Game Night Tales from around the gaming table

 

Continuing from the last episode of When A Dad Goes Bad.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After packing up and getting ready, they asked Cindus if he knew of any settlements nearby so that they could resupply. 3 days later they found a small village. Cindus, not wanting to have to face the prejudice of humans, told them that he'd circle around to the far side of the village and wait for them there. He had to Hunt anyway and it would be best to do that alone.

 

Rading met a fellow Bard who offered to teach him how to properly cast and use magic. This meant that he would have to stay there for at least a few months. They both agreed that Rading being able to cast more powerful magicks would help in their quest to take down Ritter's father. That night Ritter had a dream and felt an urge to continue travelling; Lathander wanted him to go somewhere. The next morning Ritter told Rading that he had to go and why -- he promised to return before the fall.

 

He left that morning, rejoined by Cindus and together they headed West following the pull of Lathander.

 

Near noon Ritter and Cindus came across a burnt village which was split in two by a fissure in the ground. Ritter decided to investigate -- this might be what was pulling them West. They found that many of the dead were thrown into the crack in the earth, but they also found one home intact and barred from inside. Within were the corpses of half a dozen women. Ritter couldn't leave the dead the way they were so he asked for Cindus' help to put them all to rest. The Wolfen -- who really didn't understand why one would waste time on dead meat that was too old to eat -- questioned why he wanted this, and after a time he conceded the point and helped, figuring that it would take less time.

 

To speed things along, Cindus called on the elements -- Earth, to bury the dead in the fissure; Fire and Air within the essence of the wood of the pyre which they had built within the house and surrounded the dead with -- to burn long and hot. Then, as a final touch, he lit the pyre by drawing down the sun while Ritter prayed for the dead. Once done, Ritter could still feel himself being pulled to the West, so they continued on, following the trail of those that did this.

 

Early the next morning -- well before the sun was up -- Cindus woke Ritter and invited him to hunt as Ritter had shown an interest in his hunting methods when they were talking during the night. To help Ritter's poor night vision, Cindus placed a simple Orison to allow him to see better in the starlight, then he told him to leave his heavy skins and weapons -- what he meant was his chainmail, boots and swords. He led Ritter along and quietly taught him some of what he could. Ritter actually did well for his first hunt and managed to take a rabbit -- which Cindus called a Long Ears. Cindus also shows him how one should eat prey to honour its gift of life.

 

 

Later that morning, they were moving through the rolling plains when they stumbled upon to a small Orcish encampment -- the Orcs being nocturnal, were mostly asleep. As they scouted the camp, Ritter noticed some items that were most definitely from the destroyed village. They needed to be stopped from doing that again. And for what they had done already, they had to pay. Cindus had always found that Orcs destabilised the areas that they roamed, so he had no issue with killing them. They decided that lightning strikes against their lookouts would be the best starting move, as it would draw out the rest of the Orcs into the daylight. That would put them at an added disadvantage where Ritter could ride them down as Cindus cast his spells at them.

 

The fight was brief and they killed 14 of the 16 in the camp. However Cindus' bloodlust had been raised so high that he almost attacked Ritter -- if Ritter had done anything else but stand his ground, he would have been attacked -- and he barely managed to redirect that lust onto an Orcish horse. Even bathed in the horse's hot blood his predatory senses were drawn up when a surviving Orc broke into the open and ran for its life. PREY! Cindus leapt after it and in moments was feasting on the screaming Orc.

 

Ritter slowly moved to collect his horse, all the while watching Cindus and moving out of the burning camp -- it had been set aflame during the fighting.

 

When Cindus joined Ritter again, he was apologetic that Ritter had to see him lose control the way he did -- he explained that many Wolfen got lost to the bloodlust when battle was fierce and bloody -- and assured him that he rarely fell to such things. He also congratulated him on choosing the proper course when faced with a Wolfen in such a condition.

 

Tired from the fight, and not really wanting to face anything else, they travelled until they found a good place with a small stream nearby, and made camp.