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lindsaystravelblogs4 · 9 months ago

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Kingston SE

Day 13 26 February

We drove south to Bordertown and on to Naracoorte today. We pulled into a roadside stop along the way to eat our lunch and in no time, two guys with trucks and earthmoving equipment turned up to work on improving the surface of the parking area – it certainly needed it! They said it would very soon become very noisy and dusty and they needed to work in the area where we were parked so we moved a hundred metres further on to another patch of shade and gobbled our lunch down just as they were starting to work.

We thought we might have stayed in Naracoorte but decided to go a bit further to Kingston (SE) on the coast. We set up in the foreshore caravan park there and relaxed with a couple of cold ones before dinner.

The Cape Jaffa Lighthouse overlooking our caravan park. It was repositioned here when the Light was decommisioned at Cape Jaffa.

The caravan park was just across a lawn area and a couple of dunes to the beach so we walked down to the beach to join the small throng congregating there to photograph the sunset.

Sunset from the beach.

Day 14 27 February

We did a load of washing in the park laundry and hung it out to dry – and it was dry within about an hour. We worked on our PCs and made some phone calls (we are trying to find a better place to store our van when we get home) and had a delicious lunch. We eat very well (VERY well!) in the caravan! And then we went for a drive around town and the nearby area. I found quite a few birds near the mouth of the Main Drain and when we drove down some of the other tracks off the main north-south road, we discovered that driving on the beach is a very common thing here. One of the drives was fourteen kilometres each way but we just did a short one – about five clicks each way. At one point along the beach, we encountered a flock of some twenty-odd Red-capped Plovers who were surprisingly unfazed by us. They happily sat ten or fifteen metres away and let us watch and photograph them with no sign of fear. It was a lovely little encounter and we returned to the van soon after. We had been trying to get rid of some recycling that we had accumulated but couldn’t see any yellow-topped bins, so I called in at the Information Centre to see if they did recycling here. They do but it is all very strange with green-topped bins being the only disposal avenue - and only for private premises. We eventually found some in the caravan park but none on the street – at least we managed to ‘put it in a bin’ and our conscience is now clear. (More than a week later, we have found no other way to dispose of our later cache of recycling.)

Day 15 28 February

It rained for about ten or fifteen minutes overnight, contrary to the forecast of zero percent of zero millimetres of precipitation – but at least everything seemed just a little cooler and fresher when we got up.

We had a long drive today but one of the best days of the trip so far. We headed out to the main highway and pointed the car north – and eventually reached Meningie at the top of the Coorong after travelling the full length and then some – well over 300 kilometres for the day.

The road is mainly on the inside of a long range of dunes, the crest of which ripples along unevenly. It was notable that all the high spots on the dunes had a sparce covering of some sort of grass or shrubbery on it: clear evidence that even very small shrubs can withstand the winds better than the adjacent areas that are much more heavily eroded and metres lower than the peaks.

We called in at a number of places as we headed north. The first was at Chinamen’s Wells – something of a tribute to the thousands of Chinese adventurers who arrived along the coast here and walked (or died along the way) to the gold mining enticements around Ballarat and Bendigo. Brave souls, but they left a legacy, and we did an interesting couple of kilometres fairly gentle walk recording some of their travails, looking at plants and birds and reading the signage as we went along.

A well dug and used by thousands of Chinese (and others) walking to Ballarat, Bendigo and other gold-mining adventures. The 1100 kilogram lid for the well was cut from the rock a kilometre away and carried to the well - the second such lid cut after the first one cracked in two.

We had another longish walk to a Pelican Lookout a good deal further north. It was a bit disappointing with the pelicans way too far away to see them, but with some spectacular views overhead as they glided in to their roosting islands from miles away. (See my earlier post showing some of the hundreds of pelicans that flew over us like a squadron of huge bombers gliding in on the updrafts to land on their breeding islands a couple of kilometres away.) They are magnificent birds, just riding the air currents and they really do remind me of WWII bombers sailing over us – massive and truly fabulous. We were surrounded by dozens of Singing and Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters, flitting from bush to bush, singing incessantly, but almost impossible to photograph. I have identified more than eighty species of bird so far this trip, but there are MANY small birds that simply hide and I have been unable to see them well enough to identify them. I saw a very shiny dark snake crossing the path six or seven metres ahead of me but really too far away to identify it. It was a metre-and-a-half long, but I had no wish to encounter it close up.

We drove all the way to Meningie where we had stayed for a week or so (and loved it) several years ago. Unfortunately, it was getting late and we had about 150 kilometres to drive back so we didn’t stay long – and like every other place along the coast, it has changed a lot and didn’t seem to have the appeal of our previous visits.

We called in at a place where a couple of farmers cut a channel to drain a swamp on their properties 70-odd years ago. We had seen it before, but the signage has been upgraded since then and we got a better understanding of what a mammoth job it was for two guys with some pretty basic mechanical assistance. They completed it in less than three years - and ran their farms at the same time.

The sign and a photo of the kilometre long and 34-metre deep channel they cut to make their land more productive.

We also called in at Tilley’s Swamp on the way back. I had seen a few swamps marked on the map, but all were a fair way from the highway. Tilley’s was right on the road according to the map but it was at least ten clicks in. I was about to turn back when we crested a hill and there it was on both sides of the road and with plenty of birds to be seen. We spent half an hour looking and then went on to where a number of other lakes were shown on the map – but all too far away and inaccessible from the road. At least Tilley’s was interesting for me, with at least ten or twelve species on it.

We decided to stay in Kingston for another couple of days so tried to book in, only to find the office closed – so we had to wait until tomorrow to book and pay. We have a mammoth Fifth Wheeler parked next to us in the park. (And I saw a similar one in the RV Park on the other side of town.) It takes up two caravan parking sites and I reckon it is more than two-thirds the size of our entire apartment. It has two levels (giving it more floorspace than our whole apartment) and two extendable areas on each side of the vehicle – four in total. They have small Mazda parked in front of it (that they left running with the lights on for about three hours yesterday) but that would get crushed by the ball-weight if they ever tried to hook it up – quite impossible of course because it requires a B-Double type of hitch. The smallest vehicle that could tow it is something like a Ford 400 or similar. I have seen an older guy there a couple of times, but he would need a wife and a family of ten to fill all the space inside. (A couple of days later, there was a woman with a couple of young kids there – along with a silver Mercedes – but still nothing like the vehicle that would be needed to tow it.)

Day 16 29 February

It seems like years since we had an exceptional day like today – exactly four years in fact, but at least it is the end of summer. We didn’t do a lot today. We did a small load of washing in the laundry (we usually do it in our plunger washing bucket) and hung everything on the line – and it was all dry within an hour or so – it was warm and sunny but also very windy. Heather had a script to fill so we found a pharmacy and drove around the local area a bit more. We went out to the mouth of the creek looking at more birds but there was less variety to see than when we were there a couple of days ago.

Day 17 1 March

Autumn today with fabulous weather to match. It was a nice day for a drive so we set off to follow the coastal road to Cape Jaffa (not a lot to see, but easy to get lost in all the new development) and then on to Robe. We have visited Robe a couple of times before and not liked it with their wall-to-wall tourists. It is now several times bigger than it was on our last visit with roughly ten thousand caravans crowding the van parks, lining the streets, blocking intersections and generally outnumbering the locals twenty to one (maybe fifty - just a guess!). We drove around and took in some of the sights before sitting beside a pretty ordinary lake to eat our sangers. The town has obviously developed a lot since we were last there but it still has very little to recommend it to anyone who has any interest in anything except sitting on the beach or going fishing. It was certainly a great place from which to drive away. The one good thing we did while there was to find a fish wholesaler and we stocked up on a variety of seafood. We also visited the supermarket for a couple of items and replenished our stock of booze. The one thing we have tried to get at numerous places along the Limestone Coast – that is famous for its cockles – is coochies as they call them here. Nobody stocks them and their best advice is to try at Goolwa more than two hundred kilometres away. They sell bags of cockles/coochies for bait ($15 for a 250 gram bag) but they say they are not good to eat.

We went on to Beachport – more of the same, but maybe not quite as nice. I think I am over places with nothing to offer other than their crowded beaches. I live in hope that I will see an unusual seabird or wader when I visit the beach, but such delights are very rare.

Milicent and Penola came next with a bit more historical context, with old stone buildings and some nice parks, but it was getting late so we didn’t spend a lot of time at either and headed back to Kingston. We needed fuel and our 265 litres cost us a tad over $537 – at least we travelled over a thousand clicks for our money – at almost 52 cents a kilometre.

We decided on fish and chips for dinner so went to the main fish-jetty shop that advertises that it closes at 7.30pm. Alas, it closed before we arrived at 5.30. We found another place and ordered our meal there along with about five other groups. They must stockpile the orders and then cook them all together. We all had to wait ages – certainly at least 45 minutes – and then all the orders came together and because some of the orders were very similar, it took a couple of minutes to figure out who owned which order. But the fish was excellent and the chips were crisp and tasty, just how we like them.

Day 17 2 March

We spent the day around the van today. We walked down to the beach after breakfast and spent a bit over half an hour shuffling around in the sand at the water’s edge hoping to catch a meal of cockles for ourselves. There were heaps of shells around, but no cockles so I think the locals must have fished them out. They are obviously around along other beaches, certainly north from here, but not where we were – or was that just my fishing prowess being exhibited again?

We did some washing and around lunchtime, the wind came up and it was no violent that we had to roll the awning in. It has been pretty wild and noisy all afternoon but it has also been quite cool so we can’t complain. I wrote a bit more and caught up with a few deferred tasks before showers late in the afternoon and then yet another delicious dinner.

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goldcoastteardropcampers · 1 year ago

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thetradeway · 3 years ago

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Session 46: 3 Jul 2021: Has he tried being less of a malignant turd?

Gosh it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Sadly we are down a Grease Wizard again today; Sophie will puppet Gideon for Ed.

Next week, hopefully Matthew will be starting his own campaign for us - I will try to keep some notes, but I don’t expect they’ll be quite as comprehensive as they are for this one.

Right. Have we all taken rests, yes? Good. Well the good news is, after fighting the hydra, the sea-witch has escaped but the weather and the journey improve. The crew seem happier and we go a few days without incident. Ahleqs wants to feed Simon some lumps of hydra or shark, see if he likes that.

Kessler is trying to figure out water skis, and having another look at the schematics she took from the gnome tinker. We all notice there are religious symbols drawn on the tinker’s door in chalk that were not there before. Ardvack, the Right Ruddy Religious knows all about them - the gnome’s gone for basically every god in the pantheon. Just in case.

Kessler wants to make the invention the gnome was working on, and take it to show him her ‘new invention’. Does Waterdeep have IP laws?

She still can’t quite get it to work, however.

Adrvack goes and borrows the Captain’s teapot and and teas, and goes to visit Amelia. Tarragon heads to the kitchen for some cooking sherry with Lolo. Popcorn has put on some weight on the trip, and is snoring (and occasionally farting) in front of the stove.

Aegea climbs up to the crow’s nest with Melaina and points out some white cliffs ahead. She says that’s how the Sword Coast got its name - because from at sea, the cliffs look like swords. Melaina asks how long before we hit land; about two days.

Ahleqs goes to the poop deck to converse with Sparks about defensive spells when you’re running away; you know, important sorcerer business. Gideon is spending a lot of time with the two dwarves, drinking and carousing. He doesn’t seem to pitch in much with his job on the ship.

Is Carl still in one piece? How’s the sea air treating him? He is wandering around patting people on the shoulder and giving them thumbs ups. Team building. He might draw some new pictures.

Tarragon returns from the kitchens - as she passes, the door of the tinker’s room opens and she hears “Pssst!”

Has she noticed anything strange? “…In what way?” He looks uncertain. In an unnatural way. She asks him what he’s noticed. Has she had any unwelcome visitors in her room? “No! Have you?”

He says he’s probably said too much, and shuts the door. She knocks on it. “Are you in trouble? We’re here to look after the ship and guests, if there’s something bothering you, we might be able to help.”

He woke to a figure looming over him one night. He thinks it’s ‘one of those vampires’.

“Can you remember what he looked like?” Well, he nudges her conspiratorially, all those humans look the same right? “What makes you think it was a vampire?” He said he was. “Have you been tinkering with any chemicals, could you have ingested something that might give you squiffy dreams…?” He slams the door.

Next day the captain comes to each of us to say that we should reach Baldur’s Gate tomorrow. He doesn’t know why this voyage was so fraught with danger, but he’s glad we were here.

Ahleqs says he’s sorry the Captain seems to have been so unwell; he is feeling better now but thinks it was something he ate. Ardvack points out that Lolo has access to all the food; Tarragon tells him if there was poison in the kitchen, he (Ardvack) would be dead by now. He gives that some thought.

Tarragon asks Lolo if she knows of anything the Captain might have eaten; the night before the attack, he was eating with the paying guests. It was mostly finger foods, cheeses and wines and fruit that was brought straight up from the hold, it never went to the kitchens. Hmm.

Is there anything else we want to do before we get to Baldur’s Gate? Ahleqs wants to know what it was that weakened the Captain. He seems hung up on that. He and Sparks have been checking for residual magic after the sea witch’s departure. Sparks thinks the sea witch poisoned the Captain, since he is a renowned fighter and was rendered unable to help when the sahuagin attacked.

What about this vampire? Let’s see if there’s anyone tall and bitey. Kessler: “What if it’s someone small and bitey?” Ahleqs: “Well we’ll have to investigate at a lower level.”

We decide to try and convince the gnome to let us stake out his room, since we only have one night left on the ship. Kessler and Tarragon try a spot of persuasion. The gnome seems delighted to let us, since he won’t be getting much sleep anyway. He tells Tarragon he’ll have none of her cheek, however; she was very rude, suggesting he drinks his own chemicals. She bites her tongue while Ardvack sniggers and walks away.

Ahleqs stakes out the outside of the room in case something happens inside, then he can run and get someone stronger. Carl offers to sit with him; they can play cards. (They’ll have to explain the card game to Carl, as well as stop him eating the cards. Ardvack, explaining: "Every time he lifts the cards to his face you have to say, “Ah ah!”) Usha is going to sit with them as well, and join the card game.

Kessler makes another Tinker check as she works with the gnome on his invention, since they're both going to be up all night anyway, and rolls a 20. They crack it! He gives her a copy of his notes - it’s a tube that lights up when you twist it, and off when you twist it again. She’s learned how to make a Maglite.

Tarragon rolls a nat 20 for her Perception, but nothing happens at all while we watch. On the plus side our gnome friend has not been eaten. He hands Tarragon a gold piece as she leaves and says “Might I suggest a hairbrush.” She stares at him coldly, drops the coin on the floor and walks away.

Tarragon, to Kessler as they walk away: “This look is a choice, I’ve spent time on it…”

Amelia tells Ardvack to put the tea away; they’ll drink hers. Is there anything he wanted to talk about?

He blusters; he’s a little troubled. He’s out of place in this world. Can he be candid with her? “Are you capable?” Yes, when needs must.

He blurts out a load of stuff that none of the rest of us know about being sent to Candlekeep when he was little, parental issues, no friends, off-putting personality. The first adventure he went on was a disaster - a beholders lair, the thing was meant to be dead, they were taking notes when it attacked, Ardvack was turned to stone for 200 years, rescuer was killed in animal attack. Before he was a statue, he used to hear a divine voice - but since he returned he has heard nothing and is feeling very isolated. Is there a way he and Amelia can keep in touch, and perhaps she can advise him? He feels adrift in the world.

She listens patiently. They drink a lot of tea. She goes to her pack and says she mentioned before that she is an enchanter. She gives him a mirror; he can contact her through that over distance and they can talk . Not all the time, though. He thanks her. In the mean time, has he tried being less of a malignant turd?

He tells her about Blue Alley. Has she heard of it? She shakes her head. He tells her about the befuddlement and the poems; ever since then any effort on his part has been ‘poorly received’ so he stopped trying. Amelia asks, who did he write the poems to?

“Ugh. The gnome.”

She’s a very beautiful gnome, Amelia tells him. (Damn right.)

“But she’s a gnome!”

Amelia doesn’t think Tarragon would be keen to marry him, and tells him infatuation is normal. (Sophie describes Matthews’ expression for us; he looks horrified.) Amelia tells him to try gold or a flower next time. She also gives him a book titled ‘Basic Manners’, and tells him if she catches him going thorough anyone’s letters again she’ll have his hand off. “The word is nosy, and we’re all nosy, but we’re not all blatant.”

He promises not to abuse the mirror, and leaves her to her business, taking the book with him.

(He calls her immediately after he’s left. “I’m having problems again!”)

The following morning we arrive in the harbour of Baldur’s Gate; Ahleqs’ home. Are we going to meet his parents? Ahleqs flatly: “I think it’s safe to say that we are not.”

We are only passing through here. Gideon is waving a tankard around; Buckla gave it to him when he won a drinking contest. It doesn’t spill (magically) and he can use it as an improvised weapon.

Lolo thanks Tarragon for her help and says she would make an amazing sous chef. She gives Tarragon her ladle. Tarragon protests at first, but accepts it with her thanks. “Lolo, I will treasure it, thank you.”

Usha approaches us; can she still travel with us? Of course!

The Captain asks if we still want help finding someone to take us to Candlekeep; we’ll have to go by road. A merchant’s caravan, perhaps? We’ll be taking the Trade Way, it’ll be just like old times. Then we’ll take the Lion’s Way, which will take us to Candlekeep. We ask around at the docks for merchants travelling that way, with the Captain leading us. He introduces us to a human merchant.

Rirdun Gritsk is his name, and he has delicious calamari in his backpack. We offer him our protection in exchange for his taking us with him; the Captain recommends us personally. Rirdun agrees.

We’ve found the only squid merchant in Baldur’s Gate; this caravan is going to stink. (Actually he’s taking paper; the tentacles are his lunch.)

Ahleqs holds up his mouse cart and suggests we might make use of it. Rirdun, seeing only a tiny cart, pats him on the shoulder with a condescending look; Ahleqs shrugs and stashes the cart in his pocket for later. Kessler hurts Simon’s fuzzy little feelings by suggesting we hire horses.

Melaina, Tarragon and Ardvack make History checks. Ardvack rolls a 19. He knows that the Cloakwood we will pass is ancient and will contain druid circles and sentient trees. He shudders at Tarragon and says the place is ghastly and should be burned.

Tarragon, dead fucking serious: “If you so much as light a match, I will destroy you.” Fortunately we are only passing, not going through.

Ahleqs, Barometer of Bad, starts to get a nervous feeling in his stomach.

Unless he wants to see his folks or his old boss we can be off, however. He thinks not. "We’ve already had one exposition piece in this episode."

We’re eight days or so out. The first four pass uneventfully.

Tarragon thinks it won’t be long before she can ride Popcorn; he’s getting big now. She can sit and chatter with him as well. (She might tell him some of her thoughts about Ardvack, if she can do it in a language Ardvack doesn’t understand.)

Could Ardvack get a piggyback off Carl? Depends; how heavy is he, and will bits of Carl’s shoulders fall off? Ardvack changes his mind and tries to have a conversation with Kessler instead. She said previously that she wasn’t a goblin, he tries to find out what that actually means because we never revisited that.

The world’s a strange place, she tells him. She’s stuck in the form of a goblin, she isn’t *a* goblin. So… how come? As far as she knows, it’s a curse on her family line. Ardvack is familiar with the concept. Who by, how long ago?

Before she was born. What manner of curse? She doesn’t know, or won’t say. If she has the chance or the time she investigates to try and find out. So far not much luck. She asked her father, and he didn’t know either. Every now and then one of the line is born as a goblin, or some other creature.

Is she related to a Gladstone? No.

She asks him about Carl. Will he keep him going until he falls apart, or will he be allowed to rest? No, he has grand plans for Carl. He knows that’s wrong, right? Carl should be allowed to rest. Ardvack’s plan is to resurrect him. He doesn’t have the magical capability, but he’s looking for someone who does. The plan is to send Carl back to his family. He’s only been dead a month or so.

That kind of magic is expensive. Perhaps a good samaritan will step in, or he will learn a spell that can do what he’s trying to do. Carl can always start over. Ardvack made a promise to him. He looks fondly over at Carl. "I think there’s still something in there."

Kessler, unimpressed: “Yes. Worms.”

On the evening of the fourth day, the merchant tells us there’s a lake where we can camp, water the horse, wash clothes, bathe etc. Ardvack Prestidigitations himself; Tarragon rolls her eyes.

Tarragon does cooking duty. The lake is large, but not big enough to be on the map. We are in the equivalent month of July and the water of the lake is lovely and cool. Kessler sets up her Alarm spell. Ahleqs washes his outer clothes but wears his underthings to bathe; Tarragon doesn’t hesitate but strips off and leaps into the water.

Usha moves her bedroll inside Kessler’s Alarm spell. We take watches. Carl stands watch all night like Arnie in Terminator.

Tarragon rolls a 24 total for the cooking - we can have Advantage on two rolls in the next day. Ardvack refuses the food.

Usha and Ahleqs take first watch; she tells him all about her travels and the barbarian tribe. She wants to try to contact them again. The watch passes without event.

Melaina and Kessler roll Perception - Melaina gets 24. Joe changes to a battle map. Uh oh…

Melaina hears the horse, that has been resting, get up. It looks uneasy, and backs off further down the beach. She hears something moving on the lakeshore. Looking east, she can see - actually it’s not within her darkvision range. But she hears something move. The DM gives her a free turn.

Should she wake us? She uses her action to do that. Kessler kicks Ahleqs, and sets off her Alarm manually. Ahleqs does indeed scream when he wakes up, and that scream is the verbal part of the Mage Armour spell.

Tarragon is up first, with a natural 20 initiative. She moves a little closer and sees the edge of the thing; it’s big. She casts Greater Shldgljdfkajsdadabbllhh, and readies an attack. As soon as it’s within walloping distance, she will wallop it.

Kessler moves up next to Tarragon and takes a shot with her crossbow. (If it comes up “Kessler shoots at Tarrasque” Ahleqs is just going to start running.) Nat 20! Poke in the belly, triple damage. Tarragon fist-bumps her. Her second shot misses. She goes for higher ground, making a DEX check - 9, which is ‘good enough’.

Are we starting from prone since we just woke up, because Ardvack wants to know how far away he can run on his turn? No, because Melaina took her free turn to wake us so we had a chance to stand up before combat began.

Popcorn runs forward and sits on his back legs, roars at the thing and readies an attack.

An Assassin hits Ardvack out of nowhere for 17, which hits. He makes a CON save against the poison. Matthew, OOC: “Is that absolutely necessary?” Joe: “Absolutely vital.”

He fails, taking 8 piercing and 26 poison, as well as 14 sneak attack damage. What the fuhhhhh…

Whatever did that slips back into the shadows. It’s rolled a blinder of a stealth check. Ardvack looks down at the arrow and says “Oh. Um…”

Ahleqs is up. “Well this has changed things.” He finishes casting Mage Armour, and moves up next to Tarragon, believing her to be scarier than whatever is attacking.

Grease Wizard. Normally he would Grease something, that’s the go-to move. What was the trajectory of the arrow, Sophie wants to know? Which way is it pointing out of Ardvack? Ardvack makes an Insight check but rolls a 5; he can’t remember which way he was facing when he was hit. He notes that he might insta-die if that happens again.

Joe lets us know that he will put the assassin token on the map when it attacks; we are to watch our screens. If it rolls a good Stealth (above all our passive perceptions) it will disappear again.

Gideon Thunderwaves the scorpion - oh, so that’s what it is. Nope, because it’s too far away. Sophie goes for Magic Missile instead for 12 damage.

It’s Pinchy’s go. We are not fans of Pinchy. It moves towards us.

Gideon, seeing the thing bearing down on him: “It wasn’t me who sent the Magic Missile - you want the green one!”

It seizes him in one claw. 22 hits, Gideon takes 16 bludgeoning and is grappled. Pinchy reaches around with the other claw and tries to pinch a bit off the wizard to eat. 20 hits for 13 more damage. Finding the flesh a bit solid, he tries to tenderise the dwarf with a little sting. 6 piercing and a CON save, on which he has Advantage because he’s a dwarf. He rolls 14, making the save, halving it, and his dwarven Constitution halves it again to five. Phew.

Melaina is up. She can have sneak attack damage, and hides so she can get Advantage as well. 22 to hide.

Duncan, OOC and laughing: “Wind up that damage machine, get it tickin’ over nice.”

19 to hit. Nat 1 on Sharpshooter damage, which is still somehow 22. Plus 11 piercing. She hits it squarely in the carapace, and hears an audible crack. Something yellow starts to ooze up out of the wound.

Usha, seeing what Ahleqs did, lets out a shriek of her own. She looks around for the assassin but can’t see anything. She hides behind the tent and tries again to locate the assassin, but doesn’t roll high enough.

Ardvack and Melaina see the merchant’s head appear from the tent. He can’t see the scorpion. Still they hear, “nopenopenopenope” and he ties the tent shut.

Ardvack can’t think of anything clever to do. “Um… … … Right.” Oooh! He will summon Admiral Pancakes! (His owl familiar.) The Admiral splits his movement between running and flying but it’s all low to the ground and all furious.

Ardvack hunkers down near the tent and the cart - no, he’s lying down. He’s prone. He’s as low as you can get and has 9 HP left. He chugs a potion.

Carl is next. Did Carl notice where the arrow came from? He rolled really bad Perception. He rolls Insight to see if he can remember. A five; he doesn’t remember. He gets up and goes for the scorpion but can’t reach it. Also, he doesn’t have a mace any more.

Tarragon Rages and runs up to attack Pinchy Recklessly, doing only nine damage. Her scream of rage becomes a little uncertain. She shakes her Shilleblglhlskfgghj’ed quarterstaff. “Come on!!”

Kessler would like to whale on the assassin. Is there a way to look for them? It would take her turn to Investigate, but they will be placed on the map if she finds them. She can point them out to us, in other words. She decides against that. Is she above the scorpion now that she's scrambled up the terrain? She would be, but it’s really big. Could she jump onto it?

She gets the classic reply: “… You can certainly try."

She rolls Acrobatics and gets a 17 - she makes it onto its back. She punches it with her Thunder Gauntlets. (The way the tokens are arranged, it looks as though the scorpion has Kessler’s head.)

24 to hit! and 6 Thunder damage. She goes for another attack. (We all start singing Thundercats, but now it’s Thundergoblin.) She throws in Fury of the Small as well, yelling “Yeehaa!” as she does so. It’s looking damaged now. Mina: “Excellent.”

It’s Popcorn’s turn - he runs up, sees the scorpion is bigger than he thought, slashes at it and misses, and runs away. No Opportunity attack, as Kessler and Tarragon are in melee with it.

The assassin makes some attacks against Melaina. The others see the token, briefly, but Tarragon and Popcorn are facing the wrong way. Melaina uses her Uncanny Dodge on the second attack - she did not see the first as it went into her back. She fails her CON save taking 8 piercing, 30 poison and 14 sneak attack - and she’s down. Not insta-dead but out. The second attack doesn’t come, because the assassin moves to hit Ardvack with it instead.

18 hits him. (It’s not fun when the other team have assassins.) He makes a quick Perception check as the sword plunges into his sternum - he sees pointy ears and greyish skin. A drow? 7 piercing and 24 poison. He makes the CON save regardless.

It slurs into his ear - “in the name of the Lady of Loss” as he slips into unconsciousness. If he survives he can make a History check on that. His dying cry is “Carl! Save them!”

Ahleqs’s turn. He heard a yelp from Melaina and another one from somewhere behind him. He gets a bit closer - but not too much closer - to try and find the assassin. He has Advantage but must roll above a 24 (the assassin’s stealth roll). He rolls a 19. Dammit! He sees Usha absolutely petrified, and both Melaina and Ardvack down and bleeding heavily in the flickering firelight.

Gideon is up - he’s still grappled. He can hit Pinchy with a spell but will likely hit Kessler as well - we decide Ed and Gideon would probably be fine with that. Sophie decides to do as the Grease Wizard would. With a cry of “Unhand me foul beast!”, he casts Grease on himself, and the DM lets him make an attempt to break free at advantage on the same turn. He rolls an 8. Oh well. He remains Greased and can try again next turn.

It’s Pinchy’s turn. He drops Gideon and has a go at grabbing the creature on its back and the creature menacing it from the ground. It goes for a sting attack against Kessler - 18 misses. 11 also misses, but 18 hits Tarragon, who is grappled but halves the bludgeoning damage to 7 because of her rage. Pinchy doesn’t like the thing on its back so it moves, forcing a DEX save from Kessler to remain in place. She passes the save, clinging on as it moves.

Melaina passes her first death save with a 13. She doesn’t use the Advantage granted by Tarragon’s meal, yet.

Usha moves to have another look for the assassin, but can’t find it.

Charity makes a death save - a nat 1 - two failures.

Matthew, sounding slightly panicky: “It’s okay, it’s okay! I’ve got this under control!”

He doesn’t have advantage because he didn’t eat the meal; me, OOC: “That’s what you get for being petty.”

Carl’s turn. Can he do mouth to mouth? He can, but it’s gross. You don’t want him to do it. Carl is furious; a lot of the things that have been going on of late have been leaving him out. He will hit the scorpion with punches. Pinchy McScorpingtons dodges Carl’s 17 to attack. That upsets Carl.

Tarragon doesn’t bother to try to break free but attacks from where she is - and misses. She still has no idea that Charity and Melaina are both down.

The hero of the realm, Admiral Pancakes, enters the fray. He has advantage on Perception checks, so he might be able to find the assassin…? He rolls a 9. Oh well.

It’s down to Kessler. “Save the day!” She has another go at cracking the carapace of the scorpion open with her Thunder Gauntlets. “Put down the crazed druid!” 26 hits for 7 Thunder damage, and she goes for another one. 22 and 12 Thunder damage. It’s very damaged - she gets yellow gunk as splash back. “This is nothing; I’ve seen Gideon.”

Popcorn runs up and slashes it with his claws - he hits for 7 damage. It doesn’t die, so he backs off again. Carl pats him on the head.

The assassin makes another attack - against Usha, and 16 hits. He reveals himself, and Ahleqs sees him. Usha takes 7 piercing and 31 poison - it’s not quite an insta-death, but only by the skin of her knickers. She shrieks and drops like a sack of shit.

What’s Ahleqs’s Passive Perception? 13. The assassin rolls a 16 and is hidden again. But Ahleqs only needs to beat a 16 to spot him, and it’s his turn. He sees Charity on the ground with red bubbles coming out of his mouth. It’s probably not cherry hubba bubba, he decides. He kneels down next to him and administers his only healing potion. Charity regains consciousness, and 8 HP. He feels a bit less dead. Ahleqs: “Help!” He runs back; that’s all he’s got. Charity thanks him, bubbles of blood running down his chin.

Gideon is still heavily Greased, but has been dropped so he is free. He shoots a Scorching Ray at the scorpion, hoping he will miss Kessler as the spell has one target. He must roll for each Ray. Sophie, OOC: "So two on the scorpion and one on Kessler, yeah?"

Gideon shouts “Don’t worry, I’ll save you, goblin!” He does 7 fire damage. “You got in the way, goblin!” One of his attacks is a natural 1 so he rolls on the crit magic fail table. Where did that come from? If this attack deals cold, fire, force, lightning or thunder damage; an elemental (chosen by the DM) appears within 60 feet of you. It is hostile to all creatures. Joe picks water, as we’re next to a lake.

Greeeeeaaaaaat.

We need David Hasselhoff for this. Or Zoidberg…?

Joe has Sophie roll a d4, and whatever she rolls is however many rounds the elemental remains for. She rolls a 3. Well…

It’s Pinchy’s turn. Gideon was past his best, and Pinchy is still snackish. It makes a sting attack against Carl - 16 to hit. Well his AC is 9, so… yes? But he is immune to poison, so he only takes 8 piercing damage. It rakes a claw against Kessler and misses. It tightens its other claw around Tarragon - 22 definitely hits. 16 bludgeoning, which she halves to 8.

Melaina makes another death save - and rolls 17. Matthew: “If you roll a 20 you can come back with - ” Sophie, OOC, voice full of hope: “Super powers?” Matthew: “… One hit point.”

Admiral Pancakes perches on Gideon’s shoulder, and hoots aggressively into his face, but can’t do anything this turn.

Usha makes a death save.

It’s Charity’s turn - he wants to know who’s worse off out of Melaina and Usha, without giving away how alive he himself is, in case the assassin is watching. Sadly Ahleqs screamed aloud what he was doing as he fed Charity the potion, asking consent to do so. (Duncan makes a Henry Crabgrass reference; only I laugh.)

Charity carefully heals Melaina, flinching back from any retaliatory punches that might fly his way. He learned his lesson in the bar fight. He slams a potion and hunkers down again.

Carl does a punch. He punches. Or does he? No - Brother Carl disengages from the scorpion, and makes his way somewhere behind Tarragon so I don’t see where. He holds an attack in case the assassin shows up, at which point he will go full zombie and pull their face all the way off.

Tarragon hits again for 19 bludgeoning damage. “‘Ave that, you scaly fucker.” It’s still not dead! “How???”

As a free action, Joe has Kessler make a Perception check. She rolls an 8. Oh well. She wants this thing to die, so she aims another punch at the soft jelly bit inside where she cracked the carapace last round.

She rolls two nat 1s. Butterfingers. You lose your grip mid-swing and your weapon goes flying 1d4+1x5ft away in the direction of your target. She has gauntlets which can’t really come off so Joe rules that they malfunction. It doesn’t do any Thunder damage for the next round, it becomes bludgeoning instead. She does 6 damage; it’s haggard as all hell, but still up.

It’s Popcorn’s turn - he runs up to the elemental and slashes it with his claws. Not knowing he shouldn’t, he backs up and it takes an attack of opportunity against him - but it misses. He notices that his claws didn’t do as much damage as they should…

And we’ve still got an assassin that no-one’s fuckin’ touched. Speaking of - it attacks Tarragon and hits. She makes the CON save and halves the poison, and she’s raging so she halves the sneak and piercing damage as well. 21 total, bringing her down to 26 total HP.

It’s Ahleqs’ turn. He, being a character that is not optimised, casts Shatter on the elemental. Or he could Banish it, if he can come up with an item that is distasteful to it? Is there anything absorbent nearby, cotton or fleece - or a rag. Yeah! It fails the save and is Banished.

Grease Wizard is up. What’s he going to do… He does a Scorching Ray on the scorpion - all three hit, yay! He does 24 damage - How de do dis! Sophie: “He falls apart into a sort of flurry of little bits and bits of shell and Kessler ends up in the middle of it all stinky, wearing a little shell as a crown.”

We all make perception checks - All of us but Carl and Kessler hear a snarling in elvish (drow, specifically) which is mostly expletives. Those that can see, see a flash of darkness, like the opposite of a flash of light, for a moment and then gone. It looked to be a kind of magic, but the magic users don’t sense any disturbance in the Weave.

Ahleqs: “Was it like ‘ah, fuck it!’ *explosion*?” He rolls 18 Arcana. It was cursing us for murdering its pet. Ahleqs thinks it was a spell, but there was no associated disturbance. The assassin seems to have retreated, however.

Charity heals Usha; she is incredibly grateful. The merchant emerges from the tent. Kessler loots the scorpion, finding a couple of platinum pieces. Tarragon rolls 12 Perception - she sees a marking on the back of the scorpion’s head. She wipes away some goo and makes a Religion check.

It is a black sigil inside a purple ring - an emblem of Shar. Uh oh… Charity makes a Religion check as well, remembering what the assassin said to him (“In the name of the lady of loss”) but rolls a nat 1 for 2 total. He mutters out loud about it, but doesn’t make the connection. Kessler and Ahleqs roll good religion checks. Ahleqs, hearing Charity’s words, is terrified. That was a reference to Shar.

Joe wraps up there as it’s getting late. Before we finish though, we continue another four days travel and catch our first glimpse of Candlekeep…

Matthew will hopefully pick up next week with his new campaign! It bothers Mina greatly that he doesn’t want us to roll our own stats; this likely an intentional effect.

#dnd #campaign diary #thetradeway

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thehighlandhealer · 5 years ago

Text

Directions || Deirdre & Oliver

Oliver: The scent of cigarettes was mute for a man covered in the same stench, mixed with motor oil and dust. His Old Spice was no match unless pruned in the shower. Sometimes he wondered if Tristan Seger's vessel ever truly left his skin.

What caught his attention was a scent he did not recognize. Floral, almost cloying. He turned, passively curious for the source.

Deirdre: The source was standing a few feet away, having stopped to check something on her phone. Truth be told she looked more like farmhand than a tourist. Despite the warmth she was wearing boots and jeans and flannel. Honey blonde hair was gathered in a loose braid that fell nearly to her waist, with a few wisps of hair framing her face and a swoop of bangs covering one eye. She could feel his gaze, and watched him from her periphery.

Oliver: She was beautiful, but he was partial to blondes no matter the shade. As impolite to stare as it was, he had. He knew his gaze had traveled her for too long. He forced his attentions away, back towards the road. A passing favorable thought she would be as he headed home.

Three steps from the property, and he paused again. Perhaps one more look.

Deirdre: Deirdre could swear she felt his gaze wherever it lingered. She smiled to herself. Did that mean, she wondered, she was hyperaware of him or that he was simply staring that intensely?

She finally looked up as he started to walk away, thinking that she wouldn't get an answer to her question. At least until he stopped and turned again.

This time he'd be met with a serene, gently amused smile and gray-blue eyes looking back at him.

Oliver: Caught red-handed. He was not one to blush and duck his chin in shame. Rather, he smiled at her amusement. That would be his treat for the day, having made not one but two women smile.

He supposed he should return to purpose, though with the haste of a sloth.

Deirdre: Not so fast. I'm not quite done with you.

"Oi! Spare a moment?" she called to him in a thick Scottish accent.

Oliver: The foreign surprise caused a double-take. He began to pick his thumbnail.

"M'I in trouble?"

Deirdre: "Why, have ye done somethin' wrong?" Smiling, she slipped her phone into her pocket and walked over to him. "Might I trouble ye for directions?"

Oliver: "I dunno. M'a man, so probably." She seemed smaller the closer she approached. Confidence could make one two inches taller, but still, petite.

"Where ya needin' t'go?"

Deirdre: "Flower shop. Wild Rose of Arran. Ye know it?"

Oliver: "I - Yeah. It's a walk from here. Miles, I mean. My truck's outta commission, so..." What in god's name? "I mean, ain't ya got a GPS?"

Deirdre: "I do," she said, giving him a very obvious once over before heading in the direction of a black Jeep. "Come along, then."

Oliver: Oliver subconsciously straightened. "Just like that?" he called, frozen in place by skepticism.

Deirdre: "Ye waitin' for an engraved invitation?"

Oliver: "With real gold?" He began to follow behind. "I'mma fuck up the seat."

Deirdre: A light laugh floated back to him. "Don't worry yer head about the seat. That's what towels are for."

Oliver: I'm gonna be murdered by a farmgirl. Worse ways to die, he thought, climbing into the seat with one fluid movement.

"So, you're...British?"

Deirdre: "Highland Scot," Deirdre corrected, starting the Jeep and definitely pulling out of the lot faster than was strictly legal.

"Left, right, or dead ahead?"

Oliver: Not a quip on her driving skills. "Ahead for a mile or two. We'll take a left, then. So is there a difference?"

Deirdre: "There a difference between the States and Canada?"

Oliver: "There's a difference from California n'Jersey."

Deirdre: "But they're in the same country. Scotland and England are no'."

Oliver: "It's called Britain, right?"

Deirdre: "Technically."

Oliver: "So what's the big difference?"

Deirdre: "They're separate countries."

Oliver: "On one island. So I wanna know what makes the top different from the bottom."

Deirdre: "I once again point ye to the States and Canada. Similar language, similar customs, similar lookin' people even, but different countries. We never fell to the Romans."

Oliver: "On a giant continent I get. Ya can travel all of Europe in a weekend. Nothin' is a country if ya can travel it all in a day or two. Ya see games on TV from there n'it says United Kingdom on the shirts with all of it."

Deirdre: "Just like an American to disregard nuance," she said, the amused smile making a return.

Oliver: "Waitin' for ya t'open my door n'boot me out."

Deirdre: "Well now that would be rude."

Oliver: "You're in America. It's normal."

Deirdre: "Rudeness or tossin' men out o' movin' vehicles?"

Oliver: "Both?" he chuckled.

Deirdre: "Funny, don't remember readin' that in my 'Welcome to America' pamphlet."

Oliver: "What about fried Oreos?"

Deirdre: "A glorious step up from fried Mars bars."

Oliver: "Excuse me what?"

Deirdre: "What?"

Oliver: "A fried Mars bar?"

Deirdre: "Aye. Don't ye Americans fry Snickers?"

Oliver: "I ain't had a fried candy bar no."

Deirdre: “Don’t tell yer dentist if ye do.”

Oliver: "That somethin' ya wanna try? Fried Oreo?"

Deirdre: “That ship’s long gone.”

Oliver: "How come?"

Deirdre: “Because I’ve already had one. Several if we’re splittin’ hairs.”

Oliver: "What about a fried hot dog?"

Deirdre: “Hot dogs should be grilled. Full stop.”

Oliver: "Thank fuckin' god ya didn't say boiled."

Deirdre: “What do I look like, a barbarian?”

Oliver: "Not a barbarian."

Deirdre: She smiled. "Good to know. Left ye said?"

Oliver: "Oh. Yeah. Left after this stop sign. It'll be kinda obvious."

Deirdre: "That's all right then." But rather than turn left, she turned to face him. "Which way's yer house?"

Oliver: "Ya...wanna know where I live?"

Deirdre: "Ye said yer truck's broken down."

Oliver: "Yeah. I got legs for walkin'."

Deirdre: "Consider it a thank ye for showin' me to the shop."

Oliver: "It's outta the way. It's fine."

Deirdre: "I'll find my way back. I'm in no rush."

Oliver: "Well, I'll savor the company, then. Keep goin' this way."

Deirdre: Another smile and they were off again. Callum could certainly wait a few minutes longer. He didn't even know she was here yet.

"Lived here long?"

Oliver: "About a year n'some change. Needed a chance of scenery."

Deirdre: "Do ye like it?"

Oliver: "It's work. It's a place," he muttered.

Deirdre: "No' terribly attached then?"

Oliver: "Not really anywhere. I mean, I miss Tennessee, but it ain't home anymore."

Deirdre: "Sometimes home is where yer hat is. And there's nothin' wrong with that."

Oliver: "N'where's your hat?"

Deirdre: "Montana."

Oliver: "Not Scot-Britain?"

Deirdre: "No' Scotland, no. I moved to Montana to take over the family ranch when my sister moved to New Orleans."

Oliver: "At your age? Big boots on ya."

Deirdre: "I'm older than I look," she chuckled.

Oliver: "Twenty-two, maybe."

Deirdre: Deirdre laughed. "God bless ye and yer flattery."

Oliver: "Flattery is fake. I'm sayin' what I think."

Deirdre: "Motivations can be fake, flattery isn't. And for the record, ye're about ten years off."

Oliver: "I have no motivations. I'm a free man. You're not in your thirties."

Deirdre: "That brisk Scottish air does wonders for the complexion."

Oliver: "Sunblock too, I bet. Or wait, y'all don't get sun."

Deirdre: "No' as much as ye do here. It's so bloody hot in this country."

Oliver: "Try Maine if ya want mist."

Deirdre: "If I want mist I'll go back home. Either o' them. Plenty o' mist up in the mountains in Montana."

Oliver: "Not all dry plains? Right up here."

Deirdre: “A few plains, plenty o’ hills, and the mountains. Be right silly to name the place after a mountain if it were completely flat.”

Oliver: "Maybe I'm thinkin' of Utah when I think of mountains. Up there is all the same in my head. Left here."

Deirdre: "The Rockies join ev'rythin' together." She turned left. "Went from one highland to another."

Oliver: "Why, though? Why Montana at all?"

Deirdre: "Montana is where our family ranch is. My da's family's had it since before my sister and I were born."

Oliver: "Why not have a ranch in Scotland?"

Deirdre: "We do."

Oliver: He just turned to blink at her.

Deirdre: "What? Mark Twain said to buy land, they're no' makin' it anymore. My da's family took him at his word. As did my sister. The ranch is a few times bigger than it was when she took over."

Oliver: "What d'ya do on the ranch, then? Cattle? Sheep?"

Deirdre: "All sorts, though mostly cattle. Ever seen MacAllister Heritage Ranch in the meat and dairy section o' the market?"

Oliver: "I don't really look at names. Must be pretty big t'get all the way t'the east coast."

Deirdre: "People ev'rywhere are ravenous for organic food."

Oliver: "Soy lattes n' kale salads. No sugar and no carbs."

Deirdre: "We make cheese and sausage and cream and eggs, nothin' but carbs as far as the eye can see. Bloody good kale too."

Oliver: "I know how t'make cheese. Sausage, too."

Deirdre: "Grow up in the country?"

Oliver: "Nah. Bored in the military."

Deirdre: "If necessity is the mother of invention, boredom's its dear old da. Still make it now?"

Oliver: "Nah. I make the best beef ribs, though."

Deirdre: "Pop into the market and get some o' ours next time ye get a fancy for them."

Oliver: "MacAllister, huh?"

Deirdre: She nodded. "MacAllister Heritage Ranch."

Oliver: "...Would ya like some beef ribs? Maybe some corn bread t'go with it?"

Deirdre: There was that smile again, twitching at the corner of her mouth.

"Askin' me to dinner, are ye?"

Oliver: "Well," he cleared his throat, picked at his thumb again. "I'll wait on that 'til ya see my place. There, that sign on the left." The entrance to the trailer park hidden in the woods.

Deirdre: "Why, is it full o' corpses on meat hooks and severed human fingers?" she asked as she turned into the caravan park.

Oliver: "Just a loud dog trippin' on his ears, n'the smell of beer n'probably cigarettes. A door that don't wanna close all the way, n'neighbors with nothin' better t'do."

Deirdre: Deirdre's entire face lit up brighter than the morning sun. She didn't hear a thing after he'd said the magic word.

"Ye've a dog?"

Oliver: "Humphreys. My basset hound." His smile a subconscious response to her own.

Deirdre: "Is he lovely? How old is he?"

Oliver: "I guess a young man now. I don't think lovely describes it. My couch would disagree."

Deirdre: "All dogs are lovely. Like babies."

Oliver: "Ha. Right there...that one." She'd say her goodbyes now, if she had any sense, he assumed.

Someone across the park had neglected their grill, burning what would have been under-seasoned burgers. Not the worst smell to greet his nose, but still he made a face. Humphreys was impatient for release from his rectangular prison, howling for all he was worth at the sound of a door slam.

Deirdre: Deirdre parked the car and cut the engine, face lighting for a second time as she heard the howl from inside.

"Can I meet yer dog?"

Oliver: "Ya ain't an axe murderer, out for money? I'll disappoint ya t'no end."

Deirdre: "I'm lousy with land and cattle, yer money's quite safe from me. And I left my axe at home," she added with a grin.

Oliver: "Lousy with land? Gotta explain that one t'me." The dented aluminum door was unlocked. A black, tan, and white basset hound blew past to freedom, crashing at Deirdre's feet. Time to investigate.

"Humphreys!"

Deirdre: "The cattle and the sheep and the fields take up an awful lot o' space in Montana." A rather large chunk of the state, as a matter of fact.

But what importance was that when a floppy-eared bundle of fur was barreling toward her like a bat out of hell?

Deirdre gave a small cry of delight, crouching down to Humphreys' level. "Oh look at ye, lovey! Pretty as a new penny and handsomer than sin, ye are! Hi! Hi, puppy!" She offered her hands for him to sniff.

Oliver: The ungentlemanly hound leapt to her thigh, sniffing her jeans, hand, and what hair he could reach. Floral, and yet stunk like his father. Satisfactory. He wanted pettings, and leaned his dense weight against her. Another howl to announce his findings for a very irritated Oliver.

"Just push him off. Ya can't hurt him."

Deirdre: Pushing Humphreys off was the absolute farthest thing from Deirdre's mind. She was already giving him a hearty squeeze, scratching his ears and his back and his belly and beneath his chin in between showers of compliments.

Oliver: "So that's the way t'a woman's heart, huh? It's that easy."

Deirdre: "The way to a man's is food." She smiled up at him. "The way to a woman's is a friendly animal."

Oliver: "So what d'ya have in Montana, then?"

Deirdre: "Two collies, a deerhound, and three cats."

Oliver: "How many were gifts?"

Deirdre: "One o' the cats just sort of appeared one day. The deerhound and the other two cats were already there when I took over. I adopted the two collies to give Gary a hand with the herdin'."

Oliver: A cigarette was lit while she recounted. He didn't mind.

"Humphreys, bathroom."

The dog finally released her, disappearing behind the house to relieve himself.

"Ya...want a beer? Soda? ... Water?"

Deirdre: "My sister would keel haul me if I had a beer before I was about to drive. I'll accept some water though."

Oliver: "Want it out here?" The house was the usual mess, something he cared little about until that very moment. Just a little.

Deirdre: “Out here’s fine. It’ll give the laddie some time to get some fresh air.”

Oliver: "The door's always open anyway." Though the same could not be said for his bedroom, with an additional padlock. Since the front door gave so much trouble, and he could swear he was beginning to sleepwalk almost every week...

He retreated for a bottle of water. Humphreys returned for more attention.

Deirdre: He'd be able to hear a fresh round of enthusiastic delight as Humphreys returned and the petting resumed.

Her estimation of her admirer could've risen from the depths of hell purely on the shoulders of his dog. When he came back out he'd find her happily sitting on the ground with Humphreys in her lap, squishing his little face to hers as she scratched his ears.

Oliver: "That scares the shit outta me," he said, offering the bottle of water, having to dodge Humphreys curious nose.

Deirdre: "What does?" Deirdre asked, taking the water.

Oliver: "Puttin' an animal’s face near mine."

Deirdre: She laughed. "I think ye'll find that they're cleaner than we are. Besides, I've had far worse things on my face than a wee pup."

Oliver: "Nah. It ain't that. I was bitten by a dog when I was a kid. It stuck with me."

Deirdre: "Poor thing. I'd dare say ye've made progress though. Ye brought this wee fella into yer life."

Oliver: "Yeah, but he don't come near my face. He knows better. See here?" He stepped closer and knelt, pointing to a small scar on the outskirt of his facial hair.

Deirdre: Without thinking, she lifted a hand to his face and turned it to get a better look. "That was the dog that bit ye when ye were little?"

Oliver: His skin was as warm as it was deep, tanned by years forgetful of sunblock. Destined to be a leathery old man. His muscles tensed instinctively. Exhaled through his nose. Shoulders fell. He wasn't always on such edge. A recent phenomenon.

"A dalmatian. I don't remember it clearly, but I just don't like em near me like that."

Deirdre: "Dalmatians have the lion's share of energy, especially if they're no' trained properly. Don't blame ye for bein' cautious."

Oliver: "Ya know everything 'bout everything, huh?"

Deirdre: "Enough to retain what Animal Planet teaches me, at least."

Oliver: "Huh." He tossed the butt of his cigarette away. The pack was brought from his back pocket and offered, half squished.

Deirdre: She shook her head. "Thanks anyway. There's a program about dog breeds and another about cat breeds. Good for when ye want somethin' mindless and light."

Oliver: "I just watch the races, n'the history channel. For some reason they got shit on old cars n'woodshop."

Deirdre: "Seems like they're broadenin' what constitutes history. And animals."

Oliver: He watched her for a minute. The excuse was in her lap, but hardly noticed. He needed a fresh cigarette.

"M'keepin' ya from the flower shop."

Deirdre: "It's no bother, I'm no' expected."

Oliver: "Just wantin' some roses?"

Deirdre: “Decided to surprise my cousin. He’s the owner.”

Oliver: "Oh that - I shoulda figured. Don't hear much of that accent around."

Deirdre: "Do ye know him, then? Callum?"

Oliver: "Just a face I see around. I ain't ever gone in there."

Deirdre: “Never had need o’ roses?”

Oliver: "Ain't had a woman that wanted one."

Deirdre: ��I take it ye’re no’ the type to buy flowers for yer sittin’ room?”

Oliver: Inadvertently he locked eyes and shook his head.

Deirdre: "Well, he's there if ye ever have need," she said softly, smiling at him before turning to Humphreys. "Or just bring this wee one with ye wherever ye go. Ye'll surge in popularity."

Oliver: "Ain't really somethin' I strive for." He turned his head to keep the smoke from her face. "Anyway, I gotta clean up n'get somethin' t'eat."

Deirdre: “Of course, I’ll leave ye to it. Bye, lovey.” She gave Humphreys a kiss on his forehead and got to her feet. “Thanks for the directions and for lettin’ me love on Humphreys.”

Oliver: "He appreciates it, I bet." He placed his cigarette on the awkward steps and turned. "Know your way back?"

Deirdre: “Aye, I can manage. All the lefts are rights now, only real difference.”

Oliver: "Yeah." His smile and half-hearted laugh were for her benefit. An excuse to see her smile, perhaps? Damn stupid.

Deirdre: Excuse or not, he was still given a smile as Deirdre got in the Jeep.

She rolled down the window. “Blush.”

Oliver: "Wh-What?" The wrinkles around his eyes faded with his confused look.

Deirdre: “I like blush roses.” Deirdre’s smile became a full grin. “For when ye ask me to dinner.”

Oliver: Oh. But she'd seen his decrepit excuse for a house. He'd casually insulted her so-called country. He had been himself, and yet her smile was as though he had been the utmost gentleman.

"How m'I supposed t'find ya?"

Deirdre: “I’ll find ye. I know where ye live.”

Oliver: "That don't sound horrific at all," he smiled.

Deirdre: “Told ye I left my axe at home,” she said, starting the car and giving him one last smile before she drove away.

Oliver: Humphreys bellowed his farewell and was shooed into the house. The cigarette was stamped out. The smile remained stuck to his face until he hit the shower.

#Directions chapter #deirdremacallister #olivercole

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365daysofsasuhina · 5 years ago

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[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day One Hundred Seventy-Seven: Under Control ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Hyūga Hanabi, Uchiha Itachi, Hyūga Hiashi, Uchiha Fugaku ] [ SasuHina, blood, death, vulgarity ] [ Verse: Divine Light ] [ AO3 Link ]

The raids have been happening for decades.

Anyone of el’ven blood is at risk. While most have gone into hiding after the collapse of the elemental council, some don’t...or can’t. Their el’kor cousins - those without the blessings of the elements incarnate - far outnumber them. While many find obscure lands in which to hide and eek out a feral living...not everyone can follow in their footsteps.

Hinata’s family had been living in a coastal city. Her father, employed by an el’kor fisherman, worked under the radar: his secret for his skills. Few other ships could manage the catches of their vessel with a mage of water aboard. And while some grew suspicious, they kept hidden for a number of years.

The sisters’ mother, Hanako, kept them closely guarded at home: not the beautiful manor they’d had before the Rift, but a step above squatting in a shack. Hinata and Hanabi were content most days - both were far too young to remember the time before the fall. This was all they had even known.

This went on for years...until the guard caught them.

Dragged back to his home, Hiashi was forced to his knees, blade at his throat as the squadron of soldiers confronted the family.

But it wasn’t just soldiers that came. Among them were beady-eyed, callous-handed men who stank of filth and spirits.

...slavers.

Too desperate for her husband’s life, Hanako did not fight. And her daughters, young and untrained, were easy pickings.

“Hm…” Taking the woman’s hair in his fingers, the obvious leader ignored her shiver of disgust. “She’ll fetch a fair price at a brothel. Get her bound and take her to the docks.”

“No, please - my daughters, I -!”

“They’re no longer your concern,” he cut in, lip lifted in a sneer. “They’re a bit young, yet...and if they’re aqua mages, they’ll have their uses...we’ll take them inland, sell them to someone who needs their ven.”

Two of them then moved to grab the girls. Both took to kicking and screaming, desperate to get away. “Mama! Mamaaa!”

“Quit your yappin’!” the ringleader barked, taking Hinata’s wrist in a painful grip. “Little bloodbinding’ll get you under control…!”

Teary-eyed with fear, Hinata couldn’t suppress a scream as a knife cut into her palm. Dipping a pricked finger into the blood, he drew a strange symbol on her inner forearm.

It burned like hot iron, glowing a bright white, then fading to black...then to nothing.

“There now…” Giving a cruel grin, he spat, “Sit!”

Like her legs were cut out from under her, Hinata sank to the floor with a painful thump.

“Good, good...now, the younger brat.”

Hanabi’s shrill shrieks of pain and terror soon followed, both girls branded with their own blood. Huddled together, they watched, shaking as they moved to Hiashi. His head was bowed, heavy with the weight of his family’s fate.

“Now...you were making your employer a sound profit with that ven a’yours,” the slaver muttered. “I reckon someone else’ll pay handsomely to have you. Make back what we gave that bastard to sell you out, eh…?”

Looking up with icy eyes, Hiashi had no retort.

“Bind him.”

Bringing the blade from his neck to his arm, another slaver made to cut Hiashi’s flesh. But that left his captor vulnerable for just a moment. With a roar, the patriarch summoned a wave from the nearby harbor with all the strength he had in him. It crashed against the dingy seaside home, bursting through windows and crumbling parts of the wall.

Though both daughters screamed, it did not reach them.

Struggling to control the element, Hiashi made to drown his foes...but they were many. Though swept aside, a few guards behind him through the doorway made to regain their footing.

One was wielding a pike.

With its longer reach, he struck the steel through Hiashi’s back.

Giving a cry of agony, his hold on the water was lost, seeping back to the ground and slithering to the sea. Around him, several of the slavers were already drowned...but the leader remained, sputtering and hacking.

“That whoreson…!” he retched, shaking water from his form as Hiashi struggled to cling to life on the floor. Giving the el’ven a furious kick to the ribs, he spat on his body. “Just cost me my profit, you bastard! You’d best hope your daughters fetch me some shiny gold pieces, or they’ll repay me in other ways…!”

Choking through blood, Hiashi stared past the slaver’s legs to his daughters huddled in the corner. Unable to speak, his apology went unuttered, shown only in the regret in his eyes.

Shivering and sobbing, they watched as the life left him.

“Get them in t’fucking cart! We’ve wasted enough time.” Stepping over Hiashi’s corpse, he made to leave, his remaining man hauling a girl up under each arm.

That was a week past.

Sitting in the rear of the cart with several other el’ven children, Hinata holds Hanabi to her side, gaze distant and unseeing. They’ll soon reach the city where they’re to be sold. All she can hope for now is that they’re bought together: a matching set. If she loses her sister…

Hanabi dozes fitfully, twitching and whimpering. Sparing a hand to pet at her hair, Hinata has little else to offer against the nightmares. Even now the visions of their mother being hauled away, and their father’s murder are fresh in her mind.

She doubts they’ll ever fade.

But before she can ponder anything else, there’s a desperate whinny from the horses. The cart jostles, stirring the children from their collective stupors. Shouts break out...and Hinata can smell smoke.

“Nata, what do we do?!” Hanabi cries, clinging to her sister.

“Just...h-hold on!” Holding her close, she moves to the back of the wagon with the others. Abandoning the moving matchbox, they get a full view of the scene.

Fires scatter over the roads, other carts in the caravan ablaze. The slavers wield bows and blades, attempting to fight off people in the trees that line the road. Fiery arrows are shot with deadly accuracy: hitting both human and wooden targets.

Then several people come from the trees, wearing masks and clothed in cloaks. Fire bends to their will, and Hinata can’t help a gasp

Those are igni mages…!

The children huddle together, joined by others from the remaining carts. While the ambush plays out, several figures move toward them: the same masked, cloaked people. Two women gesture for calm. “Don’t worry! We’re here to get you out! Stay still and quiet, little ones - you’ll soon be free!”

Holding her little sister tightly, Hinata can only watch as the fighting slowly comes to a stop. Bodies litter the road, great black plumes of smoke rising from the carts, horses scattering as they’re cut loose.

“Sasuke?!”

Among the children, one boy cries out. “Brother!”

Another el’ven, barely older than the eldest among them, races forward to meet one of the children. Alongside him, one of the women kneels to embrace them both. She must be their mother.

Others then gather, removing their masks to reveal faces set with red eyes. “Keep calm, children,” a square-jawed man rumbles. “We will gather the bodies, and use the blood to undo your seals. Patience.” He then joins the reunion, and Hinata can’t help but guess: they must be the leaders of this band of rebels...here to free one of their own that was taken.

If not for him...they surely the rest would…?

Identifying their sealers, the children are, one by one, released from their blood bonds. Cries of relief fill the air as Hinata and Hanabi join those unbound.

“We will do our best to find ways to get you back to your families,” the leader, called Fugaku, announces. “Those who have none to return to...we will find you new homes.”

“Please, sir,” Hinata inquires in a hoarse whisper. “Our f-father, he was...he was killed! And our mother was taken, I k-know not where!”

“Stay calm, little one. We’ll do what we can. But for now, we’ll all retreat to our camp. You all need food, and water...and rest.”

Nearby, the one called Sasuke sits closely with his brother, clinging to him as Hanabi clings to Hinata. Noting the parallel, she hesitantly approaches. “Are...are you all right?”

He gives a weary nod. “...I knew they’d come for me…I knew they would…”

Looking to his brother softly, the older then lifts his ruby gaze to Hinata. “...you are disciples of Auquiana, are you not?”

“Y...yes.”

“Then surely you came from the coast...there are few of your kind here.”

“We have to find our mama!” Hanabi cuts in, earning a sympathetic glance.

“...we’ll try to help you find her. But first, we must organize. We did not expect so many other children to have been captured…”

“So...we’ll stay with you…?” Hinata dares to ask.

“For a time. Our resources are limited - we hide here, in these woods. We must be careful. But our scouts will try to return those we can home. Anyone else...we will find new homes for.”

“But our mother -?”

“May be difficult to find. Our kinds are trafficked all over the lands,” Itachi cuts in firmly, but gently. “...we will do our best. For now...you should rest. The next few days will be trying. Stick close to us. We’ll keep you safe.”

Doing her best not to cry, Hinata settles down beside them, holding her sister tightly. They’ve escaped one tragedy...but can they escape the rest?

.oOo.

Welp, this...isn't really what I wanted this to be, but I'm honestly exhausted @~@ I had a really...not great day, and writing just isn't really happening well today. But I tried. So in another era of my original fantasy verse...this happens. The elves are forced into hiding, and many are captured by humans and forced into slavery of various forms. The era I've written up until now with this challenge is a long time after this - decades and decades, when things are again beginning to change. I've wanted to do some pieces with this particular setting. I just...didn't get to do the best job of it this time around OTL Sorry, guys. Anyway, it's not exactly...shippy, but I might be able to do more another time to get more into that. I try not to let these get too long, and I'm too tired to do so tonight anyway. But either way, I hope you enjoyed it - thanks for reading~

#sasuhina #uchiha sasuke #hyūga hinata #hyūga hanabi #uchiha itachi #hyūga hiashi #uchiha fugaku #blood //#death //#vulgarity //#divine light [ au ]#365daysofsasuhina

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kizakuza-blog1 · 6 years ago

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DKs Van Life Take 1: The test

Last year, two weeks before Drew, my partner, and I were ready to set off on our first official overseas trip together, I was admitted to hospital for a week and then told I couldn’t fly.

That feeling of being trapped set in about a month later, when my condition was being managed and I realised I had been told I couldn’t do the one thing I live for – exploring the world.

So what does one do when they are grounded from flying? Camper Van it!! Drew was in love with the idea instantly and we started planning. Wondering whether buy a van straight up or should we hire first? We decided to do a test trip before we buy and here we are.

The Test. 10 Days going South of Sydney heading to the Great Ocean Road and back through the Barossa Valley. 3,548kms will be travelled in total.

Our hot tips for a van life. Season vanlifers, I’m sure already know these, though for any newbies out there we highly recommend making note:

1. Baby wipe baths. When you have no idea where you’ll be setting up camp or where the next shower is, baby wipe baths is one way to stay fresh.

2. Head torches. Even when you have light in the van, it’s never quite enough. When you’re parked in a remote area or if you want to go for some night exploring. These babies are your best friends.

3. Bucket Toilet. Now when this was first suggested to me I was like, umm really!! But ladies I assure you, in the middle of the night when you’ve parked your van in the most beautiful spot you can find, but there are no facilities, the bucket toilet is your saviour. Whether you make your own or do what we did and invest in one from your local camping store. I promise you’ll be most grateful you did.

Day 1: Heading to our first stay. We chose Tumut, a cute little place with a free camp site, nestled between the mountains and a trout filled river. It was a little in-land as day two takes us to the Milawa Cheese Company before heading down to the Mornington Peninsular.

Here we are, head touches on, setting up the van for the first time. It’s about 8pm, the roof is popped and I start transferring our things up in the top storage section in preparation to make up the bed. Drew starts prepping to cook up a storm on our little Webber......Then it hit me..….we forgot the doona/quilt/duvet!! Basically we had sheets and a blanket to keep us warm on our first night….Snuggle time!!

For anyone vanning down the east coast of OZ looking for a free camp site. No facilities, however plenty of wood to make a little camp fire, simply put ‘The Tumut Wetlands’ into your GPS. It’ll take you approx. 4hrs 25 mins South of Sydney.

Day 2: After a chilli night, we wake up to a crisp morning and the sounds of the running river. We pack up and head into town for a coffee and to buy a doona. Next stop The Milawa Cheese Company, approx. 3hrs away. We highly recommend stopping in and tasting their cheese. They do sampling between 9am and 4pm and I promise, you won’t be disappointed. Our Favourite, the King River Gold.

From there we start our hardcore drive to Barwon Heads to meet up for a few drinks with. Just over 6hrs drive away.

We had planned to get an unpowered site at the caravan park situated right on the water, but we arrived to late, they were already closed. Good news though, there is a long car park that runs behind it, better view and another score for a free place to set up. As an added bonus it’s a 2 minute stroll to the local pub.

If you’re heading down that way the street name is Ewing Blyth Drive, Barwon Heads.

Day 3: Bells Beach Australia!! Even if you’re not a surfer, everyone has seen the movie and knows about the Classic Bells Beach and the 50 year storm – even though the movie wasn’t filmed at the real Bells Beach, it’s still a destination to visit. Just a short 8 minute drive out of Torquay’s town center.

This beautiful beach hosts the Rip Curl Pro surf comp every Easter bringing professional surfers from all over the world. Unfortunately, it’s not a Van friendly town, so you need to be strategic when selecting where you set up for the night. There are many breath-taking places, you’ll be right.

Day 4: We consider this our real first day on our little trip, as neither of us have been past this point. We decided to have no real plan, to just take each moment as it comes. For me who is a massive planner, this was the first time ever I was just going with it. And I am loving every minute.

Drew is a massive coffee drinker, can’t start his day without one and recommends popping into the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery before heading on to your next destination.

Heading down the Great Ocean Road we were both craving a hot shower. Baby wipe baths are great and all, however as we all know, nothing beats a nice hot shower. If you’re driving through Lorne Victoria. Lorne Sea Baths. $10.50 entry, if you have some extra time you can have fun in their pool, relax in the spa and steam room. Although if you’re like us and just in need of a hot shower, this is the place to stop.

Although Lorne provided a great spot to stop for a shower, we decided to move on to Apollo Bay.

The road to Apollo Bay is striking. Winding up and down on the side of the high cliffs, before making your way down to the humble little town on the other side.

Another town that isn’t camper van friendly, however we were lucky to get a hot tip from a local that told us about a little spot, right next to the beach, where we could set up for the night. And we’re going to share the secret... As you’re driving into the town, with Lorne behind you, take the first left into a little tree covered car park, just before the Big4 Caravan park up on the right.

We love Apollo Bay, it reminds us of the North Shore in Hawaii with stunning mountains on one side and the ocean on the other, the perfect balance of earth and water living side by side.

Day 5: There are many sites to see around Apollo Bay. If you’re into Hiking and seeing the ancient trees and waterfalls, make sure you give yourself time to explore. We took a little 30 minute forest walk through Maits Rest, getting a shameless tourist picture in the famous tree belly, before heading off down the Great Ocean Road to see the remaining 12 Apostles.

It’s wondrous how some eroded rocks being shaped by the battering sea, can attract so many people to see them. As we turn into the first look out, at Castle Cove, we are marvelled, just as the others before us. Mesmerised, watching the sea crash into the bottom of the rocks we start to understand why these awe-inspiring natural structures draw such big crowds every day.

Stopping at every look out to take photos we finished the day at the little community town Port Campbell. We are delighted to hear they had a bush style camping ground for both powered and unpowered sites. Full outside kitchen and hot showers. Unpowered sites are only $10pp. Powered sites $20pp with all proceeds going towards the community. You can also hire fire barrels for $20 deposit and $25 for a bag of wood. Just punch in Port Campbell Recreation Reserve into your GPS. It’s close to town so if you want to eat out, it’s just a 5 minute, easy walk in. After you’ve showered and picked your camp spot for the night.

Don’t forget your head torches. Although the sky is filled with stars, it’s a dark walk back.

Day 6: As we make our way to the Coonawarra down the remaining Great Ocean Road, we are breath-taken by the structures on the other side of the 12 Apostles. It’s strange no one talks as much about this side of the Great Ocean Road, we think this spectacular coastline, with more sea battered structures are equally, if not better than the reaming 12 Apostles. We highly recommend stopping at every look out to take a peak and many photos. All except the Grotto, you won’t miss anything if you skip that one.

Another place you can skip is ‘Cheese World’. Don’t get excited. It is the smallest world of cheese we’ve ever come across, and really not worth the stop, unless you’re busting for the bathroom.

We pull into the Coonawarra, the town is actually called Penola, punch this into your GPS, not the Coonawarra wine region. We arrived a few minutes before the information center closed and was please to be told there is another bush style camping ground just up the road. This one was nestled amongst the vineyards. It has tepee style tents and one of those igloo ones. $10pp for unpowered sites. $25pp for powered/glamping sites.

Day 7: To the Barossa, after doing a little wine tasting along the Coonawarra strip. More Drew tasting, but a tiny sip was had by myself and with great delight I discovered my new favorite winery. Penley Estate. They have the most exquisite glasses, which are available for purchase. We bought four. Best impulse stop ever.

We decided to stay at the Murray Bridge, before the Barossa. We had set off later than expected and we were in no rush.

Day 8: The Barossa is about 3 hours from the Coonawarra and there’s not too much along the way. So crank that stereo and sing your way through it.

The town was full of people. There was some festival on, it was crazy. We find a side street to park in and walk through the streets towards the sounds of an auction. They were auctioning weird stuff, like a sacks of potatoes at the bargain price of $50. Anyway!! We made our way to find were we had booked a delightful degustation dinner at Appellation. I was so excited, this would be our first degustation. Drew’s more into the hardy meaty meals so the moment he suggested finding a great place for dinner, I was onto it.

Little did I know, he had a plan. I can’t believe I had no idea.

We found where we were going to set up for the night, close the restaurant. We discovered one of my favorite mid week wines ‘The running with the Bulls’, was made by Yalumba so we headed out to their vineyard to see if we could snap a good cellar door price. Unfortunately, no, the price was pretty much the same as I can get at home. Lets go to lunch and find a hot shower. We found a hot shower and got ready for our amazing dinner.

The Restaurant had a bar which overlooked the thousands of grape vines scattered amongst the small hills below. As we sipped out first drink, Drew noticed they had a life size chess set. He loves a competition and we had some time to kill before our reservation. As the sun started to set Drew says he needs his sunnies and went out to the car. I stood there sipping beautiful wine out of a gorgeous Ridel stemless glass, freezing my ass off. Drew comes make, makes a move and then goes in to get more drinks. By this time I was wondering why he wasn’t concentrating on the game and trying to win.

He urged me to abandon the game and come for a walk in the vines to watch the sun set. And the next thing I know Drew pulls a ring box from his pocket and is down on one knee. I said yes.

Wearing my sparkly new ring I couldn’t stop staring at it as we were seated for dinner. The waitress picked up on it and congratulated us with a glass of Champagne. We choose the 4 course degustation menu and were delighted to know that you don’t have to have all four sections. This was perfect for us as we don’t eat dessert. So we worked out how we could try most of the menu in the four courses. The flavour combinations and presentation was spectacular and the absolute perfect place to celebrate our engagement.

Day 9: The trek back home begins. There’s not a lot to see today. There’s a whole lot of nothing over the dry plains except for sheep, the odd emu and kangaroo. After 7 hrs of solid driving, we decided to stay at another bush style camp ground at Hay. $10pp, nice hot showers and our last dinner in the van.

Day 10: It’s time to hand Johnno back. Up bright and early to detail him then back to Sydney we go. We had stopped into Robertson to have dinner with Drew’s mom and celebrate our engagement with his sister and cute little niece and nephew. What an amazing journey. The test score was in…..we will be buying a van.

Thanks for coming on the ride with us on our first van life adventure. Follow our other travel adventures @kizakuza on Instagram.

#dksvanlife

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caravans123 · 15 days ago

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Discover Melbourne’s Best Off-Road Hybrid Caravans for Unforgettable Adventures

Melbourne’s off-road destinations are waiting to be explored, and the right off-road hybrid caravan can make your adventure unforgettable. Hybrid caravans, like those from Maverick Campers, offer a perfect blend of rugged durability and modern comforts. With features such as reinforced chassis, higher ground clearance, and solar power systems, they effortlessly handle tough terrains while ensuring comfort. Whether you’re heading to the Grampians or the Victorian High Country, Maverick Campers provide the reliability and flexibility needed for off-road journeys. Invest in a top-quality hybrid caravan to experience Melbourne’s diverse landscapes in comfort and style! Visit For More

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destinyrvsblog · 2 months ago

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Discover Off Road Caravans - Australian Made in gold coast

Are you ready to explore the rugged beauty of Australia with unparalleled comfort? Look no further! At Destiny RVM, we specialize in crafting high-quality off road caravans that are proudly Australian made right here in gold coast.

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bigmuuk-blog · 6 years ago

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Kroq-Gar and the Last Defenders

What follows is a short story written by me to be used as a script during the production of a YouTube video. The video is the beginning of the Last Defenders campaign in Total War: Warhammer 2 - Mortal Empires video game. I played and documented the actions I chose, the effects of those choices, the AI's actions and the events I observed during my gameplay. I included my knowledge of the Warhammer Fantasy World's lore to flesh out the story. With that said, enjoy the story and feel free to leave constructive critcism.

Kroq-Gar strode up the main thoroughfare toward the huge temple at the center of Hexoatl. Each of his strides were slow, but long, methodical and rhythmic. Almost as if he were marching to the sound of a drummer that only he could hear. His dispassionate gaze never strayed from his line of travel, as if nothing could distract him fom single mindedly pursuing his mission. The skink priest sent to escort him scurried to stay ahead of him. He was trying to escort him as commanded by Lord Mazdamundi, but it seemed as if this Saurus didn't even know he was there. What was not known to the priest however, was that this "saurus" had spawned in this very city thousands of years ago. Kroq-Gar had become a Lord of Legendary reputation when he and his brethren had fought to the last man defending this city from the hordes of Chaos during the wars following the "Great Catastrophe", long before this skink had emerged from the spawning pool.

Before they reached the Great Pyramid Temple, they came to a place in the road where there stood two full contingents of the Temple Guard. They were all Armed with great halberds and armored in gold and bone plates. They stood silently, blocking the way forward. Behind them, the great floating palaquin of Lord Mazdamundi could be seen gently bobbing on the magical energies used to move the enormous gold and stone throne. When Kroq-Gar and his escort approached, the two units of Temple Guard wordlessly opened a pathway between them as they wheeled to face each other. When the movement was complete, each guard lifted his halberd and quickly slammed the butt on the ground. The maneuver was so perfectly timed that only a single thunderous "boom" could be heard. Before the Saurus Lord proceeded, he saluted the highly revered Temple Guardsmen and his salute was returned by every one of the guards in unison before a single heartbeat had passed.

On the other side of the Temple Guard units, he found the Legendary Slann Priest waiting for him. Lord Mazdamundi, sitting cross-legged atop his floating palaquin, was dressed for battle wearing his ceremonial helmet and wielding his scepter that doubled as a mace. His skink attendants were near his side, and behind Mazdamundi, Kroq-Gar saw other units of lizardmen warriors in marching formations. It was clear to Kroq-Gar that Mazdamundi was setting out on an expedition. When Kroq-Gar reached a point approximately three sword lengths from the front of the palaquin, he dropped to one knee and bowed his head.

Kroq-Gar's consciousness was filled with the voice of Mazdamundi as if the Slaan were speaking directly into both of his ears at once. "Rise Mighty Kroq-Gar, I summoned you not for your submission, but to fulfil your part in the Great Plan". Kroq-Gar stood. In his mind's eye he could see images flashing by. Images of Chaos Warriors and demons marching into the world of man from the wastelands. Images of Dark Elves raiding costal settlements and herding slaves onto their ships. Images of Beastmen attacking caravans and plundering villages. Images of Vampire Lords spreading their vampiric corruption from behind armies of those who had already fallen in battle. And worst of all, images of Skaven, the most hated enemy of the Lizardmen. The vile rat-men had returned to spread their diseases and plagues across the land.

Kroq-gar growled at the revelations Mazdamundi was presenting to him. "Yes Kroq-Gar, the servants of evil and chaos again seek to unbalance this world. Again we must got to war".

Kroq-Gar's one word reply was both question and answer, "Where?".

Mazdamundi had forseen the Saurus Lords reply and had barely paused to receive it before continuing on. "The Southlands are in peril. The area is without leadership. The Geomantic Web is weak. Go there. Rebuild the web so that it's strands will again join with those of Lustria". Mazdamundi spoke in short sentences to avoid overwhelming Kroq-Gar's mind. While he was a very gifted Saurus, he was still just a Saurus.

"How much war?", the Saurus Lord asked, contemplating any possible limitations.

"Total War!", came the reply. "Do what you must".

To this Kroq-Gar slowly lifted his chin while extending his head forward. He emitted two growling bark like shouts. All nearby activity ceased. Because, no one else was privy to the conversation taking place in Kroq-Gar's mind, the skink attendants, the temple guard, and the nearest formations of warriors, all struggled to decipher whether or not they or their Lord were in danger. Every eye in the vicinity watched as Kroq-Gar slowly brought his head back down to meet the gaze of Mazdamundi. It's usually hard to tell with Saurus, especially with Saurus as old and distinguished as Kroq-Gar, but those present had no doubt that the expression on the old warrior's face was a smile.

"Take with you Ra'tok, the priest that escorted you to this place. Make use of his talents and consider his counsel. Fight well Mighty Kroq-Gar".

A few weeks travel by ship brought Kroq-Gar to the Temple City called The Temple of Skulls, in the province known as "The Kingdom of Beasts". Upon his arrival, he inspected the ancient Temple City. He found that the city had been neglected and was nearly deserted. The Temple of Skulls had fallen from it's former glory since the time of the Old Ones, and his mission here was clear. His first order of business was to have the ceremonial spawning pools cleared and prepared for use. Kroq-Gar mustered what few units of troops were available and headed out into the nearby jungle to get the lay of the land.

A single unit of saurus warriors armed with spears and shields, a unit of mace wielding saurus warriors, two units of skinks armed with javelins and shields, a unit of saurus spearmen mounted on cold ones and a feral stegadon were all that could be mustered on such short notice. In addition to being few in number, they were unblooded. Meaning that Kroq-Gar's new units had yet to see battle. He marched anyway. Seeing the impenetrable mountain range to his west, he decided to march east, towards the coast.

Ra'tok, the skink priest, was overseeing the clearing of the spawning pools when he heard the shouts of the warriors manning the gatehouse. He quickly got himself into a position where he could see the gates and witnessed Kroq-Gar marching from the city with a small contingent of troops. Mazdamundi's words came back to him, "Stay with Kroq-Gar and assist him in all that he does. His importance to the great plan cannot be measured. He will need your magic, and your counsel". Ra'tok, realizing that Kroq-Gar was about to leave him behind, scrambled down from his observation point and hurried off to catch up with him.

Kroq-Gar had marched his troops up the road north and east of the city when a familiar smell came to him on the breeze. Skaven! He was absolutely incensed that the disgusting ratmen were close enough to the Temple City that he could smell them. He took his small force and marched them into the wind. His predatory instincts leading him toward the unseen enemy. He watched his troops carefully as they marched. The Saurus warriors were the first to show signs of agitation. He could see their heads lifted to the wind, their nostrils flaring and their anxious glances at the tree lines. A short time later, the Skinks and the Stegadon could be seen lifting their noses to the wind as well. Even Ra'tok, the city dwelling priest, seemed to notice. Once he was sure they all could smell that something was awry, he halted the march and addressed his troops. "Skaven!", he spat out the word as if it were rancid meat. "That is smell that fouls the air! That is the smell that tightens your jaw and speeds your heart. Skaven must die! All Skaven must die! When you smell Skaven, ready your arms!" he shouted. "Arms ready!?" he bellowed. The troops all immediately answered in unison by banging their weapons on their shields, or by beating their chest with their free hand.

Sure that his troops were ready to fight, both physically and mentally, he marched them forward. As they crested a ridge, they could see the Skaven formation in the valley below them. Kroq-Gar estimated that the forces were almost evenly matched, but the ratmen were just out of the reach of a good charge. The Skaven lookouts shouted their warnings, and the enemy had already started to react. The Lizardmen had exposed themselves too soon. Had Kroq-Gar not been so angry when he set off towards them, it may have occured to him to approach more stealthily. A surprise attack would have tipped the scales decidedly in his favor.

Kroq-Gar noted his mistake and wasted no more energy on mourning the missed opportunity. The Saurus Lord and his troops continued forward. He could sense the anticipation building in his formation and observed his warriors as they struggled to restrain themselves and maintain formation. He was pleased that his warriors were both aggressive and disciplined. As his formation marched down into the valley, the Skaven formed up and rapidly marched away from them. The man rats were known to be light on their feet and were able to outpace the Lizardmen. The Saurus Lord's formation, slowed by the heavier Saurus Warriors and the Stegadon, pursued at a steady, disciplined pace until the ratmen disappeared into the tree line.

After considering the possibilities, Kroq-Gar ordered his formation to halt. The Lizardmen could pursue the Skaven into the forest, but should there be a battle, his troops would be exhausted before it even started. He also had no knowledge of what else may be in the forest awaiting him. So, instead of marching into a possible ambush, the battle wizened General elected to take some time to gather more information and possibly more troops. He motioned to his skink leaders, and they immediately sent a half dozen scouts into the forest.

Further to the northeast, Kroq-Gar could see the tops of humanoid crafted structures sticking up above the tree line. He looked to Ra'tok and spoke, "we know not what is in the forest," he gestured to the tree line where the Skaven had disappeared. "Kroq-Gar not march into forest until scouts return." "We know not what is in the city," he gestured to the northeast. "You go to city. Watch. Listen. Smell. Come back to camp and tell me what you find". "We make new camp up on hill, where we can see far around us," he gestured to the ridge behind them. "I send for more troops while we wait". Ra'tok nodded in understanding, grabbed a few skink runners and set off toward the ruins.

After the priest had left, Kroq-Gar marched his troops back to the top of the ridge. When he found a place that suited him, he halted the march and ordered that camp be made and watches be set. He then called for one of his skink unit leaders to send his fastest runner to The Temple of Skulls to requisition more Saurus Warriors. Satisfied that he had done all that he could for the time being, he settled in to await developments.

Ra'tok traveled just inside the tree line along the road headed northeast until he came upon the outskirts of what appeared to be the ruins of a city. According to the plaques along the roadside, the city was last known to be a Lizardmen Temple City called The Serpent Coast. The closer he got to the city, the thicker the air became with the stench of disease, decay and Skaven. He found a place from which he could observe most of the city and remain hidden. If the city had walls in the past, there was no sign of them now. In fact, there were no defensive preparations left intact, and not a single inhabitant could be seen. At night, while he was practicing his newly learned incantation, "Harmonic Convergence," his eyes could just make out the faint sickly green glow of warpstone, and the movement of shadowy figures amongst the rubble. It was on the third day when he witnessed the Skaven garrison emerge from the city, form up and go out on patrol. He counted six units, all flying the banner of Clan Mordkin. One unit had further Skaven markings that announced the garrison leader was present in the formation, and that he was called Scalpite the Fabricator. The priest sent a runner out to Kroq-Gar immediately.

When the skink scouts returned to camp, they had come with news that the Skaven formation they had pursued had ran to a location west of the ruined city that Kroq-Gar had spied to his northeast. From there, the Skaven had turned and were last seen heading northwest. When Ra'tok's runner arrived, he brought news that there was Skaven activity within the ruins of what once was a Temple City called The Serpent Coast. Ra'tok had sent word that the six units of Skaven he had observed all appeared to be low born Skaven and skaven slaves. As Kroq-Gar was receiving his brief, his lookouts reported that three units of Saurus Warriors could be seen approaching from the west. The Saurus Lord immediately gave the order to strike camp, and to form up. He wanted to march as soon as the reinforcements reached the camp site. Today was the last day that the vile ratmen would defile the former Temple City.

When the reinforcements arrived, Kroq-Gar inspected his new troops. They were armed only with single handed melee weapons. Kroq-Gar had hoped that they would be bearing shields as well, but the runner had advised him that the blacksmiths were struggling to get ahead of the new demand for supplies. He knew there wasn't much use in bemoaning the circumstances and he would just have to be satisfied in the knowledge that his troops were more than up to the task of pounding some ratmen in to oblivion. With his inspection completed, he issued the order to march on The Serpent Coast and exterminate any Skaven they could find.

Kroq-Gar made his approach to the ruined city by marching right down the road. He knew there was no approach to the city that the Skaven would not be watching. He also knew the Skaven may attempt to ambush his formation. In fact, he welcomed it. If he could draw the entirety of the Skaven garrison out to ambush his troops, it would make the task of clearing out the city after he annihilated them, just that much easier.

To guard against ambush, he had set up his formation in a defensive posture that could be quickly shifted into a more aggressive stance. Kroq-Gar put his Saurus warriors up front and backed them up with his Javelin throwers. Anybody approaching from the front would do so under heavy fire and ultimately end up nose to nose with his warriors. The rear of the formation was covered by his unit of spearmen, the Feral Stegadon, and his reptilian cavalry. Anybody approaching from the rear would do so at the risk of being trampled or gored by the monstrous creature, run through by a Saurus spear or eaten alive by a Cold One.

Kroq-Gar positioned himself near the center of his formation where he could be aware of all that happened, and respond accordingly. When he got to the point that there was but one line of trees left between him and the first structures on the outskirts of the city, he had yet to see his enemy. Regardless, he knew they were there. He could smell them.

As he marched his formation over a small rise, he finally caught sight of his enemy. There were two units of Skaven perched atop a hill next to a ruined structure; they looked like skirmishers from this distance. There were also four units forming a battle line behind the hill. Straight ahead, Kroq-Gar could see two hilltops between him and the city. If he could make it to the second hill, he would have his force directly between the Skaven force and the city. Which meant that if they broke and ran, as the ratmen were known to do, they would be running away from the city. Exactly the direction he wanted them to go.

Kroq-Gar kept his units marching forward at a brisk but efficient pace. He wanted to conserve their energy for fighting. The formation descended from the ridge, down into the trees that filled the little valley, the last view Kroq-Gar had of his foe put them off of his left front flank. He could tell his troops were anxious to get to grips with the enemy, because he could hear the unit commanders barking orders at their troops as their soldiers struggled to keep their aggression in check and their formations tight. Using the forest to obscure their movements, he sent his Cold One Riders to a position near the closest flank of the enemy formation. If the enemy approached through the trees, his cavalry should be able to alert him in time to intercept. This also put the cavalry in a good position to flank, so long as they remained undetected.

When they ascended the first hill, the Skaven didn't react but to pivot their formation to face the Lizardmen. Kroq-Gar pressed on. He knew that if he hesitated, they may not make it to the hill he was aiming for. His troops kept a wary eye to their left as their movement was exposing the left flank of their formation to the enemy. Some even snarled their disapproval. All the while, the Skaven just watched.

As they crested the second hill, Kroq-Gar wheeled his formation around to the left so that his lines were parallel to the Skaven formation and called for a halt. As his troops settled into their spots, he watched and waited. He waited for the Skaven commander to realize that the Lizardmen were now between him and the city he was supposed to be defending. If the head ratman ever figured it out, there was no outward sign of it. The Skaven just seemed to be standing across from the Lizardmen as if they were waiting for something to happen. Kroq-Gar waited for something to happen as well. When no ambush came, when no reinforcements arrived, when no charge came, the Saurus Lord realized that the initiative was his. The Skaven had no surprises. They had no chance.

The ground between his position and that of the Skaven contained a descent into a small valley lined with trees, and then an ascent up to a ridge line on the opposing side. He ordered his formation forward. They descended the hill and moved into the trees. Just as the front of his formation broke the tree line, the skirmishers atop the ridge moved forward. Presumably to make room for the Skaven line to take the ridge behind them.

Kroq-Gar had anticipated this and had planned to use the cover of the trees to obscure the execution of the surprise he had planned. He shouted a command and instantly the Stegadon charged forward to take the hill top before the Skaven could reoccupy it. Saurus and Skink alike dove out of the way as the Stegadon thundered through the middle of the formation and broke clear of the tree line. Kroq-gar halted his skink troops at the edge of the tree line and had them fire at the Night Runners as they came down the hill throwing weapons of their own. Almost immediately, the Skaven skirmishers broke off to Kroq-Gar's right, away from the flying javelins and the raging Stegadon. Behind the Stegadon, he led his Saurus Warriors straight up the hill.

The Skaven front line advanced toward the ridge. When they crested the hill, they had expected to see Lizardmen struggling up the incline and to easily cut down them down because they held the high ground. What they saw instead was several hundred tons of muscle, bone, and fury running at a dead sprint from the trees right toward the middle of their lines. Just before impact, the Stegadon lowered his head, exposing his deadly horns and turning his bony skull into a giant plow. The stegadon was deep into the Skaven ranks when he pitched his head back and flung scores of Skaven into the air. Some flew into the air high above the trees and then crashed to the earth in and around the formation, while others flew just barely over the heads of their compatriots, only to land in a broken heap dozens of yards behind the formation. Those in the path of the great beast were either gored or tossed away like leaves on the wind. Others were trampled under the enormous weight of the beast, or swept aside by the creature's tail as he spun, lunged and stomped through the ratmen's formations. The initial assault was so terrible, it caused one unit of Clanrats to flee in terror almost immediately.

The Skaven tried in vain to stab and slash the Stegadon, but the creature's hide was just too thick and the scales too hard. As the four Skaven units moved to encircle the Stegadon, they noticed the Lizardmen charging up the hill. Initially, they moved to surround the Stegadon, but the Skaven commander caught his error and sent two of his units down to meet the Lizardmen. But even that was a mistake, Kroq-Gar quickly sandwiched each of the two units between two of his own units.

Kroq-Gar spotted an opening and ordered the Cold one riders around the open flank on the left side. Then, the Saurus Lord roared and charged into the fray himself. He grabbed one unlucky rat by the throat, lifted him high overhead and then, with his spear, he struck the wretched creature with such force that his broken corpse landed a good thirty yards away. Seeing this, the enemy unit realized that they were grossly outclassed and they routed. Kroq-Gar and his infantry continued to bludgeon, hack and stab any rat too slow to escape.

The Cold One Riders emerged from the trees and circled around to the Skaven's rear unopposed. The skirmishers were their target.

Scalpite and his unit were fighting on two fronts, as was the other unit he had sent to contest the Lizardman battle line. The last second maneuver he'd ordered had completely compromised the Skaven's flank on their right side. He could see the cavalry sweeping around through the opening, circling behind his formation. His troops, following his gaze, also witnessed his blunder and began to look for a way out. A few of the more opportunistic Clanrats in his unit spotted an open path back toward the ruins and decided to use their speed advantage to escape the brutish Lizardmen. The less opportunistic, seeing their compatriots on the move, became a lot more opportunistic right around that time and followed.

As the Night Runners hurled their thrown weapons at the Stegadon, almost all of them bounced harmlessly off of the beast's scales. The weapons were too light to get much penetration. In front of them, the Skaven line had started to falter, and some were fleeing. The skirmishers, were already backpedaling, when they noticed the mounted Saurus Warriors bearing down on them. They tried to run away, and some even hurled missiles at the cavalry in an effort to slow their advance. But, it was too late, most of the unit had their backs turned when they were overrun by the Cold One Riders.

The Cold One Riders ran down the Night Runner unit under a hail of thrown missiles. With their shields held high to protect their heads, they ruthlessly charged into the rear of the formation. Some of the mounts leapt into the air to add their momentum to their rider's spear thrust, others grabbed cowering rats in their massive jaws and flung them across the formation. The Skaven tried to use their superior numbers to surround and overwhelm the dozen or so Cavalry units, but the lizards didn't seem to mind.

Kroq-Gar order a few of his units to hold the ground that the Skaven had relinquished, and allowed the others continue pursuing the fleeing Skaven to keep them on the run. The unit of Night Runners pinned down by his cavalry had proven to be rather tenacious. Even under heavy pressure, they stood and fought. Seeing this, he motioned to the Stegadon and the great beast lowered his head and charged through their ranks. Still they fought on. It wasn't until Kroq-Gar himself charged in their direction that they faltered. When they finally broke and ran, Kroq-Gar sent the cavalry after the other unit of Night Runners, they were the only real threat left on the field at this point.

The remaining Night Runners had seen what happened to the other unit of skirmishers. So, as soon as they saw the Cavalry turn their way, they began hurling missiles at them and ran into the tree line. By weaving through the trees, the ratmen had hoped to slow the much larger Cold Ones and perhaps evade them in the forest. They continued to hurl weapons at them, but the reptiles' hard scales and shields diminished the effect their light weapons. The Skaven ran as fast as they could, but the lizards relentlessly pursued them. The inevitable came to pass as the cavalry caught up with them and the Night Runners began to fall to spear and tooth and claw. The only survivors were those who didn't look back and ran with reckless abandon.

Scalpite was able to rally his fleeing unit and attempted to reengage the Lizardmen. The fight didn't last long as a unit of Saurus Warriors had been pursuing them and descended upon his battered unit only to resume savagely bludgeoning his troops into the afterlife. The sight of a second unit of Lizardmen charging in their direction convinced his troops that all was lost and they broke and ran. All across the battlefield, the Skaven Commander could see his units running away, trailing corpses as the Lizardmen nipped at their heels. As the last of his units quit looking over their shoulder for leadership, and focused on running away, so too did he. The Skaven Garrison at The Serpent Coast was scattered into the four winds.

With the last of the Skaven disappearing into the distance, Kroq-Gar turned his attention to the battlefield. He rallied his troops and they all searched for survivors. As they searched the piles of corpses, they discovered that they were all Skaven. Some of the Lizardmen were wounded, but all were accounted for. As for the Skaven, over half of their number lay about the battlefield. Discovered amongst the casualties was a flaming sword. The Saurus that found it brought it to his General. Kroq-Gar recognized it immediately. He saluted his soldier and took the weapon.

"The Burning Blade of Chotec," he announced, holding it high above his head for all to see. "We take back great weapon from the rats!". "Kroq-Gar use fire of Chotec to kill more Skaven! Cleanse all temple cities in Southlands!"

The troops all roared at the proclamation.

Kroq-Gar commanded that the Temple City be purged of all Skaven influence. All of the corpses from the battle and the garbage that had been cleared out of the ruins were piled onto a great pyre. With all of his warriors present, Krog-Gar wordlessly ignited the pyre with the Burning Blade of Chotec and they all watched the fire as it eradicated all traces of the ratmen. With the cleansing ceremony completed, he set his workers to work rebuilding the temple and getting a skink foraging camp up and running. He was going to need food. Lots of food to support his troops, laborers, tradesmen and surrounding citizens.

The next day, while Kroq-Gar and Ra'tok were going over a new marching formation that showed promise of increasing the distance his troops could cover each day, a skink emissary was brought into the camp by Kroq-Gar's sentries. The emissary reported that the Dwarven Lord Thrund Holdfast of Karak Norn had agreed to the non-aggression pact proposed by Kroq-Gar. "a pact with the Dwarves?," Ra'tok asked incredulously.

"Yes. Dwarves are enemy of our enemies. Dwarves like to stay in mountains. With our promise, Dwarves stay in mountains and fight enemies there," explained Kroq-Gar. "Dwarves like trade. We need resources to build army." Kroq-Gar went back to working on his "Route Marching" formation, effectively ending the discussion on the topic.

Ra'tok saw the wisdom in the Saurus Lord's words, but he was still distrustful of the other races. He would have to learn more about diplomacy if he were to be effective counsel for Kroq-Gar. This Saurus was different than the others it seemed. Kroq-Gar was far more capable than what he had come to expect from the other Saurus that he'd had dealings with. Perhaps he will ask Lord Mazdamundi more about him the next time they commune.

The Saurus Lord surveyed his camp and decided that he had done what he could for the day. Tonight his troops would rest, but tomorrow at first light, they would be marching. There were Skaven to kill.

Should you be interested, the video version of this story can be found at:

https://youtu.be/yIrPRsahzHU

#wip #amwriting #writingtip #writing #warhammer

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harkath · 3 years ago

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Banditry was rare on the King’s Road. Whatever this was, never. Kaius folded his arms beneath his cloak and tried to hide his disquiet from his fellows. A caravan had been waylaid- destroyed, really. Right in plain sight. Someone should have seen something. Even shutting down this half-mile stretch, diverting travelers to side roads and backpaths, meant inconveniencing dozens, maybe hundreds of people, at a minimum. He took in a deep breath, tasting copper. The wards that should have alerted this stretch’s tenders were intact. Had called him and the other wardens who even now were filtering in through the trees, and from their sentry posts further along the road in either direction. Too late. Too late to prevent this. To his senses, the faint thrumming of the triggered ward sounded as it always did. It had sounded just too late by hours. “Anything, Erik?” Kaius called out, raising a hand in greeting as he approached. The other man’s obscurascope whirred diligently, lenses shifting quietly as the floating device followed its owner’s gaze.

“Nothing but guesswork, my friend,” Erik said, waving the ‘scope off and heading over. “Samples and evidence for better diviners than I. No witnesses, either.” Erik did not say survivors, and the air hung thick with their lack. “Had any of your lord’s whispers yet, maybe?” Erik meant well, lowered his voice in proper, furtive piety. He wasn’t a believer, not of Kaius’s patrons in particular, but he tried to be respectful. “Little from the Lady, less from the Lord,” Kaius said, a sing-song response from some long-ago church session. “Dusk is a long way, yet, but I can take a moment here soon, for the Lady. Do you have a guess what happened?” At a cursory glance, it didn’t look like much had been taken, not even parts scavenged from the caravan itself. Erik was posted closer, and had arrived sooner, with a handful of others. “What’s it look like?” Erik was never sarcastic. Meant it seriously. He was a curious man, and had never really left behind his habits from his old life as a teacher. “Sorry, old selves creep up on you, don’t they? Need to keep your guard up. Still, your thoughts?”

“Senseless violence?” Kaius took in Erik’s response, little more than a raised eyebrow and a motion to continue, and started pacing the perimeter. “Banditry, but for the fact it’s not. Scavengers, but see banditry.” He nudged a muddy goblet with his boot. Might have been real gold. Easy to fence. “Have the wards been compromised like this before? Even the rare robbery gets interrupted quickly. And regular bandits have never been a match for road magic before.” Kaius leaned down, uncertain, and ran a gloved finger along the stone. There were other roads, to be sure, but none so secure or well-made: massive paving stones, mortared together end to end, nearly straight up and down the length of the land, with the coast a few miles westward and the vastness of the wilds to the east. The stone thrummed with the same noise as its ward. Was, Kaius knew, the ward itself, intricate magic anchored to the stone and supposedly unimpeachable without utterly destroying the massive slab. “I don’t know. Maybe something was taken, but we’d need a manifest and a lot of time. But it doesn’t explain the late distress call.”

“None of it connects,” Erik said, scratching at his beard. “Maybe in the absence of a manifest and time, your prayer might be answered?” Kaius nodded his assent, fought down the urge to explain the mysterious workings of the Lady. She answered in her way, but there was no time for a lecture. Kaius closed his hand around the sun-sign pendant hanging over his heart. Emptied his mind. Begged. Pleaded.

Glint of light on a falling blade. A bird flying with the Lady’s light at its back. A bare hand clasped around a pendant in prayer. Shaft of light falling from above. Heat. Fear. He reeled briefly. Dropped back into the world from the embrace of the Lady’s awareness. Someone’s hand. Too small and unmarred to have been his own, nearly ever. What else? He whispered a prayer of thanks as he cast his eyes about. It felt close. Her messages could be from ten seconds or ten years in the past, by logic no mortal could fathom. Kaius looked up to the light scything in from the canvas of leaves, falling on… There. One of the overturned carriages, so obvious now he maybe shouldn’t have needed the prayer anyway. She could be direct, when she wanted to be. Needs must. Kaius motioned Erik along and clambered up the cart’s side, started prying at the door. Erik heaved himself up alongside with a grunt, joining the effort in silence. Despite his quiet disbelief in the visions, the “whispers,” Erik trusted his more faithful fellows. Maybe chalked it up to intuition or honed senses. Kaius made sure to thank him for that. There were those who saw the adherents of Dawn and Dusk as mere cultists, no matter how useful any individual made themselves. They managed to pull open the disfigured, dented door with some encouraging shouts from the less athletic wardens. Their organization was getting a little long in the tooth, to be sure. Inside-

Wide eyes stared up at them from a child’s tear-stained face. One small hand clutching the Lady’s sign desperately. Kaius motioned Erik forward. The black gauntlets, hood, and soot-stained vestments of a Duskside priest could be a little much for adults, let alone traumatized children.

#drabble #fantasy #the wardens

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lifeinacampervan-blog · 6 years ago

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Getting Cozy in a Campervan

After a relaxing 4 days in Noosa we packed up our rental car for the last time and made the 2.5 hour drive to Brisbane where we were picking up our campervan and new home for the next 3 weeks.

Jonah has fond memories of family vacations spent travelling around Canada and the west coast of the United States in a Volkswagen campervan, so he was looking forward to reliving those great experiences here in Australia. I on the other hand have never travelled around in a campervan, and while I love being outdoors the only times I have ever gone camping have been on multi-day hikes while travelling abroad. Needless to say I wasn't quite sure what to expect but one way or the other I knew it would be an adventure to say the least.

In Search of our Campervan

We navigated our way to the Campervan Finder NZ office where we needed to drop off our rental car. We are so excited to start the campervan adventure. A friendly employee led us over to our new home where he showed us the in's and out's of where everything was and how things worked. Our campervan could sleep 4 people - 2 on the bottom bed and 2 up top in what I will call the storage cubby. We had a sink, fridge, 2 burner cooktop, microwave, a few drawers to store cooking utensils, and an open toilet and shower awkwardly located next to the cooking area in the same compartment.

Jonah's first impressions of the campervan - it was not German engineered, a bit tight quarters and I didn't remember the cushions for the bed being so thin. That's gonna be a problem. I was happy we had our home base for the next 3 weeks and was hoping it would work well enough for Kristen. Given that Kristen had never really camped I was hoping 3 weeks in the campervan wasn't too ambitious!

My first impressions - it was definitely tight quarters, the carpet on the floor was a little dirty, and I wasn't so sure how I felt about sleeping on the lumpy pillows or the thin bed. It certainly wasn't the roomy and luxurious Apollo campervan we had seen a couple weeks ago but I was hoping this one would grow on me.

After loading up our bags and signing off on the paperwork, we still had to drop off the rental car I may be holding the keys but I'm not driving! We did this together and took a cab back as I actually hadn't done any driving in Australia and didn't think now was the day to start.

Back at the Campervan Finder NZ Depot it was now time to start a new adventure in Australia. The campervan is about the size of a 8 seater passenger van/bus you might take to get to the airport, and way larger than the rental cars we were used to driving. We did a few side and rear view mirror checks at which point Jonah told me I was going to have to do all the shoulder checks for him on the passenger side as he had major blind spots. Now that made me nervous because now not only did I have to navigate but practically stick my head out the window to make sure there were no cars beside us. Our first order of business was to find a gas station, and we got off to a bit of a rocky start when we pulled out onto a main road and our lane suddenly stopped leaving us no room to merge into the lanes beside us. After that the remainder of the drive to Burleigh Heads on the Gold Coast was uneventful mostly because we were crawling along the traffic clogged freeway with all the other people from Brisbane who were likely heading out to the coast for the weekend.

Makiing Our Campervan Cozy

We stopped at a Big W (like a Walmart) and picked up an air mattress as Jonah was adamant that sleeping on the thin cushions was just not going to work. We pulled into the caravan park just as the sun was beginning to set Figuring out how to set up the bed . We figured we should probably set up our bed before dark and so after only a few tries we figured out where all the wooden boards went and how the cushions fit together. And I have to admit when looking at the bed I was also glad we had bought the air mattress. We then started blowing up the air mattress but we hadn't bought a pump and quickly realized this was going to take a long long time using our manual lung capacity. Jonah went off to see if anyone in the campground had a pump and found a friendly couple from Australia who let us use their pump. Once the campervan was all set up, we went into town for dinner and then crawled into our new bed for the night!Day one down, 20 more to go!

#campervan #travel #road trips #australia

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its-morphin-time-xiv · 7 years ago

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<=[!]The Whispering Dark[!]=>

<== [!] The Whispering Dark [!] ==>

“Over a Ranger’s lifetime, as long as they are bound to the Morpher they wear, there will always be whispers. They.. linger in our minds, beckoning us to bring harm, rather than stop it. The whispers of the darkness, of the world beyond that lay shrouded in shadows. That world where no light enters, and no light escapes. The Void, itself. Some could call it one of the seven hells, some would want to believe that. But... No. Us?”

“We know better.”

-- Unknown Ranger [1549]

Belladonna sat upon one of the many bits of unmoved rubble, her eye trained on the main entry to Rhalgr’s reach from the Fringes, her back against a pillar and a pack of supplies in her lap as she waited for what felt like an eternity. Caravans and adventurers came and went, time after time, all the while the hails on her pearl for any assistance would be met with simple silence.

It was an easy request, ten armed and trained men and women to join her on a hunt for a Bloodbeast... yet her words seemed to fall on deaf ears, or ears who refrained from ever speaking. To say she felt hurt wouldn’t be too far off from the truth. She didn’t want to hunt alone, mostly everything that could go wrong would if she did.

But as the fates would have it... no aid would come to her. No adventurer passing through would be willing to risk it all just for a sporting hunt, just to capture a beast horrendous to strike fear into any mortal man. Bloodbeasts were known to stir terror and frighten hearts no matter how hearty the man who stood before it would be. Beasts of utter necrotic life, born from the dead and raised once more in a twist of disgusting ashkin.

Life breathed anew into a different monster all together. It was something Elizabeth had been known to do, to pluck life from anything, morph it, corrupt it and bring about something utterly new and terrifying. Her presence had been sporadic, Elizabeth’s. Something disheartening and concerning all together in the far reaches of Gyr Abania, tucked off far along the eastern coast, towards The Bounty Sea, and perhaps deeper.

These creatures were born from the darkness, lingering wisps of the ere’long black seemed to feel all too familiar to the beasts she found endlessly, wave after wave in her younger days. Back when the Rangers were still strong, when they were many. But now, so few and far in between are left standing.. The spirit of the Ranger is all but extinguished, left and held up by a memorial. A reminder of those who fell and those who still yet stand, the unsung few who remain.

The distant thunderclaps rumbled through the open air, echoing into the small valley, practically jolting Bella awake. Her one eye blinking to surf the crowd of faces that were spread throughout the reach, some lingering hope that in her mild stupor assistance had come. But alas, none ever did. No flag that bore significance, no face that recalled memory... nothing.

She was left alone.

A hand shifted to a scar, hidden behind her garb. Scratching it and striking away at the old wound in some slight annoyance as her expression dropped behind her metal helm and the woman slipped off the rubble, heading for the back-road to nowhere. Time became irrelevant as she traveled for nigh near countless malms, the sun fading behind darkened clouds, painting the skies and the earth below in grey shades of dismal life.

Belladonna suffered in the times she stood without a soul at her side, the whispers of the past, the echoes of memories and burning cries of the scars all flooding into her mind without even so much as an ounce of stopping. Before she knew it, the world had gone darker, the sun was setting and her time of the hunt drew ever near. The sounds of a stomping beast began to creep closer and closer, her target was towering over some of the many rocks, a ruud suud in origin. Yet this beast... it was no longer one of Gyr Abania..

It was of Elizabeth.

The spine-chilling gurgles and groans from the beast, echoed into the air. Cries of its victims resonated as their flesh, their bones and faces showed themselves, melded to the giant’s flesh. Their eyes of milky white or non-existent all together as the Ruud Suud turned Bloodbeast began to march itself down the lonely road, bound for the next small homestead to add to itself... to feast... to meld.

In the blink of an eye, Bella cast two fingers forward, sliding along her right arm to brush over the red jewel on her morpher with a scowl to the world before her as she brought the hand to her belt.

“Henshin.”

As her token word wad spoken a brilliant yet muted light washed over her person, cascading over her like water, before fading the next instant over. In her stead no longer stood the little hyur, but a Ranger of blue and gold.

|| GO-GO MIGHT MIGHTY BLUE RANGER!! ||

As the armor cascaded over her person, covering her adventurer’s gear. The churning whispers of the black began to echo into her ears. Her one-eye blurring as its countless voices began to overload her senses. The call of the dark grew stronger the closer the beast marched, its abyssal eyes cast onto the Ranger as she began to stagger. Falling to her knees the woman shuddered, a hand gripping at her head, the other crashing into the ground, pounding the earth with a mailed fist.

Sweat began to form along her brow as the voices thundered in her head time and time again, every move she made only seeming to make them scream. The whispers of the dark echoing over and over, slipping into her mind. Every word that came to her felt heavy, crushing, stomach-churning, each and ever whisper brought the woman down, sick to her stomach as the beast approached. The ground trembling beneath each grotesque squelch of flesh and scale.

Get up...!

It’s getting closer...!

Get up...!

It’s almost here...!

The words churned inside her head, each voice louder than the last, their tones lingering, some delightful, some nauseating, others grating, few chilling. Each word garbled as it brought about a different scream, a different pain within the Ranger. Her mind a blaze in the violent maelstrom from the cacophony within her mind.

Get up...!

We can’t wait...!

Get up...!

You will join us just like those before...!

Belladonna let out a roar as she grasped at her helmet, the beast lingering closer and closer, each step shaking the nearby earth as the hyur fought to stand, each motion jerked and unsteady as she snarled. Teeth clenched and seething as she forced her legs to ignore this new found pain in her mind. The spikes along her spine were flared out, twitching and flicking at their own agony as pain from every voice surged through her over and over. The whispers of the dark poisoning her every movement, tainting every thought... screaming and echoing from the black.

Get up...!

Face it...!

It’s here...!

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