My worries lifted for a bit when we came upon a clearing. Free from the shade, I lifted my face towards the sun to soak in its warmth. Without a word, Pendry dropped her gear in preparation to make camp. I wanted to make a snarky comment about her being tired until I realized how exhausted I was myself.
“Pendry, me and Drogga are going to take a look around. Maybe we can find some wild sweet potatoes, I don’t want to run out of food on the return trip.”
Pendry stood at attention and saluted with her fist to her chest. “Sure thing boss!”
I gave her stale face. “Don’t call me boss.”
Read the previous session here or start at the beginning
The forest surrounding the glade was peaceful with the only sounds being the soft rustling of leaves as those that had already changed into their fall colors were blown from their summer homes and fell silently to the earth. I managed to find a nice patch of muscadines that were not yet over-ripe but had no luck finding any sweet potatoes. I loaded up on the muscadines and headed back towards the glade, still listening for the buffet of wings and signs of Deris.
By the time I made it back to camp, Pendry had set up a fire and our bedrolls. She was cooking some flat bread on the cast iron. She was happy to see the muscadines I had returned with and used some of them to make a nice sweet sauce in which we could dip our bread. We spent the early part of the evening quietly watching the fire before I dozed off for a much needed rest.
We set off early the next morning under the cover of a bright, orange dawn. I believe I ate too much of Pendry’s muscadine sauce the previous evening as my stomach churned, cramped, and grumbled. I broke the silence of the morning by yelling, “Deris! Deris!” But I got no response from the wyvern. The thought of losing him pained me but I focused on moving forward and the task at hand.
We arrived at the River of Wrath around mid-afternoon and to my surprise, we discovered the river was swollen and flowing over its natural banks. The waters rushed downstream with a deafening roar as we stared on in amazement.
“Must have had some heavy storms upstream for the river to look like this,” I said.
“Well no reason to stand here staring at it. Let’s get looking for the owl thing so we can go home” Pendry responded.
“Owivil. It’s called Owivil. And that’s the problem.”
“What?”
“It only grows on the west bank of the river. I have to cross it.”
Pendry looked at me with one eyebrow raised, “You must be out of your mind. You’re gonna drown in there or be washed down to the fens. I see why they call it the River of Wrath.”
“Actually, it’s usually pretty calm,” I said while removing some rope from our pack. “I’ve never seen it like this.”
Pendry said, “Whatever you are planning to do with that rope, let me go ahead and say it’s a stupid idea,” as she gripped my forearm. “Maybe we can search upstream or downstream for a place to cross.”
“It won’t make a difference. Downstream would just lead us to the fens and other things besides water to worry about. Upstream would be more of the same but the water would be moving faster because the river narrows to the north.” I tied the rope around my waist and handed her the other end. “Might as well do it here. You stay on this side with Drogga. Once I get to the other side it shouldn’t take long to find the plant. Don’t let go okay?”
Pendry nodded and took her end of the rope to a nearby tree to use for leverage as I stepped foot in the water.
The water was cold. Cold enough for me lose my breath as I sank chest deep into the water. Cold enough that the pinpricks of cold felt like a thousand stings and made me wish I had come up with a different plan.
I was able to walk about halfway across with the water staying below my shoulders. I then slipped on a slick, underwater stone that caused me to lose balance and fall sideways into the rushing waters.
The force of the water tossed me like a submerged ragdoll. I felt disoriented as I spun and grasped for anything. My left hand found the rope that led out from behind me and I managed to stop the spinning but the force sent a sharp pain from my left shoulder throughout my neck. My scream of pain was nothing but a cascade of bubbles from my mouth that quickly disappeared in the raging river.
Suddenly my head popped above the water and I was able to find my footing and stand up. I grasped at my left shoulder and stretched my neck to ease the strain. I was happy to have not drown but heartbroken that Pendry had been pulling on the rope and I was near the eastern bank again. I would have to attempt the cross again.
“You okay?” Pendry yelled.
I didn’t say anything but instead waved my hand and nodded my head before placing both hands on my knees to gather my breath.
My second attempt was less eventful as I focused on keeping my balance and moving more slowly. I soon found myself lying on my back on the western bank, sucking wind. I pushed the fact that I was freezing to the back of my mind and thanked the gods I made it.
I tied the rope around a tree so as not to lose it and set off upriver to find the Owivil.
To be continued in the next solo session
If you are interested in seeing the character sheet and mechanics of this actual play, go here.
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