Roll To Dodge 5: AKA I Shouldn't Legally Be Allowed To DM Anything

"Does this happen often?" I say as I am just staring at what happened.

>Just... ask the tavernkeeper if there is anything I can do to help.

Willy, we are in the capital city.

>Leave the tavern before the keeper starts to want recompense.

Edited by Baisteach on May 17th 2020 at 7:53:23 AM

Oh. Scratch that last command, then. I'll sit this turn out.

Edited by WillyFourEyes on May 17th 2020 at 11:02:58 AM

> Peek out of my room to see the commotion

> Go back in

> Pray harder

> Take down whatever he's talking about

> Eat the peanuts I yoinked from the tavern

>Quickly walk away from the flaming tavern but before i do that I tell the barbarian. "I'll uh, I'll look forward to starting our quest tomorrow. I'm Percy Middens by the way. Let's hope that this is just an angry god throwing a tantrum and not a bad omen."

TURN 9

Hesitantly, you walk over to him and give your feeble offer, but he still seems to be in too much shock to respond. You honestly can't tell whether he's trying to form words or just pull his mouth shut.

"The...the ceiling..."

While everyone else is distracted, you take the opportunity to dip, whistling innocently as you back out of the exit—nobody seems to notice, thankfully. No way in hell you're dealing with that.

You hear the explosion and swing out of your room, prepared for a fight...only to see a lightning strike hit the rogue, who then books it out of the tavern on his own two feet, and the tavernkeep staring up in despair at the mutilated ceiling. Your eyes widen for a split second before you slowly, slowly pull the doorknob back into place.

The door closes with a miniscule creak. You proceed to sit down and beg the holy forces for more sanity.

You pop a few into your mouth.

They're very peanut-y. Almost too peanut-y.

Roll to defend against the peanutness: 5
Peanuts' roll: 4

You fend off the peanutness...for now...

That's right, you guessed it; it's time to t-t-t-t-timeskip. So you all head home for the night in your own ways, maybe boarding up somewhere else or in your houses, and the next morning sees you gathering up in the tavern.

Well, not exactly in the tavern. It's more like outside of it. And a good distance to the side. Safely away from view from the windows, yes.

It would've been a little awkward to waltz in the next day after calling down gods to split the roof in half like a block of cheese. The barbarian tries to make a joke about this, to no avail. You wonder absentmindedly if the keeper's still going to hunt you down for that.

Rahgot sighs, getting down to business when you begin setting off. About time. "Okay. Let's just...forget what happened last night, alright? We'll be taking the morning train to Horrset, then heading on foot to the town through a forest."

"Anyone have other questions about the quest on the way?"

> "What do we need to know when encountering this Nightwalker?"

>"How many Nightwalkers do you think there'll be?"

> Explain to the others my theory that the Nightwalker might be a Nightshade

> Recall if there is some kind of Religious protection against such creatures.

>I've gathered one or two more seeds from my "bed" in the bushes. Ask if they know where the Lightning Rogue went.

>Play a little tune to get everyone's spirits up.

>Thank the Lord for blessing you

> "Uh... what do we do?"

>Tell everyone to shut up

>"I have no questions yet. Unless, of course, "Can we keep the train?" is an answerable question."

>I would nod. "No questions here, we go to the place, kill or capture the thing and get paid. Seems simple enough."

> Just sit on the shoulder of my familiar as he gives a silent thumbs-up

Is it too late to join?

Edited by Oggy123 on May 21st 2020 at 2:04:18 AM

u can still join whenever, now would be a prime opportunity even

>"Oh dear oh dear, am I late to this whole thing?"

TURN 10

"Your guess is as good as mine. But from what the townsfolk are saying, it usually appears in the town's central either early in the morning or late at night, when there's too much fog to get a good look at it."

"The bodies were discovered in the marsh a way down from the south entrance. And apparently, while we were meeting up last night, they all disappeared from the morgue. If our friend the cleric here's right, that could mean something else's at work; the Nightwalker's never taken anyone after they died."

The barbarian looks unsettled at Roddy's question. "Hopefully just one, but that's why the others and I are splitting up to investigate the other town anyway. We have free run of the place to hunt it down. If we don't find it right away, that is."

Before long, you arrive at the train station.

You recount the legend you remembered the other day as you board. According to you, Nightshades are a species of creature from a negative plane, that can be accessed from the Shadow dimension. Typically, they can take appearances of anything from a monstrously large sandworm to a gargoyle with sapient intelligence. The one you're facing seems to be some sort of daemonic giant.

Supposedly, they have the ability to destroy beings by drawing life out of them. There isn't any specific defence against them, but they are vulnerable to fire damage and other sources of bright light. Hence the name. ...duh.

Everyone looks at you for a beat before pointing at Abarron, who is sitting beside you and is, for lack of better term, praising the heavens.

You rolled a: 1 + 1 Skill bonus = 2

You figure you could give the party a little buff before you enter battle, so you pull out your guitar and strum a few notes experimentally. Hmmm, what to play, what to play. Judging from the Nightwalker (shade?)'s description, you might be needing a little extra boost of speed to keep out of its grasp.

You clear your throat and begin. The magic hums under your fingers, beginning to work its effects. "Almost heaven, West—"

"EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" you yell out of nowhere, cutting off the bard's spell. They all stare at you in shock.

"...eh? What was that for?" the warlock says numbly.

"No, in fact, you're just in time," the barbarian answers, surprised. "...wait a minute, who said that?"

He looks around in confusion, not really noticing you standing next to his boot.

The barbarian still seems to think your familiar is the actual wizard. And no, we can't steal the train, he says, unless you're suddenly having urges to become a citywide terrorist.

Ironically, just then, you feel a low rumble beneath your feet in the compartment—an obnoxiously loud release of smoke signalling the train in question's departure.

You eagerly await the horrors that lay ahead.

The miniature settlement of Harrowedfen lives up to its name, you think, with its gloomy antiquated architecture and trickles of mist rolling across damp cobblestone.
In some other universe, it could've made a fitting backdrop for an old Western or small-town mystery, but for you this is anything but—the absence of citizens out and about only serving to make it seem all the more empty and lifeless. You don't even see any insects buzzing around.

A chipped wooden sign hanging over the walls displays its name in faded black paint ("Now Entering Harrowedfen". You're not sure what visitors they expected with a greeting like that. Androids with Google maps, maybe?) The city hall's spire skewers the haze above directly south of you, while the residential district is to the east, and a lumber mill along with some storehouses lie west. The farms are up north, nearby the stone entrance you're standing in front of.

More jarringly, you're starting to notice a distinct stench of rot wafting in. Almost like...an open grave. And hey, are those corpses strewn on the street?

>What's your first move?

Edited by unfortunatezorua on May 21st 2020 at 10:29:29 PM

> Check the corpses. Look for wounds, time of death, personal belongings, etc.

> Bless the corpses