Part 3

Having rested for the evening, Kerr breaks camp to clear skies (Weather Table - 11, Clear), thanking the old gods once more for the pleasant weather. His things gathered, Kerr begins to follow the wagon trail back to town, interested in this other "discovery" that Beatrix would now point him toward.

• Random Encounter Check [12], Morning 11, Encounter
• Encounter Building - What 11, Level 1 Monster; Motivation 17, Shelter; Reaction 19, Friendly; Complication 10, Location not known

Not long after leaving camp Kerr detects (Senses - 20) a young boar rustling around in the underbrush. It raises it's head and notes his presence but does not appear aggressive, likely simply looking for a place to lair. Kerr leaves the boar to it's hunt, and continues onward.

• Random Encounter Check [1], Midday 7, None
• Random Encounter Check [2], Evening 12, None

The rest of the day passes peacefully and not needing to hunt Kerr beds down for the night to rest, still recovering from his minor wounds from the fray with the crocodile. The morning greets him with (Weather Table - 3, Rain) a light rain, promising to muddy the trail home, but nothing he can't endure.

• Random Encounter Check [3] Morning 11, None. [4] Midday 8, None. [5] Evening 18, None

 Another pleasant day, with one left to reach Beckinsdale and his reward. Kerr beds down and sleeps easily once more, awakening to another (Weather Table - 12, Clear) clear day. The sun feels wonderful after the dreary day yesterday, and Kerr moves toward home with a spring in his step.

•  Random Encounter Check [6] Morning 7, None. [7] Midday 14, None. [8] Evening 14, None

Not knowing precisely where Beatrix lives, nor having set up a time to meet, Kerr decides to return to his private encampment for the evening before going in to town to inform his patron of his success in the morning. Unfortunately he finds that the makeshift smokehouse he had built for the venison had been raided (6, A poor outcome) in his absence, as had the trail rations and wolfsbane he had stashed (4, A poor outcome). Such is the danger of living in the wilderness though. In the morning (Weather Table 19, Clear, Warm (Next roll ADV)) he checks to see if there are any tracks (Wilderness Survival 25) and finds that his stash appears to have been taken by (Was it an animal? 9 Indifferent; Was it a beast? 10, Indifferent; Was it humanoid? 20, An excellent outcome) what could only be Goat Men, a troupe of five by his measure. Normally he would write the supplies off, but not liking the idea of a group that size lingering close to town, Kerr decides to set off after them. Following their tracks with all of the woodcraft and stealth that he can muster.

The Goat Men do not seem to be attempting to hide their trail at all (11, Indifferent) and Kerr easily follows it north from his camp (Senses - 13), thankfully away from town.

• Random Encounter Check [9], Morning 18, None
• Do I catch up to the Goatmen? 12, Indifferent
• Random Encounter Check [10}, Midday 6, Encounter
• Is it the Goatmen? 16, Good outcome
• Are the Goatment camped? 18, Very good outcome
• Encounter Distance? 80 yards

He can smell them first, that animal smell mixed sickeningly with humanlike sweat. Their camp is in a small copse of trees but haphazard, not defensible at all, and to Kerr's great fortune they have not posted a guard. Still, not liking his chances against a group of five Kerr closes his eyes reaches out with his mind to find aid (Nature Magic, summon animal, charged - 15). Within moments a couple of brown bears come trundling out of the woods, looking at him expectantly. Kerr instructs his new friends to defend him from the Goat Men, and the trio move toward the camp as Kerr unslings his bow and nocks an arrow.

Once within range (40 yards) Kerr does his best to conceal himself (Agility 10) and fires an arrow at the closest sleeping Goat Man (Ranged Combat 12, Hit, 3 dmg), eliciting a grunt of pain.

•  Initiative Rolls: Kerr 21, Bears 21, Goat Men 8

The bears position themselves slightly closer to the camp than Kerr, lowering themselves into the underbrush in preparation to defend him, as he lines up another shot at the same Goat Man and looses (Ranged Combat 10, miss) this time striking the ground next to the injured foe. In the camp, the injured beast bleats and grunts as it stands, drawing it's companions to wakefulness and their feet as well.

Still zoned in on the injured foe Kerr looses once more (Ranged Combat - 9, miss) once again missing his target as the Goat Men gather up wicked looking spears and blades and advance upon him with maniacle speed.

 Likely much to their chagrin, the Goat Mens' hurried charge brings them within the reach of the bears, who each (Grab & Crush 11, hit 6 dmg; Grab & Crush 12, hit 5 dmg) rear up and hug a Goat Man of their own in the way of their kind as Kerr drops his bow and pulls his hand axe from his belt. The grabbed Goat Men employ their horns against bears crushing them (Horns 21, crit 4-2 dmg; Horns 7, miss) with only one grazing the flank of a bear, while two of their companions try to assist them by assaulting the ursine menaces (Weapon 11, miss; Weapon 17, hit 4 dmg) with little success. The punctured Goat Man lashes out at Kerr with its spear (Weapon 18, hit 3) scoring a hit across his thigh.

 With a grimace and a grunt of pain Kerr swings his axe at the Goat Man before him (Melee Attack 13, hit 2 dmg) which lightly grazes it as the bears release their current toys, one lashing out at the Goat Man who lanced Kerr (Claw 24, crit 8 dmg) slaughtering it while the other swipes casually at the beast it just released (Claw - 9, miss) barely missing it. With one Goat Man dead and two horribly injured, they consider their position (Morale Check 3, fail) and turn to run. As certain as he can be they won't return, the craven creatures that they are, Kerr decides not to give chase, instead turning to search their camp.

• Is there any treasure? 8, Poor outcome.
• Is there an artifact? 4, Poor outcome.
• Do they have his supplies? 13, Indifferent.
• Is there a bounty for Goat Men in town? 18, Very good outcome.

 Unsurprisingly the Goat Men must have consumed all the smoked venison, which might explain why there were laid out camping during the day, and there is no sign of the other items Kerr had stashed, nor anything else of value. He remembered however that there is a bounty on Goat Men in Beckinsdale as they have been raiding the local farmsteads, so he uses his axe to hack off the head of the one dead beast and leaves the body for the bears, if they are interested, turning to head home after recovering his bow and checking for his spent arrows (15, A good outcome), recovering all three.

• Current Encounter Chance 1, Experience Earned 2

Part 4

It being only midday, Kerr decides to get some distance from the beastmen camp and spend the rest of the afternoon hunting for his evening meal.

• Wilderness Survival Check 17, 5 days fresh meat.
• Encounter Check [1, Evening] 11, none

 After a short time Kerr manages to bring down a yearling doe and carries it back to camp, dressing it and having a bit of venison and his remaining nuts and berries for his evening meal, setting the rest of the venison to smoke overnight.

• Weather Check 19; Clear, Warm (Next roll ADV)
• Encounter Check [2, Morning] 10, none
• Encounter Check [3, Midday] 15, none

 Come morning Kerr breaks camp and heads back into town. By midday he arrives in Beckinsdale, and wanting to divest himself of his grizzly trophy, Kerr decides first to seek out the Mayor.

•  NPC Creation
• Nial, Mayor of Beckinsdale
• Reputed [LVL 3 | HLT 9 | DEF 10 | SKL d6]
• Athletic, Aimless, Trapper

 Kerr heads to the Prairie's Rest, the coaching inn where the Mayor has an office and the Border Warden's, what remains of them, gather to play at their "traditions." Nodding to Isabelle, the owner of the Rest, as he enters, Kerr heads straight up the stairs to the Mayor's office. Not knocking, he opens the door and steps in.

Nial is casually slumped in the large chair behind his expansive desk, the surface of which is empty save for the remains of his breakfast and a few daggers, matching the one that he currently cleans under the nails of one hand with. With little ceremony, Kerr pulls the Goat Man head from his belt and holds it out toward Nial, "How much do I get for this, and where do you want it?"

• Question: Is the bounty Loot? 16; A good outcome, favorable.
• Interpretation Yes, roll with advantage.
• Treasure Roll 10; 100 sp

Standing and moving over to a chest in the corner, Nial pulls a key on a chain from under his shirt, opens the chest, and pulls out a small pouch, tossing it at Kerr who catches it in his open hand, "A hundred silver per head, toss it out back in the mulch pile or do with it as you will."

"I ran off four more north of town," Kerr says, pocketing the pouch and hanging the head from his belt once more.

Nial shrugs and responds "Should have killed them, you'd be four hundred silver richer."

Question: Does Nial have any jobs he might offer to Kerr? 3; A very bad outcome, aggressive.

Interpretation - No, and Nial is not fond of Kerr, disadvantage on next check concerning Nial.

"Now take that offal and get out," Nial begins, waving a hand toward his empty desk, "as you can see I'm very busy."

 With a shrug of his own Kerr leaves the inn, asking Isabelle on the way out where to find Beatrix. She tells him the potter's shop is just down the lane and so he heads there. Perhaps unsurprisingly she is covered in clay when Kerr arrives, and without preable she asks "Did you kill that mean old croc? Can I go get my wagon?"

 "Yes, the beast is dead and the road is clear," Kerr begins, "my payment?"

 Beatrix waves him inside and nods to a stool as she returns to her wheel where she sits and continues work on her latest piece, "Aye, I told ye of a secret no?" she says, tapping her nose and winking, "Well, there's an odd place to the south of town that I heard tell of from one of my patrons from thataway…"

•  Adventure Site Generation
• [12] Mountain, Volcano; [3] Depression, Basin; [12] Holy, Blessed; [2] Conquered, Infested

Beatrix continues, "Elyse, that's her name, says it was a volcano that sunk in on itself rather than erupt ages ago, and folk of the time saw it as a holy place to the old gods of fire and smoke." Her hands work deftly on the clay as she tells the story, "She were complaining that she couldn't do her work there anymore as it's been overrun by some manner of nasties."

"What kind of work," Kerr interjects.

Shrugging she snorts, "Dunno, we don't generally talk about such things, but she seemed really upset. Even seemed more so after she told me about it, so it must be some secret, or meant to be. Should be enough to cover the little task I set for you, no?"

Nodding Kerr stands, "That'll do I guess, where is this place?"

"South of here some days in a great basin full of a constant mist. Should be enough to get ya there with yer skills." Beatrix states.

With a nod Kerr leaves her to her work. Not having been on an exploratory trip in a while, and certainly not to the south, Kerr decides to go take a look round for this holy place. First he swings by the local blacksmith to see if there is a shield to be had.

Question: Does the local blacksmith have a shield for sale? - 3; A very bad outcome, aggressive.

Interpretation: No, the blacksmith is very busy with farmer requests, the next availability roll for them will be at disadvantage.

Finding Cuthbert to be hard at work on a backlog of farming implements and wares Kerr doubts that war gear will be on offer any time soon. Deciding to try and make a rough shield of his own before traveling to the south, spending the rest of the afternoon searching for materials to use.

• Wilderness Survival Check 23 crit, advantage on check to find special materials
• Question: Does Kerr find any special materials to use? 18; A very good outcome, friendly.
• Interpretation - Yes, finding feywood, and gaining advantage on the crafting roll.
• Crafting 14

 Kerr is blessed by the old gods to find a fallen feywood tree that he is able to use as the body of his shield, and using some leather, sinew and plant fibre to weave it all together, constructs a serviceable and surprisingly strong shield. Having spent the remainder of the day with his primitive crafting, Kerr decides to set out to the south tomorrow.

• Encounter Check [4, Evening] 4, encounter
• Encounter Generation
• [7] Level 2 Monster; [3] Eating, Resting; [5] Defensive; [12] Resource Issue; [19] >240 ft.
• Question: Does the monster want to eat Kerr? 20; An excellent outcome, helpful.
• Interpretation - No, and the monster awakens Kerr, drawn by the smell of smoked meat in his pack.
• Question: Does the monster give Kerr something? 20; An excellent outcome, Helpful.
• Interpretation - Yes, they give something in trade for the meat, an artifact they don't understand/have need for.
• Artifact Generation
• [3] Rare; [2] 2 Powers; [12] Machine, device; [16] A gift from someone; [5] Metal (bronze, iron, steel); [8] Elemental power.

 This handheld bronze bull's-eye lantern of dwarfish make is always lit without need of fuel. On the rear facing plate is a couplet in ancient dwarfish runes which reads "May this be a fire for you against dark foes, when all hopes fail." Upon reading this couplet aloud a blast of fire equivalent to the spell blast as if it were Powered fills the area in front of the wielder, after which the bronze lantern grows too hot to hold, prompting the wielder to drop it as it melts into a puddle on the ground as the flame finally goes out.

 In the middle of the night Kerr is nudged awake by a shape in the darkness. Opening his eyes, he sees a simian face, nostrils flaring as if scenting something, white fur standing out in the moonlight. The beast motions toward his pack as 4 more white shapes move out of the moonshadows, and remembering his smoked meat Kerr pulls out the bundle and pushes it along the ground to the creature. It quickly takes it and turns to move back towards the others, when, pausing, it motions to one of the others and then motions to the ground near Kerr. Another ape approaches and drops something with a clank of metal on rock. The apes then fade into the night, continuing their scavenging.

Intrigued, Kerr goes to pick up the dropped item, which turns out to be a bull's-eye lantern of ancient make, the bronze pitted. Opening it he is surprised to find it lit though the fuel reservoir is empty, and though he cannot make them out in the darkness his fingers pick out the etchings of some kind of writing on the rear plate. Shuttering the lantern again Kerr places it with his things and returns to his bedroll to rest.

• Day 10
• Weather Check - 19; Clear, Warm (Next roll ADV)
• Encounter Check [1, Morning] 10, none
• Encounter Check [2, Midday] 14, none
• Encounter Check [3, Evening] 12, none

Waking to another clear day Kerr gathers his things and sets out to the south, certain that he'll not find the fabled basin of mist for a few days, and so he travels leisurely for until mid-afternoon when he does some foraging.

Wilderness Survival Check 13, 1 day of nuts and berries

Finding enough ruffage to sate himself for the day Kerr makes camp in a small copse of trees among the grasslands and fields and beds down for the night.

• Day 11
• Weather Check 6; Overcast
• Encounter Check [4, Morning] 2, encounter
• Encounter Generation
• [10] Level 1 Monster; [19] Travel, Migration; [18] Friendly; [9] Illness, Disease; [8] 120 ft.

The sky is grey and hints at rain as Kerr breaks camp in the morning, continuing his journey south. He is not far along when he notices a wolf pacing him at bowshot. He stops to check for any sign of a pack following him preparing to attack but the wolf appears to be alone. It begins to approach him with a low whine, and he notices that it appears to have been wounded by some other beast, the edges of the wound angry and weeping puss. To venerate the old ways Kerr decides to help the creature.

• Nature Magic Check 18 to cast speak with animals, success
• Wilderness Check 18 to find ingredients for a salve for the wolf's injury
• Alchemy Check 12 to make a salve to help the wolf recover

Kerr closes his eyes and utters a prayer to the old gods, and feels them answer, suddenly understanding low whine of the wolf as, unsurprisingly, a cry for help. "It's okay boy," Kerr begins, and the wolf's ears perk up as it clearly understands him, "I'm gonna find some things to help you. Lay down, I'll be back in a few." The wolf lays down as Kerr stalks off into the woods, gathering a few restorative plants to make a salve for the poor animal. Returning to the wolf, he uses some rocks to mash the ingredients together and chews them up to make a past. Before smearing it on the wound he puts his hand on the wolf's shoulder and says "This may hurt as I smear it on, but if you can stand it and leave it alone afterword you'll be right as rain in a day or two."

Thanks to the magic of the old gods he knows the wolf has understood him and he applies the salve as gently as possible, and while the wolf twitches a few times, it stays still. Once Kerr is finished the wolf turns its head back and sniffs his wound, then looks at Kerr rumbling a clear thank you. Kerr also understands that a group of vile creatures that the wolf pictures as like Kerr but all black murdered the rest of its pack a few days ago and that it has nowhere to go. "You can travel with me if you like, though I head into danger more often than not," he tells the wolf.

• Question: Will the wolf join Kerr as a companion? 16; A good outcome, favorable.
• Interpretation - Yes, the wolf will follow Kerr if cared for as a companion.

The wolf growls his assent, and Kerr understands that he wants to hurt those that murdered his pack if given the chance. Kerr vows to help him if they ever run in to these obsidian skinned humanoids.

Wanting to let the wolf rest for the remainder of the day, Kerr goes hunting for the two of them after finding them a good place to camp.

Encounter Chance  3, XP Earned 3