Hexplore24 — Day 4
Weather - Mild, thin humid, golden haze
River appears frosted with froth
2 points from yesterday, so 4 points after crossing the river.
Satis and Belus wake to a sky filled with a thin golden haze. The river appears frosted with specks of foam that catch the light. It remains warm here for winter, with a touch of humidity in the air.
After packing up their camp, they take their time carefully fording the river and soon are on the north bank.
Now in hex K09, Grasslands
Dungeon ESP:1 6 - Encounter. Human!
Dolmenwood Encounter: Witch, 5 of them!
They are walking2
We are surprised. They are not.
Reaction they have: 7 - Uncertain
No obvious treasure
As Satis and Belus worked their way across the plains, a voice called out from a hill, and they turned to see five figures perched on some rocks above them.
"What do we have here?" the woman asked, an edge in her voice.
Satis gasped - she recognized them as witches.
Fate check:3 from Satis' order of witches? No
"We are travelers from Beacon - Are you also explorers?" Belus asks.
FC: Are they from the new lands? Yes
FC: From Beacon? Yes
Reaction: 8 - Negotiate
"Hmmm, are we 'explorers,' sisters?" the woman asks, and her companions laugh.
"We too search these strange lands for answers. I did not know anyone from Beacon had made it this far east... Just the two of you, though?" she asks.
Satis is uncomfortable. "They are witches, and not from my order," she whispers to Belus.
Belus nods then asks them, "Ah, fellow travelers from Beacon - have you found anything so far? Any answers to the riddle of this place?".
Reaction: 10, Friendly.
FC: Have they found anything? No
The woman hops down and walks towards Satis and Belus. "We had hoped you might be of the new-odd lands... But alas, we seem to meet Beasts and Beaconites exclusively," she looks Satis over.
"Hello sister, a witch and a cleric, such odd traveling companions," she says and the other women join the group.
"We are all strangers in strange lands," Satis replies, cautiously.
"Which way are you headed?" Belus asks.
The witches point to the northeast. "Across this valley, we have seen lights in the distant mountains."4
Belus and Satis look at each other. Satis nods - Belus smiles - "We too have been headed that way – though we have not seen lights yet"
Reaction roll +1: 8 - uncertain.5
"Ahh, well I expect you will if the night is clear."
"Sisters," Satis begins, "Safety in numbers can help us all - would you consider joining for some miles? We all want to find answers safely."
Reaction: 8 - uncertain.
"Mmm," the woman muses, looking at her companions. "We feel quite secure on our own... Why should we take you two along?"
"Satis is a skilled hunter, and my blade can keep us safe so you can save your magic," Belus argues.
Reaction: 5 - Negative.
"Well then the two of you shall do just fine on your own," the woman says and her companions laugh.
"Good travels to you two – and we can share tales back in Beacon," and the women leave.
Belus and Satis stand for a bit, Belus disappointed, Satis relieved.
Then they continue on.
With 4 remaining travel points they can ford the next river to get into hex K10
Belus and Satis work their way across the grasses, again reaching the river. They move along it until finding a safe place to ford, and cross.
Dungeon ESP: 9, appears Empty.
They can explore tomorrow, but must camp tonight - no monsters.
Gather 12 units of firewood!
Tired from their traveling, they find a place to camp and forage for firewood. As Belus sets up camp, Satis goes foraging.
WIL check: 16 - she fails
Satis returns empty-handed so they eat rations, and Satis tries to tell a story of the different witch orders.
CHA - Success!
And perhaps it is the warm fire, or the strange interaction with the other witches, but Satis's story delights Belus and for the first time they laugh long and hard together.6
Both pass TGH checks & sleep very well.
No wandering monster in the night.
FC: Do they see distant lights? No
They do not see lights in the distant mountains.
But they feel some night soon they will.
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I talk about Dungeon ESP in my Day 3 write up. It is a custom tool that I will share more about in the future.↩
This is rolled from the Hot Springs Island table I discussed in my Day 3 write up.↩
Fate Check is from Mythic GME 2e, and gives a yes/no answer with the possibility of an extreme yes or no. It uses 2 d10s and is my favorite oracle to use for simple yes/no questions because it is easy to memorize. Even when I’m not otherwise using Mythic, I use the fate check, which you will see listed in my notes as ‘FC’.↩
I made this up — I wanted to give Satis and Belus something to look for. As you’ll see, they still need to actually see it for themselves to know where the lights are, but now we have a reason for them to look.↩
I add a modifier to the reaction roll because the last roll was 10 - friendly.↩
This is the nightly campfire story test using Charisma I’ve been doing as part of the Dolmenwood camping rules. I love this, and it’s nice that tonight Satis was finally able to connect with Belus. Maybe it was the nice stuff he said about her being a good hunter when they spoke to the witches.↩