Session 1: The House of the Three Squires

[Rusty Tincanne]

Peitharian takes a moment to relieve his hunger and thirst before they proceed though the delay rankles considering they know not what state the injured one is in. This could all be for naught if they tarry too long.

of we can consider that OOC post as an IC action of quenching her thirst:
With his sword in one hand, Swelan stands to the hinged side of the door and attempts to open it.

They already dealt with Hungry/Thirsty, I thought. I wouldn't have advanced the clock if they hadn't.

[Marullus]

Isabelle refills her lantern as it begins to gutter, then lavishing some attention on the new dog friend. Does he look like a pet or a stray (before torment by kobolds)? Any collar or indication of name? Any signs of what happened with him and the kobolds? She raises her lantern and peers into the room where the dog was trapped, looking for other doorways or things of note.

Morgul sniffs the new canine over and, establishing dominance, welcomes him to their small pack. "What should we call you, boy? You are a boy, right? What's your name?" she scruffs his fur.

Is it safe to assume the dog acts as a Friend (p. 99) for now?

-1 oil
-Marked off Hungry/Thirsty

[Rusty Tincanne]

While the others are distracted by the new dog, Swelan sneaks to a darkened corner to conceal the well-aged, lower leg of... someone. He gulps down the flesh as quickly as he can without choking. When his belly is full, he wipes his mouth and hands, then returns to the group, attempting to look like he was inspecting the area.

[Faolan7]

Oops! I forgot about that bit! I am so sorry! You two take Hungry and Thirsty instead. I am so sorry.

Also, sorry for not posting. Christmas was much busier than normal.

Isabelle: The dog was obviously a pet, as the collar around its neck shows. There is a crude tag on the collar, with the name Shag carved into it. Shag doesn't appear to have any injuries. He's just starved, and while you're examining him, he sniffs at your pack.
You can consider the dog a friend, but the dog is incapable of doing much more than helping.

The room itself reeks of vinegar and rancid beer. The walls are covered is racks of casks, but most of them have been destroyed, and the floor is covered in, what you can assume, is alcohol from the casks.

[Marullus]

Help is good!

"Good Shag, Good shaggy Shag..." she coos, scruffing the dog's fur around his head and neck. "You gave those kobolds trouble, didn't you? Didn't you? Good boy..." While showering positive affirmation on the new dog, and also making sure Morgul doesn't feel left out, she looks over the next room with a thoughtful eye. Any passages hidden behind casks? Anything else of note in the room? Eventually she rises and checks any casks that are still whole. With her practiced nose, she considers the ingredients within. (Anything useful?)

Once she has triaged the new room, she brings the lantern back to her companions and considers their road ahead. (Confirming - which direction did the blood trail go? My goal is to follow it.)

The two undead handle their own rations, but for the rest of us, camp is a factor. We need to alleviate Hungry for Petharian, Isabelle, and Shag. I can use up a whole slot of preserved rations (3x) and we can move on. Or, if we camp, I can use Cooking to feed all three of us with one ration (1x used, 2x saved). Camping right now doesn't help the grind because it just reset. So, I'd say we should do another action or two, then camp. Gather some checks. Not sure, though, if we can get back here to securely camp if we move forward. Perhaps we do something here (if something presents itself to do in this room), then have Swelan secure the campsite with an action, then camp. Thoughts?

[Rusty Tincanne]

that sound fine. Is there any action Peitharian or Magda would like to do? Swelan has 2 checks earned. I'm happy to spread out the narrative.

[Faolan7]

Isabelle: Please make an Ob 3 Scout test to search the room.

Speaking of getting checks...
Apologies for not posting. I lost my flashdrive with all my Torchbearer stuff, so I couldn't find the Ob for this.

[Marullus]

Yikes! Alright, lets roll then...

Isabelle holds her lantern aloft and pads into the beer-flooded room on her tip-toes, casting light around for the others as they check the place out. She conveys to Morgul that she wishes help; she pays attention to the two canine noses as they sniff for things of interest. She checks the barrels thoughtfully, perhaps getting a bit wrapped-up in her ideas that good things could be hidden behind or below the barrels and trying to get into the minutae on each one.

Assuming the help as everyone looks around. If you sub a wise you can protect yourselves from potential consequences. If you spend a check you can get the test for advancement against your loaned skill (if applicable) or Will ability (since I beginner's lucked).

6D Will + 1D Help Swelan +1D Help Magda +1D Help Peitharian +1D help Morgul +1D Help Shag = 11/2 = 5.5 = 6D -1D Thoughtful (earn a check) = 5D vs Ob 3

Scout... [1d6] = 5 [1d6] = 4 [1d6] = 4 [1d6] = 1 [1d6] = 1

[Faolan7]

Whew. That was a close one.

Isabelle: While exploring the room, you find four surviving casks of the famed Three Squires' sour beer (See spoiler). You also find that one of the racks on the western wall is on rollers, and behind lies a closed closet door.

Inside the closet, there is a sword, crossbow, a battered shield, and a helmet on a rack. In the center of the closet, there is a small unadorned chest. The chest is locked.

The trail goes down the stairs into the first cellar room and into the open room (See map).

The beer takes up pack 4, and each cask is filled with 4 servings. It alleviates the Hungry and Thirsty condition, except for Magda and Swelan (Sorry!), and provides +1D to recovery tests for Angry and Afraid.
A cask can be sold for 2D of silver, but an opened cask is worthless.

Map:

[Rusty Tincanne]

While visibly impressed at Isabelle's ability to snoop, a pang of guilt overtakes Swelan as he imagines selling another corpse's belongings to mend his armor. Had the owner kept these weapons at hand, we might have found a different situation here. We can leave these here and retrieve them later.

[Marullus]

Letting everyone else have first crack at the closet.

Isabelle finds the rack on rollers as her dogs sniff and scratch at it. "Clever, clever..." she murmurs tapping the side of her nose, then she pulls the wall open and proudly displays it to the others.

She looks to the cask, quirking her pursed lips to the side. She looks to Peitharian for approval. "Beer for everyone's dinner? I mean, at least us and the dogs, that is?"

We still should camp to reset the timer, as hungry/thirsty remains not easy for Swelan and Magda. We can drink a barrel of beer, though, if we don't want to use a check for the cooking test...

Nice having four +2D treasures in the beer, though, for our way out. I assume it is Pack 4/Hand 2?

[Faolan7]

The book just says it's pack 4, so if you were to carry it, I think carried 2 works.
So, each cask is pack 4/carried 2.

Also, turn update.

End of Turn 5
Isabelle's lantern has two turns remaining

[coil23]

The beer now sounds like a good idea considering the bonus and that it spares for now our rations.

Peitharian eyes the goods found, especially the crossbow to see if it seems like it is in operable shape and whether there are any bolts around.
If so: The crossbow may prove useful in allowing us to engage with the beasts at less risk to ourselves. Is anyone proficient with this? He looks around to the two adults. Superstitious old fool that he is he also keeps an eye on the dog. Or perhaps no fool at all...He just can't get some of those old verses out of his head.

"And lo, the transmogrification was dual, just as the serpent's tongue is forked. So as the Demon's shape twined from sinister to saintly, so too did the peoples' caution lapse from canny to credulous. And in this way the Beast was met not with arms raised but with an embrace and thus the people's fall came with nary a cry. The Demon's greatest victory was struck with our own virtues in place of a terrible sword."

Righteous ire beginning to boil as Peitharian is caught up in remembrance of the Holy Writ. He looks critically around at the others, suddenly thinking they all might be saved, both body and soul, by a sermon in this moment. They could see how it spoke to circumstances even down in this stinking, blood-soaked cellar. But no, I will refrain, though it may end to cost us mightily. He shakes his head in disappointment, his mood suddenly as sour as the beer.

[Faolan7]

The crossbow is operable and has bolts.

[Marullus]

Perhaps Magda should inspect the crossbow, in case it is better than her own.

Peith has a shield, so no helmet, right? Does he want the helmet?

Isabelle has no weapon and can only wield a dagger (should we acquire one). Until then, she can wield her torch and use Beginner's Luck to open Fighter if she is forced into combat.

So... Anyone have an action?
If not, we have Swelan spend an action to secure the site and we rest/camp before delving deeper? That takes us from 3 turns to 2, then resets back to 4 turns helping us avoid the grind. We drink beer for hunger/thirst. Isabelle manufactures explosives to prepare for trade with the kobolds. We have 1 check remaining, then, for someone's recovery or action, or save it.

Thoughts?

[coil23]

As long as it will not take a needed slot then Peitharian will don the helmet after he inspects it thoroughly.

[Faolan7]

The helmet takes up the head slot, but I don't know of anything else that goes there. At least, nothing useful.

[Marullus]

Glancing furtively at Magda, the self-assured huntress, Isabelle considers the crossbow enviously. Considering her lantern and the the quiver of bolts, she sighs, unable to wrestle her way through the logistics of it. She turns instead, picking up and examining the sword. She looks to Swelan for approval, then says apologetically to Peitharian, "I mean, we know we'll face monsters for the first time in millennia, right?" She holds the hilt awkwardly, but with visibly increased confidence.

Anything interesting about the sword?

[Faolan7]

It's such a small and easy to-do thing, but taking the adventure from the basic rulebook and putting it in its own PDF is so nice.

Isabelle: The sword is unadorned and utilitarian. It appears to be just a regular sword.

[Rusty Tincanne]

Looking around, Swelan takes stock of what is available and starts to make the smaller room comfortable and safe enough to camp in. Shrugging off any sense of fatigue from earlier, he removes any locks from the outside of the door and then barrels to just inside the doorway, forming a shield wall. He then arranges the contents of the tiny space to allow for a more comfortable rest. Finally, he takes the crossbow and sets down with it by the doorway to guard the others. Hopefully we won't get locked in now, and if anything tries to enter, we have this wall to protect us a bit. You all should rest.