Ended Dawn Runners, a Choose Your Adventure
- Thread starter Frilzer
- Start date
Stay and talk to these two (everyone)
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"I really dont think there is anyone I want to say goodbye to," you say.
Fash starts, "What? Dont make friends easy?"
You take a good look at Fash. Hes a stalky fellow with what looks like an already receding hairline. His face is round and the rest of him is as wide as his permanent smile. He wears a short green poncho with the tabard over it. You notice that he wore chain mail underneath his tunic. It seemed like most of the Runners had chain mail.
You reply, "I guess Im not the most social person out there."
"Well, thatll change whether you like it or not," Fash says. "You'll be talking to lots of people, and Endwood sure has some characters to talk to. Ive been there for a month now."
"So how long have both of you been Runners?" you decide to ask. It seems like a decent thing to know about your new team.
Fash lean up against the cart, it seems to move slightly. "I've been a Runner for three months now. Its been good. I started in White Vale for two months before I got put in the Tarrow with him." He nods his head toward Laivric. "Im from Crossroads originally."
"Thats cool. I am too." You smile, nice to have someone from around where you came. You ask Laivric the question, since he has been busy looking at luggage rummaging through it like something was missing. He talks while he rummages. Like you thought before, Laivric was tall. His hair was short, not even a half inch long. It sat on his somewhat disproportionately large head. He wore a coat of plates and several bits and pieces of armor on his person, but almost as if it was all correlated to match in some way. He seemed to wear his feelings on his face. A feeling of intensity radiated off him.
He looks over. "Thirteen months." He finds what he is looking for. He tosses you a suit of chain mail. "You'll want that, put it on before we go."
You thank him. It looks like it will fit you. You decide to just begin putting it on right away. Laivric doesnt give anymore details. Fash continues to tell about himself. Tells you where he's from and you tell him the same for you. Fash gives you details about his family, how many siblings he has and his favorite kind of day are sunny days like this.
Fash rambles on, "So my parents were both Altis worshipers before, you know, the blue planet that comes and goes. Both of them ran into Runners and both became Initiates and eventually joined the band. Good thing too because they met each other as Dawn Runnner! Back when the band was really small. Eventually they both retired from the band honorably and married. Which was really nice for me, because, one, I exist, and two I was born Sunblest and didnt have to be an Initiate before I could be a Runner."
You ask, "Sunblest?"
Fash continues, "Thats what we call people with Solaris' approval and blessing. Because 'Worshippers of Solaris' is such a formal drag to say. So whats your family's story? You were born Sunblest?"
You see more Runners walking this way, and are finishing putting your clothes back together. That worry you carry becomes heavy again. You reply...
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-Custom dialogue
First post with two likes gets used.
Also decide who you want to talk to next. Youll only have time for one more.
-Attempt to talk to Grandmaster Galvain
-Kalack
-Cor
-Someone new walking this way in your traveling group
-------------------------------------
"I really dont think there is anyone I want to say goodbye to," you say.
Fash starts, "What? Dont make friends easy?"
You take a good look at Fash. Hes a stalky fellow with what looks like an already receding hairline. His face is round and the rest of him is as wide as his permanent smile. He wears a short green poncho with the tabard over it. You notice that he wore chain mail underneath his tunic. It seemed like most of the Runners had chain mail.
You reply, "I guess Im not the most social person out there."
"Well, thatll change whether you like it or not," Fash says. "You'll be talking to lots of people, and Endwood sure has some characters to talk to. Ive been there for a month now."
"So how long have both of you been Runners?" you decide to ask. It seems like a decent thing to know about your new team.
Fash lean up against the cart, it seems to move slightly. "I've been a Runner for three months now. Its been good. I started in White Vale for two months before I got put in the Tarrow with him." He nods his head toward Laivric. "Im from Crossroads originally."
"Thats cool. I am too." You smile, nice to have someone from around where you came. You ask Laivric the question, since he has been busy looking at luggage rummaging through it like something was missing. He talks while he rummages. Like you thought before, Laivric was tall. His hair was short, not even a half inch long. It sat on his somewhat disproportionately large head. He wore a coat of plates and several bits and pieces of armor on his person, but almost as if it was all correlated to match in some way. He seemed to wear his feelings on his face. A feeling of intensity radiated off him.
He looks over. "Thirteen months." He finds what he is looking for. He tosses you a suit of chain mail. "You'll want that, put it on before we go."
You thank him. It looks like it will fit you. You decide to just begin putting it on right away. Laivric doesnt give anymore details. Fash continues to tell about himself. Tells you where he's from and you tell him the same for you. Fash gives you details about his family, how many siblings he has and his favorite kind of day are sunny days like this.
Fash rambles on, "So my parents were both Altis worshipers before, you know, the blue planet that comes and goes. Both of them ran into Runners and both became Initiates and eventually joined the band. Good thing too because they met each other as Dawn Runnner! Back when the band was really small. Eventually they both retired from the band honorably and married. Which was really nice for me, because, one, I exist, and two I was born Sunblest and didnt have to be an Initiate before I could be a Runner."
You ask, "Sunblest?"
Fash continues, "Thats what we call people with Solaris' approval and blessing. Because 'Worshippers of Solaris' is such a formal drag to say. So whats your family's story? You were born Sunblest?"
You see more Runners walking this way, and are finishing putting your clothes back together. That worry you carry becomes heavy again. You reply...
----------------------------------
-Custom dialogue
First post with two likes gets used.
Also decide who you want to talk to next. Youll only have time for one more.
-Attempt to talk to Grandmaster Galvain
-Kalack
-Cor
-Someone new walking this way in your traveling group
Kalack! He seemed cool.
(Sorry, had a lousy cold the last few days)
-Tolvan's dialogue
-Talk to Kalack (1)
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"I've always worshiped Solaris, yeah," you say. It was true.
Fash nods. "Alright, I gotcha. Thats cool. You know, I almost wish there were more Initiates that made it to Sunblest status and become Runners. Of course everyone hopes they do. I mean, those guys have to be committed. Like my parents, they are crazy, in a good way, of course. I mean they..." He continues to ramble as you finish getting your uniform back on.
You see in one of the groups headed for their cart and horses, Kalack walking with them. You feel the urge to say goodbye to him even though you hardly know the guy.
"Hey, Fash." you say.
"They even- yeah?" He says.
"Im going to say goodbye to a friend really quick, never know if or when Ill see him again." you say.
"Oh. Thats cool. Dont take long, we'll be heading out in a few!" Fash calls as you make your walk to Kalack.
Kalack looks unsure as he follows his team. Like a lost puppy. Granted you feel similar. Kalack sees you and a smile creeps onto his face.
"Hey man!" Kalack says. "Where did you get sent? I got called up so quick, my mind went blank the whole rest of the meeting."
You answer, "I going Endwood in the Tarrow. You sa-"
He gets really excited and jumps a bit. "What?! No way. Im from the Tarrow!" You... already knew this, but apparently he forgot. "Not Endwood, but from around there! Oh, oh man! I got to give you something." He fishes around his pack for a moment. He takes out a copper looking pendant in the shape of three heads of wheat.
"This is my family's emblem. My ma gave it to me right before I left as a memory from home, but all its done is make me homesick. I got family all over the Tarrow. If they see that, they'll surly say help you out if they see it and you mention my name. Might as well let you have it. You know, because it might help a friend."
You are lost for words. This guy you havent known for more than a full day is willing to give you something so personal, so readily. You accept it with gratitude. You wish you had something to give him in return, but you didnt bring much from home. Figured you didnt need anything.
"I promise Ill return the favor one day," you say. "When we see each other again."
Kalack's eyes get big. "Wait. We might not see each other again! I could die! You could die!"
"Um, try not to think like that, I guess?" You reply to what is hopefully not self fulfilling prophecy.
You hear a shout. "Tolvan! Get over here! We're heading out!"
You give Kalack a quick awkward hug. A symbol of your friendship? You make your way to your group. You see about about 20 or so Runners on horses or on one of the two passenger carts headed for the Tarrow Region. You quickly count about 10 or so horses and the rest on the carts. You see that Fash is waving for you to join him on the cart that will be following the other. You arent looking forward to listening to him talk the whole way there. You really werent sure how long it would take to get there or where exactly Endwood even was. You also see Laivric on a horse beginning to move ahead of the group, just in front of the forward cart.
Just which to get on?
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- Get on the back cart with Fash
- Get on the front cart close to Laivric
-Tolvan's dialogue
-Talk to Kalack (1)
-----------------------------------
"I've always worshiped Solaris, yeah," you say. It was true.
Fash nods. "Alright, I gotcha. Thats cool. You know, I almost wish there were more Initiates that made it to Sunblest status and become Runners. Of course everyone hopes they do. I mean, those guys have to be committed. Like my parents, they are crazy, in a good way, of course. I mean they..." He continues to ramble as you finish getting your uniform back on.
You see in one of the groups headed for their cart and horses, Kalack walking with them. You feel the urge to say goodbye to him even though you hardly know the guy.
"Hey, Fash." you say.
"They even- yeah?" He says.
"Im going to say goodbye to a friend really quick, never know if or when Ill see him again." you say.
"Oh. Thats cool. Dont take long, we'll be heading out in a few!" Fash calls as you make your walk to Kalack.
Kalack looks unsure as he follows his team. Like a lost puppy. Granted you feel similar. Kalack sees you and a smile creeps onto his face.
"Hey man!" Kalack says. "Where did you get sent? I got called up so quick, my mind went blank the whole rest of the meeting."
You answer, "I going Endwood in the Tarrow. You sa-"
He gets really excited and jumps a bit. "What?! No way. Im from the Tarrow!" You... already knew this, but apparently he forgot. "Not Endwood, but from around there! Oh, oh man! I got to give you something." He fishes around his pack for a moment. He takes out a copper looking pendant in the shape of three heads of wheat.
"This is my family's emblem. My ma gave it to me right before I left as a memory from home, but all its done is make me homesick. I got family all over the Tarrow. If they see that, they'll surly say help you out if they see it and you mention my name. Might as well let you have it. You know, because it might help a friend."
You are lost for words. This guy you havent known for more than a full day is willing to give you something so personal, so readily. You accept it with gratitude. You wish you had something to give him in return, but you didnt bring much from home. Figured you didnt need anything.
"I promise Ill return the favor one day," you say. "When we see each other again."
Kalack's eyes get big. "Wait. We might not see each other again! I could die! You could die!"
"Um, try not to think like that, I guess?" You reply to what is hopefully not self fulfilling prophecy.
You hear a shout. "Tolvan! Get over here! We're heading out!"
You give Kalack a quick awkward hug. A symbol of your friendship? You make your way to your group. You see about about 20 or so Runners on horses or on one of the two passenger carts headed for the Tarrow Region. You quickly count about 10 or so horses and the rest on the carts. You see that Fash is waving for you to join him on the cart that will be following the other. You arent looking forward to listening to him talk the whole way there. You really werent sure how long it would take to get there or where exactly Endwood even was. You also see Laivric on a horse beginning to move ahead of the group, just in front of the forward cart.
Just which to get on?
-------------------------------------
- Get on the back cart with Fash
- Get on the front cart close to Laivric
Get on the back cart with Fash. I don't want to hear him talk the whole way, but since he's already signaled for us to come over, it would be pretty rude to go sit by Laivric.
Go with Fash I guess since he's friendly.
Get in the back cart with Fash (4)
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You decide to join Fash's cart. You climb on back and take a seat next to Fash on the side seat. The cart begins to move and off you go. The ride is smooth. Enough. You quickly get on a road, part of the old "King's Way." highway that stretched out from the center of the Crossroads. You arent sure how exactly you'll get to the Tarrow, but you assume youre headed west and that everyone knows where they are going. Across from you is another Runner you havent met yet, which is pretty much everybody, and a Lady Runner. The guy is long, but average body type, his hair brown and short. He sports a relaxed look and sits as if he'll take a nap.
He speaks, "So Fash, this your new guy?"
Fash replies, "Yep! He's Tolvan and he seems like a good one so far. Say Stach, dont you have a horse?"
The long man called Stach says, "Yeah, but why ride a horse all this way? Ive done it before, it gets exhausting. Resting on a cart is so much nicer man. Not many times you actually get a chance to relax and let a woman drive you around." You just now noticed that the cart's driver is in fact another lady. She doesnt speak though or even turn around.
The young woman sitting next to Stach speaks, she's blonde and actually cute, compared to some of the woman Runners. "You are just too lazy to drive yourself!" she says in jest.
"That might be true." He says. "At least in this instance. Right now though, life's good." He stretches his back and resumes his position.
The blonde girl gives him a pathetic glare and turns to you. "Im Teanna. And you two are in a trio, right? Whos the third one?"
Stach answers "Laivric."
"Oh. He doesnt seem like a bad guy to be with-" she replies.
"What?!" Fash snaps a little too loud. He realizes it. You look at Fash and his smile has become more of an uncomfortable, forced, half grin. He repeats again much quieter after looking around a bit. "Are you kidding? He. Is. Nuts!" At this moment you realize that Fash is absolutely serious because he hasnt chuckled after his statement.
Stach says, "Hes not that bad. Just got to talk to him a bit. Get on his good side. He calls me sometimes on the sync ring."
Fash replies, "What? He does?"
You must have had a confused look on your face, because Teanna asks you whats up.
You begin, "I... dont know. Just a lot of stuff to take in. Whats a sync ring?"
Teanna's face brightens to explain. She takes off a ring on her finger and shows it to you. Its color a strange mixture of cloudy green and gray. "Almost surprised you havent heard of them. I guess they are somewhat new. Some mage up north somewhere found a way to make this material called synchronite, its like a metal with a twin. Or a family even if you think about it that way. You break the rock apart and whatever you do to it, it also does to its sister metal. If you bent one, it would bend the other. Now that seems neat and useless by itself, but what its actually useful for is communication! If you talk into a ring made of it, it resonates with its sister ring and you can hear whats said into it anywhere! Every trio gets one and everyone in the region has a ring from the same rock, so they're connected! Makes life with us all spread out a lot easier."
You take the ring. You wonder... "So if I give it a flick." You flick the ring and look up. You see some of the Runners on horses and on the other cart hold their ring up in response to feeling it ring and vibrate. You raise it up to your ear and hear a few of them answer somewhat muffed from the ring, with a "What? What is it?" You dont answer but smile. This magic stuff is pretty sweet. You notice that Fash and Stach are still talking but you dont catch most of it. You give the ring back to Teanna.
You ask, "So hows it being a Runner?"
She answers with her expression changing with each statement, "Its great! Youll love it. Its hard too, but its worth it. Lots of talking to people. Lots of work. Some of it dangerous, but I bet you knew that. Ive done it for about six months now." She pauses. "What did you do before you left home?"
"Well, I wrote," you say.
Hey eyebrow raise, "Ahh I see. Poems? Epics? Cheesy love sonnets?" She says the last one almost with hope in her voice.
"Mostly stories. Any kind I guess. A little bit of everything. I unfortunately never wrote a book," you answer. "Yet at least."
"Well I like stories." She says and smiles at you while resting her chin on her hands."Maybe you should write me a book one day."
Hm. Yeah sure. Youll just go lock yourself in a room for a month and write her a book just because she asks. Yep. Not gonna happen, but she is rather cute. You spend a bit more time just chatting. She energetically responds to your questions. You never did spend a lot of time with the ladies as a youth. Sure you had a few awkward dates but nothing much more serious than that. You wish you were able to meet her before you decided to become a Runner, or after you quit you guess?
"You have pretty eyes," she says almost out of the blue.
Oh. Um. What? You think.
"Thanks,", you eek out, not sure what to say to that. She stares at you as if she expects a reciprocal compliment.
Um. What say?
-------------------------------------
-"..."
- Flirt back
- Custom stuff
--------------------------------------
You decide to join Fash's cart. You climb on back and take a seat next to Fash on the side seat. The cart begins to move and off you go. The ride is smooth. Enough. You quickly get on a road, part of the old "King's Way." highway that stretched out from the center of the Crossroads. You arent sure how exactly you'll get to the Tarrow, but you assume youre headed west and that everyone knows where they are going. Across from you is another Runner you havent met yet, which is pretty much everybody, and a Lady Runner. The guy is long, but average body type, his hair brown and short. He sports a relaxed look and sits as if he'll take a nap.
He speaks, "So Fash, this your new guy?"
Fash replies, "Yep! He's Tolvan and he seems like a good one so far. Say Stach, dont you have a horse?"
The long man called Stach says, "Yeah, but why ride a horse all this way? Ive done it before, it gets exhausting. Resting on a cart is so much nicer man. Not many times you actually get a chance to relax and let a woman drive you around." You just now noticed that the cart's driver is in fact another lady. She doesnt speak though or even turn around.
The young woman sitting next to Stach speaks, she's blonde and actually cute, compared to some of the woman Runners. "You are just too lazy to drive yourself!" she says in jest.
"That might be true." He says. "At least in this instance. Right now though, life's good." He stretches his back and resumes his position.
The blonde girl gives him a pathetic glare and turns to you. "Im Teanna. And you two are in a trio, right? Whos the third one?"
Stach answers "Laivric."
"Oh. He doesnt seem like a bad guy to be with-" she replies.
"What?!" Fash snaps a little too loud. He realizes it. You look at Fash and his smile has become more of an uncomfortable, forced, half grin. He repeats again much quieter after looking around a bit. "Are you kidding? He. Is. Nuts!" At this moment you realize that Fash is absolutely serious because he hasnt chuckled after his statement.
Stach says, "Hes not that bad. Just got to talk to him a bit. Get on his good side. He calls me sometimes on the sync ring."
Fash replies, "What? He does?"
You must have had a confused look on your face, because Teanna asks you whats up.
You begin, "I... dont know. Just a lot of stuff to take in. Whats a sync ring?"
Teanna's face brightens to explain. She takes off a ring on her finger and shows it to you. Its color a strange mixture of cloudy green and gray. "Almost surprised you havent heard of them. I guess they are somewhat new. Some mage up north somewhere found a way to make this material called synchronite, its like a metal with a twin. Or a family even if you think about it that way. You break the rock apart and whatever you do to it, it also does to its sister metal. If you bent one, it would bend the other. Now that seems neat and useless by itself, but what its actually useful for is communication! If you talk into a ring made of it, it resonates with its sister ring and you can hear whats said into it anywhere! Every trio gets one and everyone in the region has a ring from the same rock, so they're connected! Makes life with us all spread out a lot easier."
You take the ring. You wonder... "So if I give it a flick." You flick the ring and look up. You see some of the Runners on horses and on the other cart hold their ring up in response to feeling it ring and vibrate. You raise it up to your ear and hear a few of them answer somewhat muffed from the ring, with a "What? What is it?" You dont answer but smile. This magic stuff is pretty sweet. You notice that Fash and Stach are still talking but you dont catch most of it. You give the ring back to Teanna.
You ask, "So hows it being a Runner?"
She answers with her expression changing with each statement, "Its great! Youll love it. Its hard too, but its worth it. Lots of talking to people. Lots of work. Some of it dangerous, but I bet you knew that. Ive done it for about six months now." She pauses. "What did you do before you left home?"
"Well, I wrote," you say.
Hey eyebrow raise, "Ahh I see. Poems? Epics? Cheesy love sonnets?" She says the last one almost with hope in her voice.
"Mostly stories. Any kind I guess. A little bit of everything. I unfortunately never wrote a book," you answer. "Yet at least."
"Well I like stories." She says and smiles at you while resting her chin on her hands."Maybe you should write me a book one day."
Hm. Yeah sure. Youll just go lock yourself in a room for a month and write her a book just because she asks. Yep. Not gonna happen, but she is rather cute. You spend a bit more time just chatting. She energetically responds to your questions. You never did spend a lot of time with the ladies as a youth. Sure you had a few awkward dates but nothing much more serious than that. You wish you were able to meet her before you decided to become a Runner, or after you quit you guess?
"You have pretty eyes," she says almost out of the blue.
Oh. Um. What? You think.
"Thanks,", you eek out, not sure what to say to that. She stares at you as if she expects a reciprocal compliment.
Um. What say?
-------------------------------------
-"..."
- Flirt back
- Custom stuff
Last edited:
"Sorry, but according to section 6.2 of the Runners Handbook; fraternization with other runners is considered unprofessional and is a punishable offence."
She's nuts.
...
I like her. Flirt back.
...
I like her. Flirt back.
-"Its against the rules" (1)
-"..." (1)
-Be awkward (1)
-Flirt (3)
--------------------------------------------
You try to think of a good return flirty comment.
You start, "Your hair contrasts very well with your outfit."
What? WHAT? Contrast?!? What were you thinking?
"W-what." say shes. She immediately starts to laugh. And she keeps laughing. "Youre funny. I like that."
Oh. Well. You guess that those awkward dates you had back in the day were awkward for a reason. At least it made her laugh, so theres that.
You all just chat a while longer for most the day. Fash finishes his conversation with Stach as it seemed that Stach just wanted it to be over so he could finally try to take his nap. The group hardly ever slowed down the pace or take breaks. The daylight begins to wane and you expect the group to stop but it doesnt.
Teanna says "If we are still in the Crossroads, things shouldnt be too dangerous. Out toward this direction is one of the Dawn Runner towns so most bands wouldnt mess with us. However tomorrow might be a different story." After a couple more hours of travel it soon comes time to make camp. While riding in a cart might not seem exhausting, it somehow was. You go to sleep as soon as you can...
The next day promises just about as interest. Not much. Even the landscape gets less interesting. As you near the Tarrow the roads get rougher and the landscape becomes more barren. Trees begin to give way to brush and shrubs. Your group assumes it passes over the bored into the Tarrow region. You only notice that farm lands become more and more expansive and common.
"The thing about the Tarrow is that its predominantly farmland." Fash says.
"I hadnt noticed." You mumble. You are getting tired of sitting on a cart. You are almost willing to just walk and try to keep up.
"Oh yeah, the flat land and fertile soil, its actually amazing how much gets grown here! You see the Tarrow is called the Bread Basket for a reason. You could also called it the Cow Basket. Because of all the herding that gets done here as well, but that would be stupid. Lots of horses, cattle, sheep, and the like." You see a fenced pasture filled with cows as if right on cue. Behind it a small forest of trees. "And each farm is owned by some kind of band. Or at least the owner is part of some kind of band. Which results in a lot of turf wars and scwabbles. Which results in a lot of fires. Which means the Tarrow doesnt grow quite as much food as I made it first sound. But a lot of what else-"
A call is heard. One of the Runners up scouting ahead returns with haste. He gets everyones attention.
Laivric demands, "What happened Vander?"
"Everyone, we have a problem." Says Vander out of breath. "We have Fellers on the road up over that hill, headed this way. I thought they stayed in Shadeland but these are definitely some of them. I dont know if they saw me or not."
"How many?" asks one of the other Runners.
"I dont know, more than we have. Maybe 25 or so?" Vander answers.
"And 18 of us. Burn their souls..." Laivric mutters.
Stach speaks up, yet sounds somewhat nonchalant, "Fellers? All the way up here huh? Great. Ive dealt with them before in Shadeland, time to get your gear ready everyone."
Teanna adds, "What? No! We dont need to do that. I've been down in Shadeland too, they arent animals and can be reasoned with. We can talk this out." Some of the woman Runners agree with her.
Stach replies, "Thats because dipolmacy is easier when youre a pretty girl. They hate us and you know it. If they got us outnumbered, theyll go for the kill. But we have all runners here, not a few Runners and mostly Initiates like they might expect."
Laivric rides up to them. "Or we could just do the smart thing and avoid this all together. Vander, any on horses?"
"Just a few." Vander answers.
"Ok, do we have time to make it to the trees over there before they get to the top of the hill?" Laivric asks.
"I think so."
"We're going to push the carts into the trees and conceal ourselves and let them pass by. No contact. No conflict." Laivric reasons.
Stach adds, "What if they saw Vander? Theyll know Runners never travel alone and will be looking for us."
"All the more reason to just tell them we are just passing through and dont want trouble!" Teanna says.
"If you want to stand in front of 25 Fellers yourself and talk, be my guest. We are going to the trees. Now." Laivric spouts. One of Teanna's partners stands up for her. More of the group advocates for one method or the other. The group is divided, practically evenly for one of the three sides.
You try to think what would be best...
---------------------------------
- Get ready for a fight
- Try to reason with them
- Attempt to sneak off to the trees
- Suggest something else
If you guys want to try to put a spin on any of these, be my guest.
-"..." (1)
-Be awkward (1)
-Flirt (3)
--------------------------------------------
You try to think of a good return flirty comment.
You start, "Your hair contrasts very well with your outfit."
What? WHAT? Contrast?!? What were you thinking?
"W-what." say shes. She immediately starts to laugh. And she keeps laughing. "Youre funny. I like that."
Oh. Well. You guess that those awkward dates you had back in the day were awkward for a reason. At least it made her laugh, so theres that.
You all just chat a while longer for most the day. Fash finishes his conversation with Stach as it seemed that Stach just wanted it to be over so he could finally try to take his nap. The group hardly ever slowed down the pace or take breaks. The daylight begins to wane and you expect the group to stop but it doesnt.
Teanna says "If we are still in the Crossroads, things shouldnt be too dangerous. Out toward this direction is one of the Dawn Runner towns so most bands wouldnt mess with us. However tomorrow might be a different story." After a couple more hours of travel it soon comes time to make camp. While riding in a cart might not seem exhausting, it somehow was. You go to sleep as soon as you can...
The next day promises just about as interest. Not much. Even the landscape gets less interesting. As you near the Tarrow the roads get rougher and the landscape becomes more barren. Trees begin to give way to brush and shrubs. Your group assumes it passes over the bored into the Tarrow region. You only notice that farm lands become more and more expansive and common.
"The thing about the Tarrow is that its predominantly farmland." Fash says.
"I hadnt noticed." You mumble. You are getting tired of sitting on a cart. You are almost willing to just walk and try to keep up.
"Oh yeah, the flat land and fertile soil, its actually amazing how much gets grown here! You see the Tarrow is called the Bread Basket for a reason. You could also called it the Cow Basket. Because of all the herding that gets done here as well, but that would be stupid. Lots of horses, cattle, sheep, and the like." You see a fenced pasture filled with cows as if right on cue. Behind it a small forest of trees. "And each farm is owned by some kind of band. Or at least the owner is part of some kind of band. Which results in a lot of turf wars and scwabbles. Which results in a lot of fires. Which means the Tarrow doesnt grow quite as much food as I made it first sound. But a lot of what else-"
A call is heard. One of the Runners up scouting ahead returns with haste. He gets everyones attention.
Laivric demands, "What happened Vander?"
"Everyone, we have a problem." Says Vander out of breath. "We have Fellers on the road up over that hill, headed this way. I thought they stayed in Shadeland but these are definitely some of them. I dont know if they saw me or not."
"How many?" asks one of the other Runners.
"I dont know, more than we have. Maybe 25 or so?" Vander answers.
"And 18 of us. Burn their souls..." Laivric mutters.
Stach speaks up, yet sounds somewhat nonchalant, "Fellers? All the way up here huh? Great. Ive dealt with them before in Shadeland, time to get your gear ready everyone."
Teanna adds, "What? No! We dont need to do that. I've been down in Shadeland too, they arent animals and can be reasoned with. We can talk this out." Some of the woman Runners agree with her.
Stach replies, "Thats because dipolmacy is easier when youre a pretty girl. They hate us and you know it. If they got us outnumbered, theyll go for the kill. But we have all runners here, not a few Runners and mostly Initiates like they might expect."
Laivric rides up to them. "Or we could just do the smart thing and avoid this all together. Vander, any on horses?"
"Just a few." Vander answers.
"Ok, do we have time to make it to the trees over there before they get to the top of the hill?" Laivric asks.
"I think so."
"We're going to push the carts into the trees and conceal ourselves and let them pass by. No contact. No conflict." Laivric reasons.
Stach adds, "What if they saw Vander? Theyll know Runners never travel alone and will be looking for us."
"All the more reason to just tell them we are just passing through and dont want trouble!" Teanna says.
"If you want to stand in front of 25 Fellers yourself and talk, be my guest. We are going to the trees. Now." Laivric spouts. One of Teanna's partners stands up for her. More of the group advocates for one method or the other. The group is divided, practically evenly for one of the three sides.
You try to think what would be best...
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- Get ready for a fight
- Try to reason with them
- Attempt to sneak off to the trees
- Suggest something else
If you guys want to try to put a spin on any of these, be my guest.
Out of curiosity what is the current terrain? I'd say it would be best to have a few people negotiate/ talk about peace. Every person matters, the less deaths/injuries the better. As a back up if possible set a pincer ambush. The down side to this is that if they see people going to hide, then it will definitely turn into a fight.
Terrain is pretty flat where you are at. With a mild hill ahead. The terrain type is Midwest plains-ish. There are no obstacles immediately near the road. Cows contained by a fence are somewhat nearby and a little further away are the trees.
Not sure if this is what you are asking coolpool.
Not sure if this is what you are asking coolpool.