his head slowly back and forth. When you talk to him, he turns to look at you. Almost as if he’s not really seeing you.
Dax (as the gentleman): [slightly deeper voice] Rebecca just, just found him here so I...
Dax: He reaches forward and nudges the body very gently with a boot toe.
Dax (as the gentleman): Doesn’t seem like he’s been gone long. Ugh man. I told him, I told him he should have moved in a little closer to town. [sighs] Well, so much for that I guess.
Kappa (as Rou): You knew this person? Closely?
Dax (as the gentleman): Well, it’s… Westbridge isn’t a very big town. We, we only get visitors six months out of the year, so I mean yeah, we all know each other. And Jerry…
Dax: He kind of gestures at the sheep that are hiding in the far corner of the fenced-in area.
Dax (as the gentleman): I mean, Jerry was the shepherd. He handled all the wool products and, well, I’m sorry. Who are you?
Kappa (as Rou): I’m a visitor in town. A bit of an adventurer, so I wouldn’t say I’m used to this kind of thing but it’s sort of, I don’t know. I feel some sort of call to action, to help, to bring, bring justice and whatnot.
Kappa: If I look at the, look at the body. Yeah, look, you know, look at it. Is there like, you said it’s cold, right? Like it’s, there’s snow?
Dax: Mhmm.
Kappa: Is there steam coming off of this? Or is it, is it that long, or is it -
Dax: How close are you getting to this body?
Kappa: I imagined like ten feet away.
Dax: Okay. I’ll say that probably from this distance, it’s a little hard to see any steam. But if you were to get a little closer, you know, like put your hand kind of over but not on the body, you might be able to feel a little bit of residual heat.
Kappa: Yeah, I’ll do that.
Kappa (as Rou): Excuse me, excuse me. Maybe we might be able to find who had done this if we know…
Kappa: And then, like you said, my hand close and try and, try and feel for the heat.
Kappa (as Rou): This body is still very warm, their assailant might be close by. Arthas! Eight! Mood! Excuse me.
Kappa: I’m pushing my way back through the crowd.
Kappa (as Rou): This happened very, very recently. Maybe we might be able to find who had done this.
Neil (as Arthas): Do we have any leads?
Kappa: I’ll look over at Eight.
Kappa (as Rou): This might be time for some inspecting. If you know what I mean. Looking around for clues, tracks.
Kappa: I’ll look at Mood.
Kappa (as Rou): How well do you know the area? You said you’re from around here, right?
Worrier (as Big Mood): Uhh, I mean, I’ve been through town once or twice on business. But, not super well. Man, they don’t, they don’t tell ya in adventuring about, about the smells. It’s, that’s a lot.
Kappa (as Rou): It’s very much a lot.
Worrier (as Big Mood): I’ll see what I can find though. Maybe, I don’t, does it seem weird that no one’s checked in with the sheep yet? Like, are they okay? You know?
Kappa (as Rou): No, no.
Worrier (as Big Mood): I’m going to go, I’m going to go, just going to see if they’re alright. See if there’s anything over there.
Dax: Okay! Are you doing anything in particular to check on these sheep?
Worrier: I feel like Mood might have some experience with, with animals. I’m, you know, I’ve worked on a sort of farm/business setting. Maybe I have some plants on me that are particularly alluring to sheep, to see if I can get in a little bit friendly. Make some friends.
Dax: Okay. Why don’t we go ahead and do Survival? I’m going to make this Hard, so three purple, because I mean, these sheep are pretty terrified. So it’s going to take a little extra effort to convince them to get close.
Worrier: Sure. Alright…[dice rolls] three Threats.
Dax: Okay! You get close to these sheep, and you’re holding out this, this little bit of greenery that you had in your back pocket. You’re trying to get them to come closer and be a little less afraid. Suddenly you get this overwhelming fear, that perhaps this isn’t the right way to go about this. That, you know, people are just going to see this big cow walking up to sheep and maybe start laughing at you and you know, maybe, maybe you’re not cutting out for adventuring.
Maybe, maybe you really are… this is just, this is not gonna work out. Maybe you won’t be able to help these people. And this just starts to become this very cloying, anxious feeling in the pit of your stomach.
Worrier (as Big Mood): Oh. Maybe Samson was right. Maybe I should just stick to the garden, you know. I don’t know what I’m doing here. With all these expert adventurers, and they, they know what they’re doing. They’ll know I’m a fraud. [deep breath] Uh-oh. Um…
Worrier: I’m going to sort of just, just sort of back, stop with the sheep bait and just kind of wander back toward the group. Just kind of watch, just watch what they’re doing and stay out of the way. I’m just going to mess this up. I better just stick around and let the experts do the work here.
Dax: Arthas, you see Big Mood walking up towards the group of sheep in the far distance. You see Rou is examining the body. You tried looking for tracks, it didn’t exactly work. But what are you doing now?
Neil: I suppose I’m just keeping my head on a swivel. Whatever murdered that guy could come back.
Dax: Okay. Give me a Perception check. Go ahead and make it Average difficulty. And Eight, how close are you?
Wren: I’m at the periphery of the crowd. I haven’t really made a point of inserting myself into the situation right yet.
Dax: Okay.
Wren: Of course, I arrived just slightly before Rou pushed his way through and said ‘now might be a great time for inspecting’. But, I’ve just kind of been milling around in the back, looking at the people. Listening to the general commotion and taking in the scenario, I guess? More so than really actively doing anything at this point.
Dax: Okay. So would you say that you’re probably hovering within a range band of Arthas for him to get that Heightened Awareness Boost?
Wren: Yeah.
Dax: Okay. So Arthas, go ahead and add a Boost to your roll please, and let me know what your results are.
[dice rolls]
Neil: That’s one Success.
Dax: You’re keeping your head on a swivel. You can hear the sounds of people muttering and talking amongst themselves, you can hear a couple of the women crying. One of the men is crying as well. You can hear the sound of terrified sheep off in the distance. You can, by now, smell the iron tang of blood mingling with the cold freshness and wetness of snow.
You suddenly feel cold droplets on your skin. You look up and you can see that a light snow is starting. And it is when you bring your eyesight back down to horizon level that you see off in the distance, the slightest movement off in the far trees.
Neil: I’d like to start running towards it.
Dax: Big Mood, you’re dealing with the sheep and you feel it before you hear it. You feel the thundering footsteps of this Giant-kin before you see Arthas running past you. Rou, you go to stand up from inspecting the body and you turn around just in time to see the back of Arthas running, plowing through the snow. The snowdrift is kicking up at his feet, snow is flying everywhere, making this white almost like dust cloud. Eight, as you’re wandering around and keeping sight of everything that is going on, you see Arthas take off. What do you do?
Wren: I cock my head and I believe I would sigh.
Wren (as Eight): [sighs] Simply Arthas has charged off once again, diverted by something he must have seen.
Wren: I will look for Rou and Ferdinand Moody to see where they are, and if I see they are pursuing Arthas, I will also start clomping off in that direction. If not, I will swing by and I will call out to them,
Wren (as Eight): Fellow adventurers, it seems SImply Arthas has seen something that has directed his attention to the forest yonder!
Wren: And I will indicate with a giant ham fist as I just kind of slowly run in that direction.
Kappa (as Rou): He’s never been wrong before, so I say we follow. Provide back-up. Moody, you ready?
Worrier (as Big Mood): Alright, alright. Uh, I, uh, my shield is still broke. It’s dumb. Yeah, okay, I’ll follow you guys.
Kappa: You see, you see Rou pull out two, two halves of a, they’re two sticks. But, it’s obvious that they were joined in the middle at one point, as he now takes off in pursuit of Eight and Arthas.
Worrier: I sort of follow Rou’s lead and wield my garden hoe.
Dax: I need Rou and Big Mood to give me a Resilience check as you are running through the snowdrifts. Add a Setback, so that will be one black die. And then add two purple for Average difficulty.
[dice rolls]
Worrier: Three Successes.
Rou: Two Successes and three Threats.
Dax: Big Mood, you know you may be from a couple of towns over and while you weren’t prepared for the cold of this mountain top village, your mind is now on the task. You are chasing after this Giant-kin, hopefully to save the day despite your earlier feelings of fear and anxiety. You’re not feeling anything.
Rou, you are heading after Arthas as well. You know, you can feel the wind is whipping across your face but it’s not really, oh yeah, it’s fine. It’s a little brisk, but it’s totally fine. You know, the cold really isn’t affecting you. However, as you’re running, you start to get this immense fear in the pit of your stomach. You start to wonder, are you going to really want to see this through the end? Are you really going to want to know what killed that man?
And if you find out what it is, how much is it going to haunt you? Arthas, you’re chasing after this thing that you saw. When you get to the point in the woods in the far distance where you saw this movement, you don’t see anything. Give me a Survival check. Give it to me at Average difficulty.
[dice rolls]
Neil: I got one Success and three Threats.
Dax: You stop and you’re looking around. You’re looking in and amongst the trees, you’re looking at the snow trying to figure out where did it go, it was just here. And that’s when you notice these large tracks in the snow. And you’re able to follow it pretty clearly off farther and farther away from the village. Do you follow the tracks?
Neil: Certainly.
Dax: Or do you wait for your friends? You do? Okay. Alright. You start heading off in a northeasterly direction. As it is starting to get darker and darker, because at this point it’s getting on almost five o’clock. The snow is starting to get cold, even at your feet. You’ve been away from the mountains for quite a while at this point, and it’s not just the cold that is starting to seep in. It is this feeling of what if we don’t solve this mystery? What if we have to leave this town?
Does that count against me? As on my quest to knighthood, am I going to get a poor reputation? Do knights get poor reputations? You know, and you start to feel that worry kind of seeping up along the back of your neck. The hairs on your skin are starting to stand up and tingle. Eight, as you’re plodding along, is there anything in particular you are doing or are you just chasing after the group?
Wren: With this snow coming down, is it sticking? Like, how bad is that?
Dax: It’s very light right now. You don’t really give off a lot of heat, do you?
Wren: I don’t think so.
Dax: Okay. So, I’ll say that as far as your plating and everything is concerned, I mean the snow sticks for a minute or two and then eventually just kind of dissipates. It’s very hard to tell at this stage in the game if it’s accumulating because it is, it’s a brand new snowfall.
Wren: As I’m running, I will take note of the snow and I’ll probably stop after a little bit. My footsteps kind of slowing in pace as I come to a gradual halt. I will unshoulder my backpack and put that down on the ground and I will pull out my lantern, which I set on the ground. I will light it, I will also let my spoon go out, and at the same time as I reshoulder my backpack, I will pick up the lantern with my left hand.
I will take the spoon with my right, and I will look up at the sky, seeing, you know, the snowfall. Kind of blinking and flashing as they come in and out of the lamp light. I would like to cast a Barrier spell around myself, to keep me from accumulating snow, but also to just kinda surround me and perhaps make a little bubble that will push light snow out of my way as I’m running?
Dax: I’m trying to think, I don’t think you’ve done a Barrier spell yet, have you?
Wren: I have not. But I’m just kind of thinking about keeping it out of my face, keeping it out of my way, and perhaps even making like -
Dax: Alright.
Wren: A wake? For my companions to follow in my stead.
Dax: Mhmm. So go ahead and give me the Barrier Spell. Give it to me at… let’s do Hard difficulty. Just because it’s your first time.
Wren: So I have four Threats but four Advantages, which cancel out. And then I have two Success.
Dax: Okay. Describe what this Barrier looks like as, as you bring it forth into existence.
Wren: So, I hold the spoon up, and just looking at the snow and imagining the cold, because obviously I can’t feel it. I probably would notice the snow kind of accumulating on my joints and some of my plating. Just kind of thinking to myself,
Wren (as Eight): Can’t have this snow getting in my way and slowing me down. I will need to protect myself. I will need to cover myself.
Wren: And I’ll remember how Mother’s porcelain teakettle was used to keep the water from going cool quickly. As I hold the spoon aloft, I continue that thought of,
Wren (as Eight): The exterior ceramic keeps the heat within, wards off the cold, just the way she likes it.
Wren: As I think that, my eyes keep shimmering that same violet color, which almost channels through the body, into the tip of the spoon, and makes a violet bubble that surrounds me. For a brief moment. Shimmering in the torchlight, like the snow does. And then in an instant, it’s [snaps fingers] just gone. I can look up with the spoon there, and I can see the snow hits and then piffs, but doesn’t land on me or get more than like two feet within range of me as it just kind of hits that barrier and it like shuffs off to the side. And with that, I grab the lantern tighter in my grip and start running. Trying to keep up with Arthas, seeing what else there is coming my way.
Dax: Why don’t y’all tell me what’s going on as you are tracking whatever it is you’re tracking? Because I know Arthas is, is following tracks. The three of you are kind of, at this point, following Arthas. Depending on how fast you run, I know Big Mood is probably not going to take long to catch up to Arthas because you are nearly as tall as Arthas. You’re pretty large. So as the group of you catch up to Arthas, who is.. are you still running Arthas? Or are you just fast walking at this point?
Neil: At this point I’m just sort of fast walking, trying to figure out where the hell this thing is.
Dax: Okay. Alright. I thought so, because you now have sight on something that you might be taking it a little slower, but I don’t like to assume. Alright. So the group of you catch up to Arthas. You watch as he’s every once in a while stooping down in the snow and then he kind of changes his direction as he’s following these tracks. The game is yours. You tell me what’s going on.
Kappa (as Rou): Arthas, what did you see?
Neil (as Arthas): Something…
Kappa (as Rou): You just, just took off running again.
Neil (as Arthas): Well, I have to find it.
Kappa (as Rou): [shivering] Sure? Is there anything we can do to, to, to assist, Arthas?
Neil (as Arthas): Keep your eyes open.
Kappa (as Rou): Okay.
Worrier: I stand still and don’t blink for as long as I can.
Wren: I imagine at this point, I’ve arrived because I am distinctly slower than the rest of everyone. So even if like, I was ahead of everyone, I would imagine you’ve all overtaken me at some point in running over here. And I don’t get winded, but I, I stop with an abrupt clomp.
Wren (as Eight): [huffs and puffs] You are all very fast. Do we know what we are looking for? Arthas, you seemed quite determined.
Kappa: I’m shaking my head ‘nope’.
Worrier (as Big Mood): My eyes are really cold.
Wren (as Eight): You should try blinking. I have heard that is quite enjoyable for most organic creatures.
Worrier (as Big Mood): That’s way better, yep. Okay. You live, you learn. You know.
Kappa: I’m helping, like looking around and seeing if there’s anything abnormal, out of place in a normal setting like this. Tracks, broken branches, movement.
Dax: Yeah. Give me Survival, give it to me at Average difficulty. So, two purple please.
Kappa: Survival. Oooh! I forget, I’m good at this.
[dice rolls]
Dax: Rou, whatcha get -
Rou: It’s a wash.
Dax: A wash?
Rou: Nothing.
Dax: Alright.
Rou: Do I smell anything?
Dax: It’s a lot of snow. And the fact that the snow is now falling, it’s kind of making it difficult to really pick out anything on the ground. It’s also getting dark. Big Mood, if you wouldn’t mind, roll me some Vigilance at the same difficulty.
[dice rolls]
Worrier: One Success and One Triumph.
Dax: While I share the results of that Success and Triumph are, Rou, give me another Survival check. This time, same difficulty but give yourself a Boost. Big Mood. You blink, and you kind of, you know, refresh your eyes. You look around, and you notice… huh, that’s odd. You walk up to one of the pine trees and you can see that there’s this dark viscous fluid on the very edge of the branch. Almost as if it’s clinging to the branches.
Worrier (as Big Mood): Hey, uh,
Worrier: I say to the group generally,
Worrier (as Big Mood): Check this out. There’s, this tree’s got some weird gross like sap or something. I don’t know, it doesn’t seem.. doesn’t seem right.
Worrier: I’ll look around and see if I can see, can I see this, is it making a trail of any kind? Is it, are there more trees with the same substance?
Dax: Yes, in fact. Now, you do have a Triumph. You have a couple options you could use the Triumph for, including having something really cool happen. Now, this Success determined that you got to see this, this specific fluid, and see that it actually does hit a couple of trees. What would you like to use your Triumph for?
Worrier: I do want something cool to happen. Do I get to choose the cool thing?
Dax: Yeah, and if it’s, as long as it’s reasonable, I’ll yay or nay it.
Worrier: Okay. As, as I’m following this weird viscous fluid trail, the samples, if you will, get more substantial. As I continue following the path, I can start to hear where whatever left this viscous trail went.
Dax: Yeah. I’ll say that’s definitely reasonable. Yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. You start to see bigger pools, you start to, to see that they are making it a very, very distinct trail in the snow. And it’s not red, it is this blackish-green color. Rou, what was the result of your roll?
[dice rolls]
Kappa: Three Threats, three Success.
Dax: What does it look like when you’re really focusing and you’re trying to smell?
Kappa: I mean, it doesn’t look like much but it sounds like I’m sniffing. Like, like just [deep sniff]. Like, [quick sniffs]. And cocking my head in certain directions as I’m picking up and analyzing different scents. Trying to block out the scents that are, that I know and recognize and are nearby.
Dax: You do this, and at first all you pick up is, is that cold smell that snow has. That clear air, it’s almost burning your nostrils and your lungs as you take it in. And then, Big Mood points out the viscous fluid on the pine needles. And the group of you follow along and Big Mood points out, ‘look the piles are in the snow and they’re getting bigger’. As these, this fluid is becoming more prevalent, it starts to override the smell of the snow.
And it smells like rot. And it smells like sulfur, and it almost starts to burn a little bit every time you take it in. You start to feel this nauseous feeling in the pit of your stomach. You start to hear screams. You can hear people faintly, in the back of your mind. Freak. Beast. Get away. Run. Run for your lives. And then that feeling, those noises, those screams, are gone. But the smell remains.
Kappa (as Rou): Oh. [coughs] Whatever this is, I think we’re in the right direction. Not sure what I’m.. still not pleasant though.
Worrier (as Big Mood): That’s real gross.
Kappa (as Rou): Very much so. You smell it, yes?
Worrier (as Big Mood): Yeah, I smell it man.
Kappa (as Rou): Ugh, it’s gross.
Worrier (as Big Mood): Super gross. Adventuring’s kind of gross.
Kappa (as Rou): Arthas, can you see anything up ahead? I mean, you do have the height advantage.
Neil: Do I need to make a Perception check?
Dax: Uh, yeah. Go ahead and give me a Perception check. This time, you know, you’ve got tracks, you’ve got the clear, the viscous fluid that Big Mood pointed out. So go ahead and make it an Easy difficulty.
[dice rolls]
Neil: A Success and one Advantage.
Dax: You’re looking off in the distance and you happen to notice that there is a shadowy figure that kind of goes downward, off in the distance. As if it was going down a hill. It disappears, but it is straight ahead. What do you want to use your Advantage for? Do you have any Strain?
Neil: I will clear my last bit of Strain.
Dax: Alright. So you see this, this thing, this shadowy figure off in the distance disappear.
Neil: Like usual, I bolt after it.
Dax: Alright. So, Rou, you asked if Arthas sees anything, and then Arthas takes off. So…
Kappa: Turn to Eight.
Kappa (as Rou): Is this, I’ve only seen him do this a few times, but is this exceedingly common for Arthas?
Wren (as Eight): Unfortunately, when Arthas becomes focused on one specific thing which he considers to be his quarry, he becomes of a singular and driven purpose.
Kappa (as Rou): I guess it’s a blessing that he’s never been wrong. So far, it’s three for three.
Wren (as Eight): I suppose so. There is still room for error. Though his track record does make him quite dependable. If you would like to hurry after him, I will do my best to keep up.
Kappa: At this point, I will start, not full out sprinting, but you know, brisk jog after Arthas. Hopefully, you know, provide backup in case there is an engagement.
Worrier (as Big Mood): So, what, do you, you want a ride? Like, piggy-back style? I’m pretty fast.
Wren: I look at you, Ferdinand, and I shake my head.
Wren (as Eight): That will not be necessary. I am perfectly capable of locomotion on my own. I am just a little slow, but that’s okay.
Worrier (as Big Mood): Yeah, of course that’s okay! Just wanted to throw that out there. One of my talents is picking up stuff, so. Carrying things.
Wren (as Eight): I would not want you to strain your back. I do weigh an awful lot more than you might expect that I do.
Worrier (as Big Mood): Alright. Good to know.
Dax: Alright. Arthas is charging through the trees. Rou is following behind, Big Mood...
Worrier: Uh, yeah. With a little bit of renewed confidence, I’m gonna, I’m gonna charge off after Arthas.
Dax: As the sun is setting and it is getting darker and darker, all four of you start to feel this overwhelming sense of dread. That maybe you are chasing after something into the dark, that should be left alone. You start to get this nagging feeling of turn back. Run. Run away. Turn back. And as Arthas, you crest over this hill, and you see the valley. The rocks and the trees and the snow below you. The snowfall at this point, large fluffy flurries. All four of you hear a mournful howl.
[wolf howls]
Dax: And that is where we are going to end the session.
Kappa: Scared!
Dax: I’m sorry [laughs].
Neil: I’m going to club it!
[group laughs]
Music fades out [42:17]
Dax: Thanks for listening! We hope you’ll join us next time but in the interim, follow us on Twitter @RoadsUncharted.
The “Roads Uncharted” podcast is GMed and produced by Dax who you can find on Twitter @GM_Dax. We use the Genesys RPG System published by Fantasy Flight Games and music licensed by Epidemic Sound.
Arthas, Champion of Offam is played by Neil.
Eight is played by Wren, who also composed the music for our opening theme. Follow them on Twitter @ThornyDryad.
Rou is played by Kappa, and you can follow him on Twitter @TheKappaChris.
Big Mood is played by our guest, Worrier. You can follow him on Twitter @WorrierMN.