Pilgrim Quest

[gman391]

I say we run and pretend we never saw these people.

[bookworm702]

Use Comprehend, but remain cautious, it's possible and even likely that these people mean us harm. Or maybe they're just insane. Either way, caution is good.

[Aldraia Dragonsong]

The Quest continues! The Pilgrim journeys on!
------

You speak the Words of Comprehension, and feel ringing clarity settle in your mind.
Out of the corner of your eye, you see Matthias shivering with fear. Blackie stands in front of him, hackles raised, growling.
The strangers seem not to notice. The man continues to run. The old woman ceases her shouting and meanders closer.
The little girl leaves off her dancing, whirls to face you, and charges.

What will you do now?

Inventory:

Spoiler: show

Equipped:
Traveling Clothes: trousers, undershirt, overtunic, rope belt, straw hat, walking boots
Walking Staff: sturdy, can be leaned on or used as a weapon
Glasses: without these, your vision could generously be described as ‘bad’
Hairtie: keeps your hair out of your eyes
In your backpack:
Food: enough to last you five days, most of it bread and dried fruit
Flask: contains enough drinkable water to last you six days
Tinder and flint: to start fires with
Knife: a sharp implement suitable for cutting things or striking against the flint to make sparks; using it as a weapon is possible, but not recommended
Wooden Case: contains a spare pair of glasses, in case yours break
Spare Clothes: spare trousers, shirt, and tunic
Extra Hairties: in case one breaks or is lost; you have two

The Word:

Spoiler: show

You can currently take up to 5 points of backlash without consequence. At 5 or more points of backlash, you are weakened. At 10 or more points of backlash, you fall unconscious for a period of time every time you use the Word. At 15 points of backlash, you die.
You have taken 2 points of backlash so far today.
Words Known:
Comprehension: Allows you to understand any creature. Backlash 2.
Repairing: Perform minor repairs on an object. Backlash 1.
Sealing: Maintain the seals that bind the Fell. Backlash 4. You also know how to construct such seals, but you are not yet powerful enough to do so without severely hurting yourself (Backlash 10).

[gman391]

Can we bust out Kung fu moves?
If not in the words of Picollo

"DOOOOOOOOODGE!"

[Tempest Kitsune]

Grab the kid, whistle for the dog, and get the hell out of dodge.

[Aldraia Dragonsong]

No, you cannot use kung fu. You have basic abilities in unarmed and quarterstaff fighting, but you are not especially good at either.
------

You deem running to be the most advisable course of action, and get on that right away, with a cry of, "Matthias, we need to get out of here!"
Matthias snaps out of his daze and nods.
"Blackie!" he calls, joining you in flight.
The dog is all too eager to retreat.
Thankfully, the three of you are easily faster than a child and an old woman, so you have time to snatch up your packs on the way.
The girl lets out an unearthly howl at your departure. You glance back, once.
An unchildlike rage burns in her eyes, and she snarls, following you far faster than you expected her to be able to run.
You face forward again, and continue to flee.

Eventually, the strange child leaves off her pursuit; you can no longer hear her footsteps behind you. You slow and come to a stop soon after, exhausted.
Blackie flops down, plainly grateful to rest. Matthias sinks to the ground as well... but his shaking and blank stare bespeak terror as much as tiredness.

What do you do?

Inventory:

Spoiler: show

Equipped:
Traveling Clothes: trousers, undershirt, overtunic, rope belt, straw hat, walking boots
Walking Staff: sturdy, can be leaned on or used as a weapon
Glasses: without these, your vision could generously be described as ‘bad’
Hairtie: keeps your hair out of your eyes
In your backpack:
Food: enough to last you five days, most of it bread and dried fruit
Flask: contains enough drinkable water to last you six days
Tinder and flint: to start fires with
Knife: a sharp implement suitable for cutting things or striking against the flint to make sparks; using it as a weapon is possible, but not recommended
Wooden Case: contains a spare pair of glasses, in case yours break
Spare Clothes: spare trousers, shirt, and tunic
Extra Hairties: in case one breaks or is lost; you have two

The Word:

Spoiler: show

You can currently take up to 5 points of backlash without consequence. At 5 or more points of backlash, you are weakened. At 10 or more points of backlash, you fall unconscious for a period of time every time you use the Word. At 15 points of backlash, you die.
You have taken 2 points of backlash so far today.
Words Known:
Comprehension: Allows you to understand any creature. Backlash 2.
Repairing: Perform minor repairs on an object. Backlash 1.
Sealing: Maintain the seals that bind the Fell. Backlash 4. You also know how to construct such seals, but you are not yet powerful enough to do so without severely hurting yourself (Backlash 10).

[Tempest Kitsune]

"The HELL was THAT?!"

[gman391]

I feel praying and more running is appropiate

[Aldraia Dragonsong]

“What – was – that?” you gasp, still short of breath.
Blackie whines and moves closer to Matthias, leaning up against him as though to comfort or protect.
Matthias is slow to answer. Finally he mutters, still shaking and without turning to look at you, “Tainted.”
You wait for him to say more, but he falls silent again. After a little while, you prompt, “Tainted?”
“By the Dark in the Wild,” he replies, a little more quickly but with no less horror in his voice. “Even being near it for too long can induce madness... could you not feel it?”
You shake your head. You felt nothing like the cold, dark wrongness that you felt in the forest around the Mirayuki Shrine.
“You might be more sensitive to it than me?” you suggest.
Matthias nods thoughtfully, the shaking starting to ease, though he still seems rather distant.
“That would make sense.”
You think that perhaps you should keep going, but you know that you cannot run anymore. Not now. Later, yes, but for now, all three of you are too tired to move faster than a slow walk.
You pray to the Great Maker, whose Word Pilgrims have spoken since before the Pilgrimage began.
Please... at least let us make it home.
Nothing obvious happens as a result, but you feel a little better.

What now?

Inventory:

Spoiler: show

Equipped:
Traveling Clothes: trousers, undershirt, overtunic, rope belt, straw hat, walking boots
Walking Staff: sturdy, can be leaned on or used as a weapon
Glasses: without these, your vision could generously be described as ‘bad’
Hairtie: keeps your hair out of your eyes
In your backpack:
Food: enough to last you five days, most of it bread and dried fruit
Flask: contains enough drinkable water to last you six days
Tinder and flint: to start fires with
Knife: a sharp implement suitable for cutting things or striking against the flint to make sparks; using it as a weapon is possible, but not recommended
Wooden Case: contains a spare pair of glasses, in case yours break
Spare Clothes: spare trousers, shirt, and tunic
Extra Hairties: in case one breaks or is lost; you have two

The Word:

Spoiler: show

You can currently take up to 5 points of backlash without consequence. At 5 or more points of backlash, you are weakened. At 10 or more points of backlash, you fall unconscious for a period of time every time you use the Word. At 15 points of backlash, you die.
You have taken 2 points of backlash so far today.
Words Known:
Comprehension: Allows you to understand any creature. Backlash 2.
Repairing: Perform minor repairs on an object. Backlash 1.
Sealing: Maintain the seals that bind the Fell. Backlash 4. You also know how to construct such seals, but you are not yet powerful enough to do so without severely hurting yourself (Backlash 10).

[Tempest Kitsune]

We keep moving. We may have outrun those things, but they may have better endurance than we do. So we keep moving for as long as we possibly can to maintain the lead, and attempt to get home.

[gman391]

Shame we don't have awesome ninja powers. But for now I think we should hide or at least run up a tree. The Dark can't climb trees...or was that bears? Either way to the trees!

[Aldraia Dragonsong]

Warning: long post ahead.
------

You stagger to your feet, intending to keep going, but you only make it a few steps before you collapse again. Matthias crawls over to you and lays a hand on your arm.
“We need to rest,” he says gently. “Neither of us can run any farther.”
“But what about the-”
“Listen. If she was still following us, she would catch us if we kept going. She would have caught us already.”
You hesitate, but realize that Matthias is probably right. And you are so very tired...
Before you can think about it any more, sleep overtakes you.

Your dreams are disquieting. The dimly-remembered figure of your mother, a Pilgrim like you who died when you were young, murmurs words you cannot make out in a voice you barely recall. You remember long hair and a slender figure, but the image is washed out, without colour or detail.
Your father is said to have died before you were born. You do not remember him at all.
A shadowy, vaguely masculine form listens to your mother’s whispers before enveloping her in darkness. You reach out to stop him, to help her, anything, but you are falling into a darkness of your own, a slimy, close darkness that threatens to overwhelm you.
You wake up with a start in the not-quite-darkness of impending dawn. Matthias is still asleep, but Blackie is awake and turns to regard you briefly before returning to his watch.
You give yourself a few minutes to calm down before shaking Matthias awake. The boy shoots you a grateful glance before turning to face east.
You occupy yourself with picking up your things and taking stock. You had not begun to set up camp when the Tainted appeared, so you still have all your things. You feel tired and sluggish even though you have only just woken; normally you are very alert in the mornings, but last night’s exhaustion coupled with your disturbed sleep has left you not fully rested. You suspect that you will not be able to sustain as much of the World’s backlash as you normally are, since you are starting from such an impaired state.
When Matthias turns back to you, his morning ritual done, he seems far better-rested than you. Whatever it is he does at sunrise, it seems to be a druidic thing, and you have deemed it best not to inquire. Druids tend to be secretive about their rites.
“Good morning,” Matthias says cheerfully.
You mumble something that might pass for a return greeting. Matthias seems to catch on that you are feeling grumpy, and politely lets you be.
You look around, realizing that in your haste to run away, you went slightly off-course. After a while, however, you catch sight of the road you were following, and strike out once again.

Matthias has been finding things for you to eat, but you do not want to take the time to forage today, so you dip into your supplies instead. The food and water disappear fast shared among both of you (Blackie somehow hunts for himself and still keeps up), but you have enough to last until you make it to the temple.
By noon, you are starting to feel somewhat decent again, and are able to be civil enough to apologize to Matthias for your earlier rudeness. He waves it away, and the three of you continue on.
That afternoon, you start thinking about what you are actually going to do when you get where you are going.
The Pilgrims maintain a number of shrines, but there is only one temple. The temple doubles as a school, teaching those who have chosen to take up the Pilgrimage the knowledge they require to do so.
Those like you, orphans with nowhere else to go, are also taught at the school. Taking up Pilgrimage is not required of them, but the Word is taught only to Pilgrims. Several of your friends chose not to take up the same path as you, and left the temple-school as soon as other opportunities appeared.
The elders reside at the temple, teaching their successors.
Malice and mercies, they will be furious with you.
You shake yourself slightly and try to focus. You will have to explain to the elders that the Mirayuki Shrine has failed, that the Fell were set loose, and that you accidentally sealed the Fell into a wizard.
Malice and mercies.

It is midmorning two days later, five days after you left the Mirayuki Shrine, when you arrive at the temple-school. A large but humble building of wood, it is surrounded by greenery that is enclosed by a low wall that serves more to mark the boundary than keep anyone out. Still, there is a front gate, which it is polite to go through rather than go over the wall.
Aaron, the elderly gatekeeper, calls a greeting as you approach.
“Welcome home!”
You smile a little, even as stressed as you are. Aaron has always treated you kindly; he was your combat instructor, and that was one of the lessons you actually paid close attention in. Whether that was because of his kindness or the cause of it is difficult to say, but Aaron is kindly disposed towards children in general, so the former seems more likely.
“Thank you, Elder Aaron,” you reply courteously.
“Who is this with you?” Aaron asks.
“This is Druidic Initiate Matthias,” you introduce, “and his Awakening companion, Blackie.”
Aaron nods understandingly. Awakened animals are always treated like unusually-shaped humans, because barring a few differences in thought patterns, they more or less are. Blackie is not Awakened as the wizards term it – he cannot speak as a human does – and his intelligence is still catching up, but he is Awakened enough to merit being treated as such.
There are two kinds of Awakening, the wizardly kind and the druidic kind. A wizardly Awakening is abrupt and total. A druidic Awakening, by contrast, is gradual, and unlike wizardly Awakening, does not grant the capacity to speak human languages. You vaguely recall that there are some other differences – something about shock – but you were not always the most attentive nor diligent of students, and the details slip your mind. You do recall, however, that Pilgrims who know the right Words can cause either type of Awakening if they wish, as well as accelerate, slow, or complete a druidic Awakening. You, however, know none of those Words.
“If it is no secret of the druids,” Aaron asks Matthias, “why are you here?”
Matthias bites his lip nervously.
“My teacher was killed,” he answers softly. “The druid who replaced him had a student already, so I must seek a new teacher. I thought it better not to travel alone.”
Aaron nods again, expression sympathetic.
“I see. Then welcome to you both as well.”
The gate is normally left open during the day, so Aaron simply steps aside to let the three of you through. You hesitate a moment before moving closer to him and mumbling, “Elder Aaron... I have very bad news to report.”
Aaron blinks twice.
“I see,” he says slowly. “I will gather the others, then.”
Aaron turns and closes the gate before setting off for the temple itself.
“What now?” Matthias asks softly.
You force yourself to stand straight, even though what you want to do is find a hidden place in which to curl up as small as you can and hope no one notices you, like you did when you were younger and in trouble.
“Now,” you answer, unable to keep dread from creeping into your voice, “I report to the elders.”

A few minutes later, you are sitting formally, with your legs neatly tucked under you, on the floor of the meeting hall. The elders are seated similarly, in a half-circle around you.
You know them all by name. Elder Aaron, gatekeeper and combat instructor. Elder Priska, teacher of the Word. Elder Salome, who taught you history – or tried to. Elder Mikhael, teacher of geography and navigation. Elder Tabitha, who teaches basic mathematics, reading, and writing. Elder Simon... you have no idea what he does, but it seems to be important, because the other elders certainly act like it is. He sits across from you, with Elders Aaron and Priska to his right and Elders Mikhael and Tabitha to his left.
Matthias is not with you. He was politely excluded with the suggestion that he go play with the other boys his age. He took the hint and went, Blackie joining him.
The room is very, very quiet. You do your best not to fidget.
“I have heard,” Elder Simon says, voice easily heard in the silence of the room, “that you have news to deliver. Please, do so.”
You take a deep breath and begin.

What do you tell the elders?

Inventory:

Spoiler: show

Equipped:
Traveling Clothes: trousers, undershirt, overtunic, rope belt, straw hat, walking boots
Walking Staff: sturdy, can be leaned on or used as a weapon
Glasses: without these, your vision could generously be described as ‘bad’
Hairtie: keeps your hair out of your eyes
In your backpack:
Food: enough to last you one day, most of it bread and dried fruit
Flask: contains enough drinkable water to last you two days
Tinder and flint: to start fires with
Knife: a sharp implement suitable for cutting things or striking against the flint to make sparks; using it as a weapon is possible, but not recommended
Wooden Case: contains a spare pair of glasses, in case yours break
Spare Clothes: spare trousers, shirt, and tunic
Extra Hairties: in case one breaks or is lost; you have two

The Word:

Spoiler: show

You can currently take up to 5 points of backlash without consequence. At 5 or more points of backlash, you are weakened. At 10 or more points of backlash, you fall unconscious for a period of time every time you use the Word. At 15 points of backlash, you die.
You have taken 0 points of backlash so far today.
Words Known:
Comprehension: Allows you to understand any creature. Backlash 2.
Repairing: Perform minor repairs on an object. Backlash 1.
Sealing: Maintain the seals that bind the Fell. Backlash 4. You also know how to construct such seals, but you are not yet powerful enough to do so without severely hurting yourself (Backlash 10).

[Tempest Kitsune]

Tell them what happened, do not hold anything back, but underscore the fact that you took the only option you thought you had at the time, and had no idea that the Wizard had been inhabited by the Fell. Also relate the strange beings you ran across on the way here, and again, underscore that you felt that attempting to fight them would have probably gotten yourself and your companions killed, thereby leaving no-one to warn your respective organizations. Again, you made the best of a bad situation with your limited options.

[gman391]

I'm with TK on this

[bookworm702]

Yes, I think it would be best to explain what happened. Leave nothing out. The smallest detail could be the key to undoing our mistakes. Remain humble and take the majority of the blame. After all, it is mostly our fault.

[Aldraia Dragonsong]

Dear goodness, has it been that long? Well, have a Christmas present: the revival of the Quest!
------

You deem it best to deliver the most accurate report you can.
“While on the way to the Mirayuki Shrine, I noticed a strange presence in the woods. I took a slight detour to investigate, and found a wizard at the heart of it. It quickly became clear that he had somehow cracked the seal and was drawing on the power of the Fell.”
The elders are good at keeping the appearance of calm, but you are still able to notice slight flickers of surprise cross their faces.
“I tried to stop him,” you whisper. “I did everything I could think of, but nothing seemed to have any effect. Finally, in desperation, I attempted to repair the shrine’s seal from a distance.
“It was the only thing I could think of,” you plead. “And... it backfired. I believe that I unintentionally sealed the Fell into the wizard, rather than removing their influence from him.”
The elders are unable to completely hide their shock.
“Matthias, a druidic initiate who had been apprenticed to the druid of that forest, helped me recover,” you continue, a little more steadily. “The druid who replaced his teacher had a student of her own already, so Matthias asked to accompany me out of the forest. Blackie joined us on the way out. Which is why they are here now.
“...It was around then that I discovered that the wizard had not merely cracked the seal... he had completely obliterated it. And there was no sense of the Fell in the Mirayuki Shrine.”
The elders seem less shocked by this news, but unhappy nonetheless.
You pause to take another breath before continuing.
“On the way here, we ran into... Matthias called them Tainted. They acted... strangely. Almost... randomly.”
You swallow and say in a shaky voice, “One of them was a little girl. She could not have been more than ten... she was the one who decided to attack us.
“So we ran. I did not want to fight her, not when I had no idea what was going on... so we ran.”
You take one last shuddering breath and conclude, “After that, we came here as quickly as possible. That is all I came to say.”
You bow your head slightly and wait. You messed up very, very badly, and the elders are not going to be happy with you.
“First,” Elder Simon says gently, “you were right to run from the child.”
You look up slightly, a little surprised by the first thing you receive being approval.
“However,” he continues, “you made a very grave error in attempting to seal the Fell without going through the proper procedures.”
You bow your head again, accepting the criticism.
“The midday meal will be soon. Go help the children with their chores. After you have eaten, return here.”
Elder Simon glances around at the other four elders.
“Agreed?” he asks.
They all nod.
You leave the room as quickly as possible without breaching decorum.

When you return, the elders are seated as if they had never moved. Elder Simon nods to you and gestures for you to take a seat. Once you are seated, he begins to speak.
“We have decided,” he says gravely, “that as you have created this problem, you should be responsible for correcting it. However, you are young and inexperienced, unlikely to be able to handle this alone.
“Therefore, we are sending you to find Roal. He will be best able to help you with this.”
“To find Roal?” you ask, puzzled. “But surely you know where he is?”
The Elders, after all, are the ones who set the routes of pilgrimage and send Pilgrims out to follow them. They know where every Pilgrim is supposed to be, albeit with some uncertainty as to the exact location.
“Roal never returned from his last pilgrimage,” Elder Aaron explains quietly. “He was expected to return almost a month ago, but no one has seen a trace of him.”
You swallow. You do not really know Roal, although you have heard his name and seen him once or twice. Still, he is a fellow Pilgrim, and his disappearance is an ill sign.

Do you have any questions for the Elders? Something else you might like to say?

Inventory:

Spoiler: show

Equipped:
Traveling Clothes: trousers, undershirt, overtunic, rope belt, straw hat, walking boots
Walking Staff: sturdy, can be leaned on or used as a weapon
Glasses: without these, your vision could generously be described as ‘bad’
Hairtie: keeps your hair out of your eyes
In your backpack:
Food: enough to last you one day, most of it bread and dried fruit
Flask: contains enough drinkable water to last you two days
Tinder and flint: to start fires with
Knife: a sharp implement suitable for cutting things or striking against the flint to make sparks; using it as a weapon is possible, but not recommended
Wooden Case: contains a spare pair of glasses, in case yours break
Spare Clothes: spare trousers, shirt, and tunic
Extra Hairties: in case one breaks or is lost; you have two

The Word:

Spoiler: show

You can currently take up to 5 points of backlash without consequence. At 5 or more points of backlash, you are weakened. At 10 or more points of backlash, you fall unconscious for a period of time every time you use the Word. At 15 points of backlash, you die.
You have taken 0 points of backlash so far today.
Words Known:
Comprehension: Allows you to understand any creature. Backlash 2.
Repairing: Perform minor repairs on an object. Backlash 1.
Sealing: Maintain the seals that bind the Fell. Backlash 4. You also know how to construct such seals, but you are not yet powerful enough to do so without severely hurting yourself (Backlash 10).

[gman391]

"What if I can't find Roal?"

[Aldraia Dragonsong]

“What if I cannot find Roal?” you ask.
“Then return here,” Elder Simon replies gravely. “We will discuss a contingency plan in your absence.”
After a short pause to ensure there are no further questions, he adds, “Roal was sent to check the seal upon Mount Torren, by the Kalan River, and on the plains between the river and here. Now go.”
You bow, rise, and depart.

After picking up some extra supplies, you head off with your companions. The route Elder Simon described forms a loop that leads back around to the temple, like all such routes do. Roal would have gone to each seal in the order the Elder named them.

To which location do you wish to go first: the mountain, the river, or the plains?

Inventory:

Spoiler: show

Equipped:
Traveling Clothes: trousers, undershirt, overtunic, rope belt, straw hat, walking boots
Walking Staff: sturdy, can be leaned on or used as a weapon
Glasses: without these, your vision could generously be described as ‘bad’
Hairtie: keeps your hair out of your eyes
In your backpack:
Food: enough to last you five days, most of it bread and dried fruit
Flask: contains enough drinkable water to last you six days
Tinder and flint: to start fires with
Knife: a sharp implement suitable for cutting things or striking against the flint to make sparks; using it as a weapon is possible, but not recommended
Wooden Case: contains a spare pair of glasses, in case yours break
Spare Clothes: spare trousers, shirt, and tunic
Extra Hairties: in case one breaks or is lost; you have two

The Word:

Spoiler: show

You can currently take up to 5 points of backlash without consequence. At 5 or more points of backlash, you are weakened. At 10 or more points of backlash, you fall unconscious for a period of time every time you use the Word. At 15 points of backlash, you die.
You have taken 0 points of backlash so far today.
Words Known:
Comprehension: Allows you to understand any creature. Backlash 2.
Repairing: Perform minor repairs on an object. Backlash 1.
Sealing: Maintain the seals that bind the Fell. Backlash 4. You also know how to construct such seals, but you are not yet powerful enough to do so without severely hurting yourself (Backlash 10).

[gman391]

I like mountains personally so lets go there.

[Wraith5]

Hmm... choices, choices.
Evasion would be a bit simple in the river and mountains. In the mountains, the rocks won't show nearly as many traces of passage as other terrain, and caves and large rocks may provide shelter and hiding spots. Flowing water at the river will hide our passing from trackers and may provide ambient noise if we need to sneak around. If we chose the plains, it would be (probably?) be easier to see danger in the distance. On the other hand, we have a dog traveling with us, which means we could track by scent, depending on the situation. Tracking by scent wouldn't work too well in a river, because the water would just wash the scent away.

I vote mountains. The dog can help us avoid danger and follow people. Also, is there anything that Roal might have left behind that we can use to help Blackie track him by scent?

Also, I have a quick question related to the inventory: are we carrying two spare hair ties or two hair ties total (one in our hair, as well as one or two in our pack)?