SWT: Mörk Borg - Chapter Five
Road of No Release
Welcome back to Solum’s Weird Tales - Mörk Borg! We have been on the road for 4 days, nearly died quite a few times and finally found a bit of peace in a monastery full of cheerful, friendly and ominous monks. When they were killed by a murderous, razor beaked songbird, Börda exacted quick revenge, finally faced with an opponent he could deal with. We join Börda on the first light of the fifth day, and at the last leg of his journey. Hopefully.
Börda - Classless Mercenary HP = 7/7 Omens = 1/2
Agility +1
Presence +1
Strength +0
Toughness +0
Traits: Loud Mouthed, Nihilist
Sack (10 Inventory Spaces) With
- One dose of Red Poison(DR 12 TOU test or d10 DMG)
- 37 Silver
- 5 Rations
- Waterskin [] [] [] [] (4 days of water left)
- Tent
- 2 Torches
- Flint and Tinder
Equipped
- Chainmail (Agility Test have +2 DR. Amor Rating = d4)
- Longsword - D6 Damage
Quest - Find out what happened to the 13 missing priests from Schleswig
2 Milestones [] []
Journey is 5 days
[+] [+] [+] [+] []The High Hills, 4 days North of Schleswig
Weather - Soup Thick Mist
Calendar of Nechrubel - 10
Trade Road in DisrepairThe Monastery was still deathly quiet when Börda slipped from his room, the blood congealed into a lake of ooze in the great hall. He turned his back and left the bleak sight behind, emerging onto the road in time to see a cloud of thick, impenetrable fog descend upon him. He could see his hand in front of his face, but that was about it. He sighed, and struggled to find the path, for all that it was actually paved with stone.
Keep the Trail - Presence+1 = 3 - Failure, leave the road
Find a battlefield filled with wraiths and rusted weaponsBörda could hear voices in the fog, almost human, beckoning him forward. No matter which way he turned, the fog swirled around him, and the voices seemed closer at each turn. He wasn’t sure when he left the road, but soon, he found himself in a clearing, and the fog lifted enough to reveal an ancient, undisturbed battlefield. Weapons lay pitted and rusted in the ground, and shapes a ghostly pale blue flitted and swirled above the battlefield.
Adventure Move to navigate the battlefield without alerting Wraiths
Presence +1 = 7 and 19 - Weak Hit Börda moved slowly through the battlefield, his eyes up on the wraiths that lived out their battle on repeat in the sky, seemingly cursed in death to relieve their last moments. He knew that if he could avoid their attention, he would be fine. There was a brief moment where he nearly lost it, his inattention scraping his leg against a rusted scythe, causing a blood to well and drip onto the ancient, fallow field. He bit down on his tongue to muffle a screech of pain and panic, and after taking a moment to compose himself, he upped his pace, eventually breaking through cloud of fog and back into the forest. He found the remnants of one of the camps, and with the wraiths out of sight, he took a moment to loot through the wreckage, but what hadn’t been eaten by rust had been claimed by mold, all except a dusty tome protected by ancient parchment. He looked at the cover.
“Wizard Fight'“ He muttered, squinting at the book. If nothing else, he could use it when he needed the privy, he was fairly sure he was allergic to the leaves around here.
-1 HP from Weak Hit (6/7)
Search for an Object Omens+1 DC 12 - 12 and 17 - Strong Hit!
Roll on d100 Trinket Table - Book names 'Wizard Fight'
Is there anything weird about the book? No, but it is very entertainingIt took him the rest of the day to find the trail, and he made camp in angry silence. He could see the Monastery from the hill where he made his camp - he had progressed perhaps a mile at a most. Still, he was lucky to be alive. He took solace in that as he curled up in his tent and went to sleep
Make Camp - Weak it +1 HP +1Omen -1 Ration
Day 7
Weather - Hammering Rain
Calendar of Nechrubel - 3
Road - A Trade Road in Disrepair. Presence+1 to Keep the trail = 10 - SuccessIt was pissing it down with rain the next day, and Börda seriously considered hunkering down for the day and flicking through this strange, hardbacked book he had found the day prior, but with a stretch and a sigh, he lumbered out of his tent and began walking. The rain made a slurry of mud and filth, but at least the stone markers were still visible that guided the trail deeper into the hills.
Travel Event - A Fork in the Road - Reroll the Road Type
Tracks left by a savage monsterThe road markers stooped eventually, and the road was almost invisible underneath the thick, liquid mud. A large hill sat in the center of the road, exactly north but too sheer to climb without equipment. The trade road continued around the side, filth encrusted and treacherous, but a deer trail caught Börda’s attention, off to the side and offering a thick canopy of trees. Judging by the state of the trail, the trees were thick enough to keep the worse of the rain off, so he followed that instead, although he noticed too late that the tracks were far to large and numerous to be those of a simple deer.
Mark Camp - 1 and 4 - Miss. Omen Reroll - 18 and 19 - Strong Hit
Max HP and Omens 1/2
(I rerolled this because a miss after following the tracks of a savage beast can mean only one thing - a second appearance from one of the bastards form earlier chapters. Best to avoid those for now)The tracks continued deeper into the forest, but Börda cut his way directly north as soon as it seemed like he could bypass the hill, and he eventually found a nice outcropping in which to pitch his tent and make camp. The rain had stopped a few hours before sundown, and he took the opportunity to read the book as the sun went down. It was entertaining, a silly tale of a Wizard duel at the top of a black tower. Börda wasn’t sure what the moth at the end had to do with a the large eagle that appeared, but he wasn’t much of a story teller either, and the tale was entertaining enough.
Day 8
Weather - Crackling Frost
Calendar of Nechrubel - 20 (Boooo waste of a critical hit)
Road - Trade Road in Disrepair
Presence+1 to keep the trail - Critical Fail
Omen Reroll - 20 - Critical Hit
(Again, rerolled this for fear of a troll or howler bear haha)It was ice cold the next day, and Börda packed up camp quickly and returned to the road. Something about the forest was giving him a bad feeling. The roads in the hills were poorly maintained, but with enough markers that it made Börda wonder who had been using them regularly before. He had seen no sign of a village or town, and the way they wound around the hills seemed like a lot of work for a trader or townsfolk to bother with. Around noon, he found a large lake with some wildlife grazing around the edge, and the trade road forked into two around the border of it.
Travel Event - The Road Forks, reroll road.
Road - A Trade Road in disrepair (haha)
The roads were nearly identical and both seemed to run parallel to each other around the lake, before rejoining in a few miles, so Börda chose one at random and trudged his way along it for the rest of the day, enjoying the relative peace of the water and the wildlife. He camped just before sundown, and read his book next to the lake before setting up his tent and preparing to sleep.
Make Camp - 5 and 9 - MissAn arrow lodged itself into the wood of his main tent beam, quivering as Börda looked at it shock. He glanced over his shoulder and saw a foul creature hunched over, clutching a short bow at the perimeter of the forest. A goblin. It let out a wretched scream and grasped for another arrow, it’s mismatched, oddly human eyes blinking out of time with each other in the fading light.
Goblin 6/6 HP Armour = 0 DMG D4 Shortbow or Knife
Initiative - 2 - Goblin First
Defend DC 16 (+2 From armor and +2 From Goblin Skill) = 10 - Fail
2 DMG -2 from armor = 0Börda drew his sword as another arrow sailed through the air and glanced off his mail. He tucked his head down and charged.
Can I get to the Goblin in one turn? Yes, but trap
Presence +1 Adventure Move to see Trap - 10 and 1 - Miss with a 1
Spike Trap - Agility DC 14 - 15 - SuccessHe ran through the grass towards the border of the forest and saw a flash as the ugly little creature grinned. The grass beneath him shifted and began to fall, revealing a buried pit of spikes. Börda leapt, his boots finding purchase on the edge of the pit and the goblins eyes went wide as it scrambled at it’s belt for it’s knife.
Attack Strength +0 - DC 14 - 15 - Success
Spend Omen for Max Damage - 6 (0/6 HP)The goblin raised it’s knife but it was too slow. Börda’s blade carved a cruel arc, hitting the thin muscle of it’s neck and cleaving clean through, the head popping free in a spray of black blood and landing at his feet. The body swayed and the knife dropped before the scrawny little creature toppled to the ground. Börda grimaced but gripped the head and poked around the corpse. Apart from the filthy knife and primitive shortbow, the goblin had little of value apart from a small, golden ball. Börda felt a buzz of excitement, but the gold was paint, and flecked off under the tip of his nail. He took it back to his camp anyway. If he survived this, he could get some coin for the useless trinket and the head.
Goblin Head and Golden Ball added to Inventory
Make Camp - Weak Hit. 0HP and 1 Omen.
Journey
[+][+][+][+][+]
Milestone Complete!
Find the 13 Missing Priests
[+] []
Roll Skill Increase
Agility +1(2)
Presence +1(2)
Strength +1(1)
Toughness -1 (-1)
HP +5 (13/13)
Roll for loot - A Sacred Scroll - Presence DR 12 to heal two people 1d10Börda slept fitfully. He dreamt of the ancient temple, of a filth and grim encrusted altar as worms and weevils writhed and undulated and sang their cursed song
He’s Waiting
He’s Waiting For Me
He’s Waiting
He’s Waiting For Me
He woke, twitching and sweating with the sunrise and took a long drink of water. The skin was nearly empty, but his rations had held. He would have to find a river or stream soon. He was unlikely to find anymore friendly priests this far into the hills. He packed up his camp in silence and trekked for an hour, but soon enough, he knew he had found his destination. The trees curled away, revealing a stone edifice carved into the mountain. An archway, filled with shadows and stinking of rot led deeper underground. A figure was curled at the entranceway, their throat slit and blood covering their robes. One of the missing priests, he was sure, he recognized the colors of Schleswig. The man clutched a curled scroll in his hands. Börda picked it up and unfurled it an let out a low whistle. Things must have been dire for his allies to leave such a boon behind. He affixed it to his belt and dropped the Goblin’s head at the entrance. He pulled a torch from his bag and struck the flint, sparking it to life as he descended into the Catacombs of Corruption.
The journey is finished and I have leveled up! The +1s nearly across the board feel like it’s going to make a pretty big difference, haha, but we’ll see. It’s honestly a miracle he’s survived this long. I’m using DNGEON and the rules in Solitary Defilement for Dungeon Crawling to create this little Dungeon Dive. We’ll see how it turns out.