I remembered learning once that marsh rats will eat anything living or dead but had odd behavior concerning their own dead. No one knew for sure what caused the fear of a fellow rat’s corpse, perhaps it had to do with disease or the heightened sense of mortal danger.
I pulled the dead rat from the ground and shoved it into the faces of the other two. They hissed and began to back away. They slowly backed away as I struggled to my knees and approached them it once more. I feigned a lunge at them with a “Hiyah!” and they scuttled off back into the forest.
I dropped the rat and crawled towards the rock pile. I reached forward and grabbed the bundle of Owivil has blood poured from my arm and flowed into the river. I worried if I would ever see home again as all went dark.
Read the previous session here or start at the beginning
I dreamed of that vision I had seen days ago. Only this time it was darker and more silent. Was I dead? No, I was alive. If I was dead, I would be wandering around in the mortal world until I was put to the pyre.
I felt a warm breeze on my face. Much different from the wet chill I had felt ever since crawling from the cold river. The breeze faded only to be followed by another puff of warm breeze.
The light returned as I opened my eyes to see a wyvern nose-to-nose with me. I would’ve screamed and tried to get away had I not been in so much pain. But it was Deris, studying my face like a curious child.
I turned my head to see I was back on the east side of the river. How did I get here? Where was Pendry and Drogga? I worried that they may have met the same fate as I did. Maybe there were more marsh rats waiting to ambush them before I fell.
“You alive?”
I slowly turned my head away from the river to see Pendry sitting on a large rock.
“I guess you are alive. Probably not for long if we don’t get that arm properly cleaned and bandaged.”
I looked down at my arm to see a crude tourniquet around my bicep and the long gash on the inside of my forearm.
A sense of panic gripped me. Not from my injuries but the thought of my quest and of home. “The Owivil!” I sat up despite the intense pain.
Pendry retorted, “You plan to use the chieftain’s cure on yourself? Think of something else, I can’t go home with that story.”
“No, the Owivil,” I strained. “Do you have it?”
“I do. You didn’t fail on that front although I can say it was pretty stupid for you to take on those rats on you own. They could have killed you. Almost did. You are lucky Deris showed up and brought you back over here. I am sure those other two rats would have come back and finished you off.” Pendry walked over and knelt next me. “Tell me mystic. How do we fix your arm?”
“I am sorry. I overreacted when I saw those rats heading closer to the Owivil. I just wanted to get them away from it.” I laid my wounded arm across my lap and looked at the deep wound and torn flesh. I was bleeding slowly thanks to the tourniquet but still bleeding nonetheless. I needed to clean the wound and sew it shut. “I need some rock mint leaves to fight any infection and something to use as needle and thread.”
“We can get some thread from the rope and I saw a dead fish downriver I could salvage for a bone needle. I would have to search for some rockmint.”
Pendry left me there as she went to find what she could. Drogga whimpered as I sat there but with a nod of my head she followed Pendry. Deris nudged the back of my head and I fought through the pain of moving to give him a rub on his nose.
Pendry returned quickly with the rope, fish bone, and rockmint. She handed me a handful of the rockmint as she got busy pulling a strand off the rope. I shoved the handful of rockmint into my mouth and started chewing it to a pulp. Although minty, rockmint is quite bitter as well. Pendry then brought me about two foot of a strand of rope with one end wrapped around a sharp fish bone.
I removed the pulp rockmint from my mouth and slowly pressed it into the wound. My eyes welled with tears as the burning sensation spread throughout my arm. I grabbed the bone needle and held close to my flesh. My hand shook. Too much. I closed my eyes and focused. I focused on all those long learning sessions with Ut’Ullah. As I opened my eyes, my hand was steady. “Pendry, I need you to hold the wound closed.”
Pendry reached over and pressed the two sides of the wound together. I calmly began the grim and painful job of sewing my arm back together.
As I finished, I fell backwards onto my back, breathing heavily. “Thanks Pendry. I’d be dead without you.”
“Don’t be getting soft on me. We still have the return trip.”
I laid near the fire as the night was chill so close to the river. My arm throbbed with dull pain that was just enough annoyance to wake me everytime I began to drift to sleep. Pendry seemed to be sleeping just fine as I envied her for being able to enjoy a night’s rest next to the soothing sound of a rushing river.
Night gave way to a bluish-grey dawn. Not a wink of sleep, just chills and throbbing pain all night. I gazed at the last star I could see straight above me, thinking of how the sun would soon snuff out it’s pinprick of light but yet would return the very next evening to twinkle in the sky.
I heard a deep growl from Drogga as the sound of a footsteps entered from the east. I could see two figures in silhouette just beyond the range of the campfire.
A gravelly voice spoke, “Looks like we got us a couple of lovebirds having a picnic by the river.” Pendry sat up and grabbed her axe.
A second voice joined in, higher pitched but still sounding rough. “Don’t even think about it missy. I’d rather not kill you this morning. Just give us what you have.”
I squinted my eyes in hopes of defining the voiced silhouettes but could see very little beyond the glowing fire. “Look,” I said, “We have nothing. We are from Paderul. We came here to find a herb to cure our chieftain. We seek no fight. Allow us to continue our way home.”
“Paderul you say?” The gravelly voice said as he moved within. the light of the fire. It was a towering man with shaggy, silvery hair and lightning bolt tattoos placed down his cheeks beneath narrow brown eyes. “You hear that hon? These folks are from Paderul. Tell me. Does everyone from Paderul look as weak as you? If so, I think we could find some easy pickin’ there. Hey Bordio!”
I heard some more footsteps as a third joined the original pair. The tall one continued, “Oh! Where are my manners? I am Juldt. That lovely woman back there is my wife Verra and Bordio is my twin brother. He doesn’t speak much so no reason for you to say hi.” Juldt took another step closer to me but stopped when he noticed Drogga. “You know what they say about laying with dogs?” He laughed, I didnt. “Look. Here is what’s going to happen. You and your friend here are going to come with us and lead us back to your village. Once there, we will bargain with your people for your lives. Sound good?”
I did not answer. Instead I peered over Juldt’s shoulder towards the dark shape of Verra. The oncoming dawn now permitted at least a slight view of the woman. Matted curly hair with thin pink streaks. A large birthmark dominated the left side of her face and ran down to her neck. She held a bow at the ready and nocked but not yet drawn. A white wood arrow shaft tipped with a stone arrowhead was aimed towards Drogga.
“I see your wife bears the mark of ill.” As I said this, Bordio came stomping towards me. “Juldt, our people are peaceful and accepting. I do not know from which clan you were outcast or how long you have lived in the wilds or if you are even willing to respond what I ask. How would you like to be a part of a clan again? To have meaning other than taking from others for survival?”
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.
Be First to Comment