>>26789098
Dodge past the three, and get to Miriam

>>26789098

Fire streamsling at the little ones, keep our spear at the ready. We don't want to get mixed up with a strong fighter and win only to find she's been carried off.

>>26789098

shoot the ones dragging Miriam, they need to drop her.

>>26789133

This. Gonna fuck dem little bastards up.

>>26789098
Let's shoot the one dragging here away

You snatch up your gear while you run, barreling down the stairs and out into the rain. It was thick and humid, much heavier than the rain you were used to. While you run, you grab a bolt and slip it into the steamsling- it wasn't that fast at reloading, so you only had one shot.

You trudge through the pouring rain and the thick mud, eventually approaching the three creatures. Their gibbering was loud enough for you to hear, their words alien to your ears. They spoke like fog, their voices humming and unintelligable. The spoke of sorrow, of ancient pasts, of death and debt and chaos.

With a bellow, the large one charges at you, eyes angry with unfocused furor and talons jutting out of its hands. You bring up your steamsling, aiming for one of the smaller ones, and focus...

>Roll Sharpshooting/Martial combat! Mediocre, Difficult!

Rolled 21

>>26789236
Shootin

Rolled 83, 48 = 131

>>26789236

Rolled 48

>>26789236

unhand the nice lady!

>>26789296
>Oh, I should probably mention that when you're multitasking in a single round of combat, you'll have two different DCs for a single roll. If you beat one, you'll succeed in only one task, or you'll beat the other. Since you didn't know this and rolled twice, I'll take the higher result. But only this once.

File: 1377281406681.jpg-(391 KB, 860x1236, 1357907940872.jpg)

391 KB JPG

Rolled 19

>>26789236

Luckily we've been preparing our bodies for this!

>DC: Sharpshooting, 50. Pass!
>DC: Martial Combat, 80. Fail!

You calm yourself, despite the powerhouse charging at you, and pull the trigger on the steamsling. With a near-silent hiss, inaudible in the rain, the bolt slams into the forehead of one of the smaller creatures dragging Miriam. Black smoke pours from its forehead, and like a puppet with its strings cut, the creature collapses into the mud.

You nod to yourself, proud of your shot, but you're barely ready when the powerhouse got closer. Reaching for your spear, you barely get it off of your back when the monster lowers onto all fours and rams you in the chest. You hear a loud crack, and fall back into the mud. In front of you, the powerhouse got to its feet, and turns back toward the girl, almost loping toward her.

It didn't care about you, you realize. Your chest is in piercing pain, but despite that, you push yourself to your feet, leaning on your spear. The second small creature is trying to drag the struggling Miriam, while the powerhouse approached her.

Rolled 39

>>26789411
Run behind the big one and stab it in the chest.

>>26789411

can we use our Earth and surround rune to remotely encase Miriam and the smaller thing in earth?

or maybe trap the bigger one in earth and get the last small one away from Miriam?

I'm mostly for the second option.

either way, we do not want that big one anywhere near Miriam.

>>26789462
>The Surround rune is limited in that it can't quite be used remotely. If you have to use it, it'll surround you, as opposed to any other target. You might be able to change this by adding other shape runes eventually, though. But for now, if you want to trap the bigger one, you'd be trapping it in with yourself.

>>26789484

well the smaller one isn't able to drag Miriam on it's own as it seems.

run up to the big guy and earth surround both of us. then we'll get to stabbing.

>>26789521
Do you really think it's wise to engage that pile of muscle in melee combat?

>>26789576

no, but i would love to hear an alternative.

>>26789586
shoot him?

Rolled 16, 83 = 99

>>26789586

We could shoot it in the throat.

>>26789586
How about shooting it?

>>26789593
>>26789594
>>26789604

reloading the sling is a lot slower though, but sure we can do that.

>DC: 50. Success!
You take a deep breath, and ignore the pain in your chest that comes with it. You trudge onward, faster than the largest... thing is walking, and eventually catch up to it. Miriam is currently punching the smalle creature as much as she could, fighting it off as best she could.

Spear in hand, you hold it up, and take another deep breath. Miriam bites deeply into the smaller creature's wrist and shoves it away when it let go. She stumbles to her feet, trying to limp away, when the smaller creature tackles her again. It's ignoring the smoke drifting from the bite wound in its wrist.

The powerhouse takes a single step closer- and you bring up your freshly-reloaded steamsling. With another hiss, you slam a bolt up the hill-
And the bolt slams into its shoulder. It roars, turning back to you, Its beady red eyes burned with rage and dumb animal pain. After a moment it charges, this time with its claws at the ready. Its right arm didn't seem to be moving right, at least- you must have hit a muscle.

Rolled 11

>>26789636
Get our spear out then wait for it to reach us, then stab it in the chest.

>>26789636
throw our oil lantern /torch at it. please tell me we have a light source/ bit of fire

>>26789636

dodge to its right side and try to slash through his leg muscle with our spear while we do.

Rolled 79

>>26789658

Rolling to support this.

>>26789657
>You have a lantern and lighter, but you won't be able to get it lit and warmed up when you have a seven foot pile of muscle and meat going full speed toward you.

>>26789657
Yeah, do we have any matches?
Should have taken the fire lance runes!

>>26789636
Dodge it and then as it passes us shove it so it either speeds up or loses balance

>>26789668
the lantern is not on how are we seeing any of this?

>>26789686
>Uh... Good night vision?

>Also, I'm going to need one more roll. I need three of 'em to run the skill ladder.

Rolled 68

>>26789716
DICE

Rolled 61

>>26789716

dice dice

Rolled 80

>>26789658
I'll go with this

>DC: 60! Success!
Steamsling on belt. Spear in hand. Pain in chest.
You lower your stance, as if to recieve a boar charge, and brace yourself. The creature charges, howling in that foggy, blurry voice.
Through the wind and the rain, lightning strikes the clouds, illuminating the world in light for just a moment. When the moment passes, you spring to the side, barely dodging the claw that the creature offered you, and stab at the creature's calf. It trips lamming facefirst into the mud. Then it tries pushing itself back up.
"Ah, no you don't." You snarl, and stab it's unprotected back with your spear, barely dodging the monster's whipping, wild tail.

Eventually, seeping smoke from the copious stab wounds in its back, it went still.

Behind you, Miriam screams again- this time, angry, bringing a heavy stone down on her own combatant's head. It collapses as well.
"Well." She drawled, trying to brush mud off of her dress. "That was an adventure."

That's the time when Dalton and Cromwell both arrives, the former with a hammer and the latter with nothing.
"What's going on?" Dalton asks. Cromwell doesn't bother with words, and simply kneels next to the powerhouse you just killed.

>>26789774
"Just killed this thing. Are you okay Miriam?"

>>26789774

"these things tried to nab Miriam, nice work on the last one by the way."

>>26789774
"Remnants are going on, I guess. They often taken people like that?"

>>26789774
alright lets get a few big flasks of oil and a torch fuck these fuckers

"Just killed this thing. Are you okay, Miriam?"
"Just fine."
"Nice work on the last one, by the way."
"They're remnants." Cromwell adds, turning the powerhouse's head this way and that, examining it closely.
"We can discuss this inside." Miriam says, getting to her feet.

Outside, Cromwell is still examining the bodies outside. The rain had slowed, and dawn should be soon. You're currently in the tavern as Miriam's hands dance along your chest, wrapping it tightly. According to her, your ribs had taken a heavy beating.
"Do they often take people like that?" You ask, and Dalton shook his head.
"They've never come into town before." Dalton says, eye on Cromwell. "Not before today. They normally don't even leave the city unless they follow someone out."

>>26789891
"Mhmm. Why would they take someone though?"

>>26789891
"Is it possible that somebody controlled them to go in here?"

>>26789891

"They were... very interested in Miriam, the big one ignored me mid fight to help his little buddy."

maybe they're after the women, maybe she was just the first one they encountered, either way they need some guards.

>>26789891
"Maybe you need to look into guards, or some sort of protection."

"Mhmm. Why would they take someone, though?"
"That's even stranger," Dalton responds. "They normally try to kill people, not take them. You say it didn't scratch you at all, Miri?"
"Not at all. Seemed like it was trying not to hurt me, Titan knows why."

Outside, two of the bodies burst into flame under Cromwell's hand. He slings the third over his shoulder, and starts trudging back to his tower- no doubt to dissect it.
"They were... very interested in Miriam." You say. "The big one ignored me midfight to help his little buddy. Is it possible that somebody controlled them to go here?"
"Nobody can control them." Dalton says. He's eying you warily. "At least, not us from Lellwind can."
The silence was almost deafening- at least until Miriam pushes on your side, causing you to hiss in pain.
"You should be fine in a few days. Just take it easy." She says.

"Maybe you need to look into guards, or some sort of protection." You say.
"That's what Cromwell is trying, with all of those golem cores of his. Trying to make golems listen to his orders. At least, that's what he said last night." Dalton grumbles. Finally, he sighs and shrugs. "We're a bit short handed here, so it's not like we have someone we can give weapons and say 'go ahead and patrol'."

>>26790048
"Thanks for the patch up, Miriam. Maybe I'll go and see if Cromwell needs any help later, then."

>>26790048
"Maybe you should send somebody into a town to hire mercenaries. Or ask officials for help"

>>26790048

if we can find some info on golem making we can let Cromwell take a look at them.

we can also keep a look out for more of these hunting parties.

"Thanks for the patch up, Miriam."
"Not a problem. It's mostly my fault anyway."

You turn to Dalton.
"Maybe you should send somebody west to hire mercenaries. Or ask officials for help."
"The carriage only came yesterday- it'll be another week until he returns. I'll think about writing a letter then."
"I can also keep a lookout for more of those hunting parties." You say.
"That'd be good. Better than nobody, at least." Dalton said.

"After you take a look for any more parties, you should probably get more sleep." Miriam says. "It's still long before dawn."

>>26790200
"Still that late huh? What were you doing this early Miriam? Maybe it's best for everyone if we don't go out when it's dark."

>>26790200

let's do a round of the village, more might have creeped in.

>>26790224
Not a bad idea.

>>26790200
Or we might throw some detection runes around the village. If Cromwell has anything like that."

>>26790200
Let's go refill our gun.

"Still that late, huh?" You ask. "What were you doing this early, Miriam? Maybe it's best for everyone if we don't go out when it's dark."
"They'd opened the door and pulled me out of my bed!"
You nod. "Well, I'll do a round of the village. More might have crept in."
"Be careful."
"I'm going to go check on Ann." Dalton said, before making his way out of the tavern.

Some time later, the rain had stopped entirely, and dawn's light graced the village. There was none of the remnants around- none that you'd seen, at least. A few of the villagers kept eying the charred spots where the remnants were, and when you passed Cromwell's tower, you saw him carefully taking the last remnant apart, setting its organs aside. You spent a moment to refill your steamsling's pressure, and eyed the entire village once more. Nothing out of the ordinary. It seems that the village is waking up, though.

>>26790351

Let's follow Miriam's advice. Get some rest.

>>26790351
Let's go see Cromwell, ask him if he needs anything specific to get the golems to work.

>>26790351

if we're close to Cromwell, we should go check how much progress he has made on those golems, after that we need rest, doctors orders.

You quickly find yourself at Cromwell's house, and knock on the door. He opens it instantly, as usual, his hands and robe absolutely covered in ink.
At least, that's what you think, until he lets you in and shows you the dissected body of the Remnant. It isn't ink; It's black ichor.
Cromwell didn't seem to care, and simply sits in his chair.
"Are you here to learn what I've found out? Or do you have another golem heart for me already?"
"I wanted to know if you need anything specific to get the golems to work."
"More cores, primarily. I can be less... careful if I have more cores to fall back on, if I damage one."

>>26790488
"I'll make a note of that. What's the main problem with the golems so far?"

>>26790488

have you found out anything about the remnant?

>>26790488
"Do you have any runes that could help us detecting enemies entering the village?"

"I'll make a note of that. What's the main problem with the golems so far?" You ask, and take a seat in the other chair, ignoring the dust covering it.
"That they try to kill me." He says, meeting your eyes. "Simple problem. There's no such simple solution."
"Oh. Have you found anything out about the remnant?"
"Hardly anything! They have no reproductive capabilities, and they're... eerily human. But little else. I need more time."
"And do you have any runes that could help us detecting enemies entering the village?"
"None. You're asking about a Condition rune, and those are among the rarest. They're mentioned in the Capital as runes they particularly want."

>>26790572
"Do you mind if I see the golem core?"

>>26790572
"Alright, good luck!"

Let's head back and get some rest then.

>>26790572

maybe we can gain some new insight with our Kystaran heritage?

How hurt are we? I want to go look at the black thing we saw in the city, but if our combat abilities are really impaired, we might want to wait.

>>26790572
"Maybe it's not the core that's the problem. Maybe they have some kind of box in head that tells the golem what is the enemy. Or maybe you just have to create your own core."

>>26790572
"What is their best sense? Sight? Smell? Hearing?"

>>26790662
The remnants, I mean.

We should find out, so we don't get tracked back to the village.

>>26790706
>>26790651
>When your wounds are treated, they don't impair you at all unless you take another hit. Wounds still need time to heal, though.

"What is their best sense? Sight? Smell? Hearing?"
"I'm not sure yet." He responds. "Most likely not smell, as they lack a nose. Their eyes and ears are almost the same as a humans', though."
"Do you mind if I see the golem core?" You ask, brushing dust off of the chair's arms. Perhaps your heritage would help you here.
"Very well." He says, and drops the crystal into your hands. You're lucky he had enough forethought to wipe off his hands first- you weren't sure you wanted to touch that ichor.
You examine the core closely. It was the color of sunlight, humming in your palms, and it had a ring of stone over the center- with dozens of runes and symbols carved in, alien to your tongue.
Gently, you brushed your fingers over the runes...
>Roll for Affinity! Skilled, Difficult.

>>26790657
I like this.

'Could be the core contains instructions.'

Rolled 25

>>26790718

Rolled 58

>>26790718
Roll dem bones!

Rolled 87

>>26790718
JUST MAKE IT CHANGE COLOR
THAT CANT BE DIFFICULT

Rolled 95

>>26790718

>DC: 80! Success!

"Just make it change color..." You mumble to yourself, and focus.
Something in your palms tingle, and when you touch one of the runes, it zaps you, making you recoil. The crystal blazes into light, humming, as the crystal's tone shifted colors to a bright azure.
"... What did you do?"
"I touched this little squiggly rune." You respond, pointing at it.
Experimentally, the artificer presses his fingers to it himself. Nothing seems to happen. "Doesn't respond to me. Not sure why..."

He shrugs it off. "Should we test this out?"

Rolled 61

>>26790815
"I have no idea what it did, so I might set it to explode on activation mode. It's up to you if you want to test it."

Rolled 42

>>26790815
When in doubt, experiment.

>>26790815

"this... is a good tranquil color, right? let's test it out but be VERY careful, as in, not inside the house."

>>26790815
"Yeah, okay, let's give it a try. Do you have a bunker or somewhere safe, though?"

"I have no idea what it did, so I might set it to explode on activation mode." You say. "It's up to you if you want to test it."
"Then I will!"
Giving you another much-too-wide smile, he nodded and made his way out of his house. You follow him as he wanders down the hill, into a small pile of bushes. He pulls them aside to reveal a golem body, a huge hole in its back already visible.
"Let's see if this one attacks us, shall we?"

Then he plunges the core into the golems back. It shuddered, and pushed itself to its feet.

Its eyes laid upon you, and said a word in a strange, tinny voice.

"It said 'following' in Kystaran." The scholar says, hand still in the golem's back. "Is he attacking you? I'm ready to pull it out at any time."

You take a step back.

The golem takes a step forward. Only, y'know, a smaller step, as the golem's legs were so long.

>>26790815
"Yeah but we should take it somewhere safe, and strap it in just to make sure it doesnt hurt anybody."

>>26790923
"How do you say "Sit" in Kystaran?"

>>26790923
"It's set to follow! Uh...give me something to say in that language!"

>>26790923

"how do you say "Stay" in Kystaran?"

"Uh... give me something to say in that language! How do you say 'sit' in Kystaran?" You ask.

"<sit>." He responds.
You nod, and copy the foriegn word. You've always been good at languages, now that you think about it. "<Sit.>"
The golem didn't respond. It didn't even move at all. Just to test, you take another step back, and the golem takes another step forward.
"Try another word?" The artificer asks. "<Stay>, <Stop>..."

Some time later, your stomach was growling, and the golem was still standing there. No matter what kystaran words you used, he simply wouldn't listen. You have learned a little of the language at least, but it seems like the golem won't obey commands.
"This is frustrating." Cromwell said, finally, pulling his hand out of the golem. He circles it, looking up at the animated stone--
"<Enemy ***. ***.>" The golem said, and charged at Cromwell.

>>26791011
"Deactivate, golem-kun!"

>>26791011
"Run in the opposite direction."

Get the golem to turn around and snatch the core out.

>>26791011
Well, crap. Get behind golem, remove core.

>>26791011
"What did he say?"
Also we should get behind him so we can pull out his core.

>>26791011

run up and pull that crystal out quickly!

>>26791011
REMOVE CORE remove core you are the golem smell

"Run." You say. Cromwell breaks out into a sprint, running past you, and the golem follows him, chasing him down. You slide in behind the golem, reach into the core, and tug it out. The golem pauses, and collapses, its core clenched in your palm.
"Got it. What did he say?"
"He said that he'd found an enemy." Cromwell pants, hands on ichor-stained knees. "And then he said he'd dispatch them."
You look down at the crystal again.
"Apparently it doesn't see you as an enemy." He says, wheezing. He hit his chest once or twice, and you hear a strange hiss come from his chest. "But he sees me as one. Likely sees everyone else as one, too."

>>26791096
Evidence points to 'Enemy detected.Engaging.'

>>26791166

"That... may have something to do with the fact that my mother was Kystaran?"

>>26791166
A hiss...like steamworks, hiss?

Anyways. Why don't we copy down the runes on the core and see what Cromwell can translate?

>>26791166
How about we bring another core and put it in without tinkering with it first? If it attacks us, Cromwell yanks it out.

>>26791166
"That's, um, inconvenient. I suppose I'll need a way to set it to recognize only remnants as enemies. If you can translate the glyph's for me, then I'll try to make it work."

"That... may have something to do with the fact that my mother was Kystaran." You say.
In response, he squints at you. "I was wondering about that grey pallor to your skin. I thought it was an illness."
"Anyway, that's inconvenient." You say. "I suppose I'll need to find a way to set it to recognize the remnants as enemies. If you can translate the glyphs for me, then I'll try to make it work."
"I'll get to work on translation when I'm done with the remnant." He says, mumbling to himself. "Might rot if I take to long. Do they rot? I'll need to find out..."
Then he shakes his head. "Regardless. Thank you for helping with this."

>>26791285
"It's a step in the right direction, at least!"

Let's go hit up the Inn and get some sleep like the doctor ordered.

>>26791285
>get some sleep

>>26791285

rest time, rest time.

"It's a step in the right direction, at least!" You say.
"Indeed." The artificer responded. You make your way back to Cromwell's house, and from there back to the tavern. Miriam is cooking, but you walk right past her to lay down in bed.
You're so tired that you hadn't noticed until now, but the bed was really rather soft... And next thing you know, you're asleep.

Something climbed into bed with you, snuggling close to your side. You pull the blanket open to see who's crawling around- and you're wholly unsurprised when a dragon head lunges out of the darkness to slobber on you. Your ribs, as well as the rest of you- save the parts covered in dragon slobber- feels much better than it did last night. You glance out the window, and from the light you can tell it's somewhere before midday. Slinging Bruno under one arm, you get to your feet.

"Where'd he go?" You hear someone ask, downstairs.
"He waddled up stairs. I think he went into that treasure hunter's room. Why do you ask?" Miriam's voice responds.
"Because he followed me around begging me for dragonmeal, and when I finally got all of it he ran off." The first voice says again, grumbling.

>>26791420
>say hello to the blacksmith whose name escapes me
Also get some food and prepare for exploring. We can still make it before nightfall.

>>26791420
"Do you want him back?"

>>26791420
"Aren't you an adorable bundle of trouble Bruno?"
Dress up and go to the voice with Bruno near

>>26791420

"I have found some strange things in my bed, but this takes the cake."

>>26791420
"Afternoon. He decided to wake me up."

>>26791420
Go downstairs.

Carefully, holding the struggling creature under your arm, you make your way downstairs. The first voice was apparently that of Ann, the blacksmith's flaxen-haired daughter. She looked up at you and eeped, taking a step back. She's covered in dirt, and has a basket filled with the nameless varieties of weeds that covered the fields; collectively called dragonmeal, as they tend to be just as useless as the scaled creatures themselves.
"Do you want him back?" You ask, holding the fat little dragon out in front of you.
"Um."
"I've found some strange things in my bed, but this takes the cake."
The girl's response was to offer a bundle of weeds to Bruno, who starts to chomp on them happily.
"I guess I'll take him, if neither of you want him." Miriam adds, with a wry grin. "After all, if you cut off the scales and fat, I can get a good stew going.
Ann's response is to blanch. "What? No, don't do that!"

>>26791551
"I don't think adorable things like him taste good"

>>26791551

"Yeah, he's to chunky and adorable for my taste."

hold Bruno in front of us.

"You don't want to get eaten, right Bruno?"

"Yeah, he's too chunky and adorable for my taste."
You turn the creature around, facing him.
"You don't want to get eaten, right, Bruno?"

Bruno just stares at you and eats, like a cow chewing its cud.
"His name isn't Bruno," Ann says, setting her basket to the side. "It's Gareth."

>>26791645
"Okay."

Might as well head out now.

>>26791645

"He never did give me his name, so i gave him one but fair enough, Gareth it is."

"Hello my name is (according to the pastebin) Nathan."

after a short introduction and chat we can head out and look for magic stuff, when our supplies are full enough mind you.

>>26791645
"I asked him his name but that got me nowhere."

"I asked him his name, but that got me nowhere. So I gave him one. But fair enough, Gareth it is."
"Speaking of names." She says, timidly. "Mine is Ann."
"Hello. My name is Nathan."
"Where did you get so many scars?"
"Here and there." You give her a wry grin. "Shaving, mostly."
"Before you head out, have some food." Miriam cuts in, dumping eggs in front of you.

On you walked, enough rations for a day in your pouch, complete with your gear and repressurized steamsling, out of the village. It's nowhere near as damp as it was earlier today, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.
"So, where to?" You ask your dragon follower, looking around. There's still the city to the north, or the mansion near the sea on the east. You think you can remember someone talking about treasure hunters going there.
Bruno- no, Gareth- just chewed on some more grass, waddling after you.

>>26791645
"Hey, Miriam, have you got any hardy foods that will last a couple of days? I was going to take a trip out, not sure how long I'll be gone."

>>26791818

Let's head toward that mansion. Artifacts, hooooo!

>>26791818
Mansion.

>>26791818

either the city or the mansion, I'm more interested in finding the cause for the remnant attack or getting golem manuals/stuff for out employer.

>also have to sleep.
>holy crap I'm seeing double.

>>26791818
Mansion this shit up

"Let's go somewhere new today." You tell Br- Gareth, and turn east, toward the mansion. You couldn't see it from here, but you knew it was somewhere along the seaside. You wade through thick grass, passing through thin copses, and the sun made its wade across the sky.

Eventually, you reach the ocean; and from here, you can see the mansion proper. It's an enormous, worn down building made of beige stone. It almost looks more like a castle than anything. It was overgrown, vines crawling along the walls, and it's *definitely* seen better days. There's almost no way it could fall apart this much in only ten or twenty years. In fact, it feels like it's older. Much older.

Carefully, warily, you approach the doors. They're ajar, and you can hear that same gibbering from last night coming from inside. The same quiet, foggy gibbering in words only implied.

Gareth can hear it too, so he promptly hid in the grass, putting his paws over his eyes.

>>26792019

Ready your steam sling and creep inside.

>>26792049
Second.

Earth Surround was a poor choice. Should have gotten something with offensive capabilities.

>>26792019
Careful approach, peek inside.

>>26792019
Take it slow. Don't actually go iside without doing a little peeking first.

You grab your steam sling from your belt, and creep inside the mansion, peeking your head alone in first thing.
You're currently in some kind of grand hall. There are doorways along the walls Except for the light shining in through the cracked and broken windows, it's dark, very dark- you'd have to light a lantern to see very well- but even from here, you can see it.

At the top of the stairs is a remnant. The most wretched, alien remnant you've seen yet. It has no visible arms, legs, or even eyes, and all it has for limbs are twisted, wretched things- with random joints and appendages writhing each and every direction. Some were clawed, some were not, and it just writhed, coiled up. In the darkness, you can't even tell its general shape; just that the monster is a coiled mass of nameless limbs, writhing every direction. It gibbers, and for a moment you can see three beady red eyes glimmering somewhere in the mass of darkness.

You blink. Twice. How does a thing like this *exist*?

>>26792214
Shiiiit.

Let's shoot it.

>>26792214
Let's try to sneak past it.

So remind me.. Why the fuck did you take earth surround when fire was available and you knew that these remnants burn like paper and are in ample supply? Fuck.

>>26792214
I don't think we can deal with this thing with just arrows and spear. Retreat.

>>26792214
>There are doorways along the walls -
>I got cut off. It should be;
>There are doorways along the walls, on the first floor. At the back of the grand hall, stairs make their way upward, and that strange gibbering seems to be coming from there.

>>26792214
Retreat.

We need to find more runes. Fire and Lance or Blast

... I agreed, kill it now.

Battle plan get to the stairs. Shoot it where the eyes were. If it rushes down the stars stab it, otherwise continue to shoot it.

>>26792274
Oh, see if we can sneak into one of the doorways then.

>>26792296
Actually yeah, seconding this

>>26792214
Given the abundance of remnants, why don't we light a torch? Then we can just hit them with it and make them catch alight.

Carefully, you crouch, palms against the ground. You feel around- and there's definitely glass all over the grand hall floor. If you stepped on it, it'd crunch. It won't be easy to sneak like this- at least the creature didn't seem to be able to see you. If it can't hear, either, things should be fine no matter what you do, but it'd be best to be careful.

The other option is to, of course, retreat, but if you walked all the way back to the village it would be a waste of a day.
You pull open your bag and silently examine the contents. You have your lantern and lighter, but the lantern could shatter if you smashed it against a remnant. The lighter itself was too small, alone... Or you could leave for now, and make a torch out of some dry wood just outside. The torch would make a sturdy club, too...

You shake your head, and back out of the doorway again. After making some space between you and the mansion, you relax. You didn't have nearly as much firepower as you need to kill something that huge- and you're not sure how to get it, other than runes.
You look around for Gareth, but you can't find him- he's moved from his location in the bushes.

>>26792455
Let's look around the mansion grounds. Maybe there's another way in?

>>26792492
sure

>>26792455
Make a torch out of long grass and a hefty stick. It doesn't have to last more then one hit, hopefully.

Then wave the torch around near the creature, from behind the doorway and see if it reacts. Maybe we can scare it off and never have to get close.

>>26792492
>>26792502
Even if we sneak past it, there's likely to be more remnants. So I'll still say grab a torch before we go in.

>>26792084
We have steamsling for offence, but nothing else in defence. Earth Surround was the most sensible choice.

>>26792512
Could put some lantern fuel on it just in case.

You put Gareth out of your mind for a moment, and grab a few nice, hefty sticks, and quite a lot of grass. It takes a while, but you make two torches, in case you run into any more remnants, and pour small amounts of lantern oil on them.
From there, you slowly circle the mansion, keeping an eye out for any other entrances. On first pass, you notice only a heavy iron in the back. You kick at it, but whatever is holding it shut is heavy. When you come around to the front again, you notice that one of the tall towers had a hole in the side. The bricks were rather worn, and you weren't sure if the vines would hold your weight, but you could try climbing up.
You look down at your runes again. Cromwell said that an element rune alone did little, but maybe you could make footholds...

>>26792492
Seconding this. Maybe there's a cellar door or something?

>>26792604
>>heavy iron in the back.
>heavy iron door, even.

>>26792604
We're an adventurous type, climbing up the wall shouldn't be hard.

Also, what kind of a person names dragon Gareth?

>>26792604
Let's try using the rune, then.

If that doesn't work then we can just go grab the golem and have it fuck up all the remnants for us.

>>26792604
>>26792617
You really should do some proofreading before posting.

>>26792604
Footholds sounds good.

Right, the earth rune. It should work on stone like this, according to the notes Cromwell gave you. You make your way to the foot of the tower, and brush your palm against the stone.
You have no idea how to control the rune to do what you want. You deliberate for almost a full five minutes, thinking.
"I'll do it anyway." You decide, and press your palm against the stone. The rune in your pouch vibrates, and without any more hesitation, you say the word engraved on the front of it.

Earth.
>8 uses left.

The mansion groans as it protested against whatever you were doing, but eventually, small grooves carve themselves out of the wall, giving you a rather luxurious ladder upward. Success!

And then something grabs your shoulder, squeaking and whimpering. You look back at Gareth clinging to you, and then you hear a loud, angry bellow from the trees to the west.
A creature covered in white fur tromps out. It has four powerful paws, an enormous, bulky frame, thorned antlers and serrated tusks jutting angrily out of its head. It reminds you of a bear, if you ignored the fact that it was nearly twice as large and currently roaring at you.

A jackalope.

>>26792604
Footholds and up we climb! Light the torch at the top, and take a look inside.

>>26792783
Huh, back home jackalopes were really small. Welp, time to climb the fuck out of here!

>>26792783
What a perfect opportunity. Let's climb the ladder as fast as we god damn can, and hope the remnant inside hears the commotion, and the two fight!

>>26792783
shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit.

Climb like the wind, and hope it can't jump.

>>26792795
More importantly, 'Gareth' sounds like a gay Liberace impersonator. Train the dragon to respond to a proper name, like Bruno.

"Oh, shit." You respond, and start scrabbling up the footholds as quickly as possible. The Jackalope roars again... And you hear the gibbering inside the mansion get louder, angrier. The doors slam open, and that... Thing barrels out, limbs and claws writhing wildly as it pounced on the charging jackalope, an enormous beak digging into white fur. Something wet sprayed your back, and you climbed higher.
Don't look down, you tell yourself, as you climb. Below you, there's another roar, and something slams into the tower. Everything shook, and your hands started to slip...

>Roll 'ohshitdon'tfall'! Mediocre skill, Medium difficulty!

Rolled 10

>>26792932
SUCH IS LIFE IN THE ZONE

Rolled 92

>>26792932

Rolled 45

>>26792932
Hold on Bruno!

Rolled 68

>>26792932
balls.

Rolled 17

>>26792932
time to death

Rolled 100

>>26792932

>>26793023
what a shame
that it's a bit too late.

>DC: 60. Success!
You slip.
Your hands lose their grasp, and you start to fall- but you catch a vine before you can fall too far.
"Hang on, Bruno!" You say, and the dragon clings tighter. There was another roar and a gurgle from the two fighting monstrosities below. You make the last few feet, and pull yourself into the hole in the tower, and land. Inside.

Lying there in the dust, you take a deep breath. Then you pull yourself up again, and look out the hole in the wall.

Below, the Jackalope has been entirely dismembered. As you watch, the Remnant grabbed one of the creature's deadly paws, and started to eat.
You watch as more limbs pour out from its core. Was it... growing new ones?
You back away from the hole, hoping it doesn't see you, and sit in the top floor of the tower.
At your feet was a treasure chest.
Well, that was easy.

>End of session!
>My twitter is at @futureexabyte
>The IRC is #Exabyte on Rizon.
>And I'll stick around for a bit to answer questions!

>>26793071
Neat, now we just have to throw the torch down and hope it burns up before it can knock the tower down.

>>26792783
Gareth brought it here. He is trying to kill us. Things named Gareth can never be trusted.

>>26793071
Observations:
-Remnants are scary ass motherfuckers. But they still need to eat.

>>26793103
>'Need'?

>>26793114
Immortal tinderbox motherfuckers

>>26793071
Still planning on every other day?

I'm quite enjoying this so far.

>>26793283
Still planning on it, yeah. There's a low chance I might actually go to running every day, if I find the time.