The Game Thread

[tibbius]

Ghostal had a different name. Now it's named for its denizens, the ghosts of a dwarfish court.

The dwarfen king liked exotic pets.

Ghosts can be killed only by silver or salt.

There are a lot of statues in Ghostal.

The entrance is up in the Silver Hills above the snowline.

There's a rich treasure in the ghostly halls.

You're in the lonely cottage that is the furthest up the little-trod trail toward the entrance of Ghostal. The owner is a cheerful dwarf with a very bushy beard of an aubergine color. She wears her similarly-colored hair in a crown of braids. The little you can see of her face is wrinkled. She's puttering about cleaning up the dinner that she made from your provisions. "You can throw down your blankets ... just anywhere, dearies," she says. "Here, I'll croon you a lullaby while you sip your toddies." She in fact begins to croon a song about the lost glories of the Adamantine City. There are not a lot of rhymes for adamantine, unless she switches back in forth from common speech to dwarf tongue.

What do you while you enjoy your toddies?

[Grognardsw]

Elcroon, well aware his sing-song style of conversation can bewilder or annoy people, explained to their dwarf hostess his condition.

“Forgive my forced verse
For I live under dread curse
Put upon me by a witch perverse
Only when drunk can I rightly converse.”

Alas there was not enough alcohol here to get Elcroon drunk.

Remembering the rumors, the musicmancer checked his provisions for the Ghostal expedition. Salt, check. Silver weapons, check. He pondered how to procure an exotic pet.

“Good dwarf, have you any pet
Unusual or rarely met?”

Elcroon appreciated the comforts of the dwarf house, despite bruising his head twice on the low ceiling. He knew Ghostal accommodations would be lacking.

“We hope to find great treasure
and I say with pleasure
we’ll repay your hospitality in good measure!”

Whatever a toddie was, Elcroon enjoyed the drink.
He took out his lute and joined the dwarf in a lullaby:

“The wind was on the withered heath,
but in the forest stirred no leaf:
there shadows lay by night and day,
and dark things silent crept beneath.

The wind came down from mountains cold,
and like a tide it roared and rolled;
the branches groaned, the forest moaned,
and leaves were laid upon the mould.

The wind went on from West to East;
all movement in the forest ceased,
but shrill and harsh across the marsh
its whistling voices were released.

The grasses hissed, their tassels bent,
the reeds were rattling - on it went
o'er shaken pool under the heavens cool
where racing clouds were torn and rent.

It passed the lonely Mountain bare
and swept above the dragon's lair:
there black and dark lay boulders stark
and flying smoke was in the air.

It left the world and took its flight
over the wide seas of the night.
The moon set sail upon the gale,
and stars were fanned to leaping light."

song source: https://polianaraisa.com/2022/05/04/the ... bitlyrics/

[tibbius]

Toddies

[jemmus]

Delx left the dog who had adopted him outside, doubting that he'd be welcome in a dwarven cottage, or really any cottage at all. Stay, black dog. I'll get you something to eat.

He stoops to enter the door, doffs his leathern cap, and greets the proprietress. Good evening, ma'am. We thank you for your hospitality. I've a dog outside who'd like a meal, if you have some scraps I could buy for him. He's a dog, you know? Always hungry, and will eat about anything? He enjoys the warm toddie, and the dwarf grandma lady's crooning song. He hears "Adamantine City" sung in Common. Ma'am, may I ask if would Adamantine City be the old name for Ghostal?

When Elcroon begins to play his lute and sing, he listens, impressed by his new traveling companion's ability with the instrument and talent with songcrafting. He took his flute out of his heavy pack with its many wayfaring items. "Someday, I'll devise a pack with compartments and pockets, both inside and out, to make things more easy and quick to find. And maybe make a shilling or two having them made, and hawking them.... But probably only to find buyers in the cities.... For next time. When in a city."

He holds his flute and waits to see if Elcroon would invite him to join in in playing the melody. Among musicians it was just mostly glad acknowledgement of a fellow player and happy invitation to join in and see which way the song might go. But sometimes a musician was playing or signing (or both), which must not be interrupted along the way.

Delx holds his flute and waits for the man's nod and smile to about joining in. Perhaps the old crooning proprietress might goodly join in as well? Or... will Elcroon not notice because of his curse? Or being enraptured with his music? Or, because of something about... Ghostal. Itself

[tibbius]

"Yes, indeed, young man, I'll share a bit with your dog. ... Who's a nice boy, eh? Oh he's a friendly one ..." the elderly dwarf lady clearly likes animals, though she doesn't seem to have a pet of her own.

"Yes, I don't like Ghost Hall as a name for the old city. Spooky, not respectful."

She gestures for both Elcroon and Delx to join the music, and hums accompaniment to Elcroon's old dwarfen lullaby.

It's a good evening all round. You get to sleep as the fire dwindles to red coals. The old lady adds a shovel full of fresh coals to the hearth. "Good night, dearies," she says sweetly as she pulls the curtain round her short four-poster bed. You settle on the spare pillows that she's put down for you.

---

Morning in the mountains comes with distant bird song. "You'll be up the stairs to the entrance by noon, lads," says the cottager after a breakfast of bacon and porridge. "Pace yourselfs, now. The stairs get steep."

Test LK, please

[Grognardsw]

Elcroon smiled and nodded as Delx took out his flute to join in the lullaby. It was good to have a traveling companion who appreciated music. He wondered if ghosts could be entertained with music.

The next morning, Elcroon bade the dwarf good bye.

“Goodbye dear dwarf, goodbye
Up we go on mountain high
I flit, I float, I fleetly flee, I fly
The sun has risen and so must I!”

Partly inspired by Goodbye from Sound of Music

What is the campaign code, for the roller?

[tibbius]

What is the campaign code, for the roller?

1075

[Grognardsw]

Elcroon

LK 9 test [1d10]=2

[tibbius]

As Elcroon and Delx trudge up the steepening side of the mountain toward the snowline, the scrubby pine trees occasionally block the morning sun. It is chilly in the shade, this high up.

Some words from the dwarfen lady's lullaby flit through Elcroon's head:

In the adamantine halls ...
... as still as stone ...
... still roam uneasily ...
... the throne

He's sure that's not quite right. Usually he has a good recall for verse, but the toddies must have been stronger than he realized.

[Grognardsw]

Elcroon pulled his furs closer as he and Delx climbed the snowy mountain.

“Chills will settle deep in our bones
Unless we find warmth beneath the Adamantine stones”

Pondering the words of the dwarf’s lullaby, Elcroon asked Delx:

“What think you of the mystery
Of the dwarf lady’s song -
Warning or history?
Words right or wrong:
‘… still roam uneasily…
… the throne…’
She said as we went to bed.”

[jemmus]

Delx scruffs black dog's head, smiles, and nods his head deep to the grandma host for the night. Thank you much, ma'am. For your song, your fare, your fire, and your care for this dog. I don't know if he'll go on with me, or return to good and kind care with you. He might be smart, or he might be brave, unwise, and stubborn. I hope it's the latter, and we might see you and Black Dog if we're welcome to stay here again. Good-bye!

Walking down the road, he agrees. Yes, friend Elcroon, I also hope there's some warmth to be found. I suppose the kind dwarve grandma's song may have been both-- a history, and a warning. "Still roam uneasily" sounds to me like the ghosts the place is named for. In the dialect of the highlands where I come from, a ghost is called a "bound spirit." A spirit bound to place here in the mundane, and unable to travel to the spirit world of the afterlife. The monks and sages say they're bound to the place because of something left unfinished there in their natural life. Ordinary folk say it's because they were given a proper burial or burning and proper rites. He thinks a little, humming to himself, then tries a simple tune.

O I am bound, as if hand and foot
By that I cannot leave behind
By what was not done, or made un-done
By memories of deeds kind and unkind

Here's the everlasting rub
I am neither good nor bad
I'd spirit away for a halo or a horn
Or away to the hat I once had

The first verse needs some work, eh? Yes, it does.

The second verse is based on lyrics from Jethro Tull's "A Passion Play (Part 2)"
Did Black Dog stupidly and stubbornly follow along?

[tibbius]

Black Dog ... dogs your steps, sometimes scampering ahead up the hill. He seems to like the morning, very energetic, grinning a lot.

You near the verge of the treeline. There's a broad swathe of thorny bushes here, all green-leafy with hints of dark berries amongst them. Probably the ones called Fae-tears, sweet as sin and a little bit hallucinogenic. Further up the slope is bare ground, and beyond that, the bright white snow. The mountain you're on is riven by a chasm near the top. It looks like there is a slender bridge across that chasm. From what you've heard, the bridge is the only access to Ghostal.

[Grognardsw]

With a painful smile, Elcroon replied to Delx:

“I’m not adverse to your first verse
The words speak true and plain.
My doggerel often inflicts pain,
I’d speak proper but for my curse!”

Elcroon eagerly picked the Fae-tear berries. He hoped that their hallucinogenic effect would allow him to speak normally. Alcohol did; perhaps the mind-altering berries would do the same.

Approaching the bridge, Elcroon took out his rope and offered the other end to Delx.

“This bridge we may safely cope
Tied hither in turn with rope
First the one then another
What say ye brother?”

[tibbius]

It's a slow cold climb through the snow to the bridge. There are steps, several flights zigging across the increasingly sheer face of the mountain. The steps are slippery with ice. Black Dog whines as his paws slip.

Looks like you'll have to jump across the gap between the broken bridge. The chasm is deep, maybe deep enough to kill you if you fall. Wind whips through it. The two sides of the mountain loom over you, bright-lit by the morning sun.

To attempt the jump, test (ST - 2) this is a Level 2 obstacle and you're Level 1 - the first one can catch or throw the rope, but really it would be easier to jump without holding onto a rope.

[Juramenta]

She sniffs the air, her keen nose trying to pick up any scent of note.

~It is slippery. Master must be careful.~ she thinks, her concern for Master preceding the concern for his own well-being. Paws padding silently, she inches closer to the edge, peering into the abyss with bright, intelligent eyes.The goal is clear: cross the chasm. Master wishes it, so it must be done. Determination surges through her body, fueling her resolve. With a swift turn, she bounds back to his traveling companions, eyes scanning for rope.

Unless they have their rope stuffed inside a backpack or out of sight in some other way or form, she will pick the rope most easily accessible of the two.

Without hesitation, she leaps up to clamp her jaws around the rough fiber.

~Stop resisting me, rope! I need you for Master!~ she thinks as she angrily growls at the rope. She shakes his head fiercely, pulling and tugging until the rope is free or until one of his companions relents and hands it over.

If she manages to secure the rope in his mouth, she makes sure there is enough slack on the ground. She then dashes towards the chasm, muscles coiled and ready. ~I will leap and carry the rope across. Master will be pleased.~ she thinks, preparing for the task at hand.

She prepares to jump, the world narrowing to the singular goal of reaching the other side, hoping her traveling companions get the hint and grabs the other end before she makes the jump.

[Juramenta]

[jemmus]

Yes, Elcroon, a good idea, first one then another,Delx says. A safety line around the waist. No, under the shoulders for me. I don't fancy dangling and spinning with my head and my feet at the same level. I never was very comfortable with that. He takes a rope out of his pack. It's folded in flat loops that are wrapped around with one end of it. But then he has a thought. What do we do about Black Dog? After we've both jumped across with rope, he'll be left on this side with no rope for a safety line.
Unless one of us tries to jump back across and tie it on him for his jump.... And then the other throws it back across the gap, maybe tied to a rock. And then, a third try at a jump.
I don't think I mentioned that I have a dreadful fear of heights. Even jumping feet first into a still little pond would paralyze me as kid.

He looks the dog in the eyes and says, Black Dog, go back to nice Grandma with purple hair. She'll take care of ye. He points back down the mountain and gestures, signing his meaning with his eyes. He begins to loosen and unfold the rope. The dog immediately grabs the lose end in his jaws and shakes it like a hare in an unfortunate and probably terminal situation. Eh, what's this, Black Dog? You want the rope? We watches in disbelief as the dog runs for the chasm across the icy ground, rope between teeth, and leaps....

Juramenta, is Black Dog a he or a she? It started as a he and changed to a she in a subsequent .

[tibbius]

Black Dog easily springs across the eight foot gap, landing well clear of the far edge. The canine spins around and braces his feet, clearly ready for a human to attempt the jump with the aid of the rope clutched in his teeth.

please test ST - 2

[Grognardsw]

Elcroon tossed his back pack over so as to be lighter, secured the rope around him, and without a word leapt the chasm.

ST 8 [1d12-2]=3-2=1

[tibbius]

Elcroon tossed his back pack over so as to be lighter, secured the rope around him, and without a word leapt the chasm.

ST 8 [1d12-2]=3-2=1

so that is a success, but not in the way that is shown ...

"test ST - 2" means subtract 2 from the ST stat and then roll plain d12 against it