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Thank Grog… it's Game Day!
Welcome to another installment of Ink n Bones: Lament of Severance. Excited to have you back with us. I wanted to take some time to just thank you for being a reader. Please smash that Subscribe button if you aren't already a member of the Inkyard for your next Exceptional Yes!
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Previously…
Last we left Kal was in the hands of the Flayer. Suffering a cruel fate, Jilna rushing to his aid. As previously reader discretion is advised. There was a question I ended on. which was 'Can we die in the dream?’ The answer was yes. I shouldn’t have asked 🤦🏾♂️ but it gives us a good base line, I think. One of the things we came across in Ravens Slumber was how high Kal’s faith in Jilna was. This will come up a bit later in our session. So, let's set the scene.
Setup
Description: 2d100→[32,98] Excitedly Watery
We confirmed that Jilna knew where they were, but we never determined what that place was like. So, this makes me think of the Fishermans District within Sericum Petrum.
Is it directly on the docks? Likely CF6 2d10+2 →[5,5] Exceptional Yes, Random Event 2d100→[42,20] Haggle Joy.
This isn’t a bad roll, so I am going to confirm that this is where they are.
Interpretation→ Kal is being held somewhere near the docks, more specifically the Fish Market along the docks.
Alright let’s dive into today’s installment.
Dock of Dreams
What is the dream like? → 2d10-2→[4,6]-2 8 Detail Disfavors Pc
Description 2d100→ [31,67] Enthusiastically Modern
Jilna ran through the twisted streets of Seri, streets she did not know or understand. She somehow knew he was near the docks, but it was like the roads were doubling back on themselves. Like the buildings were shifting purposely to confuse her.1
“Damn Rhova and her magic. Always, without warning.” she huffed in frustration.
Her scales were getting swampy, and she was getting warmer. She’d roamed the streets and alleys most of her life, snatching what she could where she could. She just needed to think. Jil stopped, the shutters on the nearby homes clattering as if in applause. The yawning portals of their doorways twisted in silent agony.
“Like Sruxi would always say, right? Slow down.”
There wasn’t a soul on the street and yet it felt like she was being watched, studied. She felt like prey on a wolf’s hunting grounds. She snarled and gave a bellow into the void of her unknown home. This was going to take her longer than she wanted.
Sometimes you run into a dead end. At times like that We go back to the GME to ask questions.
What’s happening to the street? 2d100→[73,97] Mysteriously Warm
I suppose things are about to get a little sticky. This shall be an odd one I think.
The hollow sound of her screams echoed off the vacant city, encasing her in her own misery like an ambient heat. The cobbles beneath her feet dissolved into a thick ruddy ichor. She tried to yank her feet clear and couldn’t at first as it sucked her down to her knees. Jilna frantically searched for a way to pull herself free.
”Hope Rhova didn’t change anyting…” she thought as her mind wandering back to memories of Surxi. The cobbles felt slick and viscous, but Jil tried to ignore it as she focused her mind. The liquified stone nearly above her waist she tried calling on a memory.2 The feel of goatsilk between her fingers, knotted and twisted into nigh indestructible rope. The Deepstone3 hook was as sharp as ever, resonating with a ghostly hue of silver. She could remember the odd wea-tool that Sruxi used to carry with her. She wouldn’t take kindly to having it be called a weapon. Jil felt her hands feel the weight of her newfound tool a grin creeped across her face.
She gave it a massive heave lodging the hook into the stone walls of a nearby building. She was not going to be stopped that easily.
“Time to get moving.”
We left Kal in a precarious position last time we left him with The Flayer. I Did mention this was going to touch on a historical event within the world called the Flayings. So, let’s get some context around this, we will roll a general NPC Action. This will formulate the motive/goal of The Flayer.
NPC Act→ 2d10+4→ [1,6]+4→ 11| Give Something
I have a bit of an idea about this but want to get a bit more detail. Let’s drop a Description roll in here.
Description→ 2d100[63,89]→ Lightly smelly
Hmm that is odd. Still not sure what to do with this. Sometimes it isn’t as cut and dry. So I’ll use UNE for the next roll.
Something Description→ 2d100→ [22,94] Abuse AnimalsThis should be interesting, let’s drop back in.
THE FLAYER/FLAYINGS|→ A monster, an artist, the opener of eyes and hearts alike. The Flayer garnered his name from his tactics, the carving and scarring of flesh. His skill was unmatched many thought him a chirurgeon. His mark became a badge of survival, as he made you one of his. Those touched by the Flayer became different, crueler, colder, uninhibited. The mark and stench of the Flayer carried like a secret gouged into flesh. They never found him, some say he was put down, others that he was locked away. You asked one of his touched….well they say he sings them lullabies still.
We must ask something about Kal here. He took some damage last time and we know what happens in the dream could kill you. That said, let’s ask
Does he succumb to the wound? d6-2→ [6]→ EXPLODE! d8[7]+[6]-2→11 v. d12→[9]
That is a success, so we don’t succumb to the wounds! Kal is still kicking!
Kal hasn’t had much say in things these past few sessions, but we should be seeing this shift soon. Hopefully if the dice co-operate, that is.
What’s the Flayer say about Kal’s toughness? d100→ [61]→ Juvenile
The room spun with the stench of blood and sweat. The pain shot up Kal’s spine, but he didn’t make a sound though tears streamed down his face. He clamped his mouth shut in rage.
”Na’ girl, no need be so cold. Your song, it’s everything…” his voice cracked, and his hands trembled as he lifted Kal’s chin. Kal stared back in defiant silence. He refused to be cowed by whatever this freak was.4 Kal looked around the walls of the shack they were in pulsating as if the inside of a beast gullet.
He tried to think of where he was last, the sound of celebration and the smell of leather. He tried to remember Atliss, the feel of his fur and scales beneath his hand. It was so vivid it was as if he could call Atliss to his side.5 Kal could see Atliss out of the corner of his eye whining, or he thought he did. The shadows and shifting walls playing tricks on his mind.
“Come on Na’, sang!” screamed the Flayer.
He raised a hand to strike Kal again to be stopped by goatsilk rope.
“That’s enough!”
Jilna finally made her way to the docks. They were built into the soft crystal sands of the lake. Unlike what she remembered, there was no bustling market with fishermen pulling in the days haul. No, the stalls held rotten fish, bulbous eels and jelli dregs. A twisted version of her favorite memories. No other warehouses save one at the end of the dock like a lonely monolith. A shiver went down her scales, this was nothing like she remembered but something pulled her towards the doors.
She thought about all the times she’d walked the docks as a kid. The feel of the damp wood beneath her feet and the smell of petrichor in her nose. She closed her eyes trying to stave off the horror before her.
When her eyes opened, she was before the doors of the warehouse. The swampiness left her body and an icy splinter when down her back when she her the voice from behind the door. She gripped Sruxi’s beloved weapon tightly and kicked open the door.
Next Week
We are going to stop here and pick it up next week with some combat. There are several things that we should touch on, namely:
Jilna being an accompliceKal’s release
How this Dream Resolves.
Some of what we ask may not be relevant to the situation immediately, but it helps with context from time to time to ask more than we need to know. I normally like to ask a question to end the session and we will do the same today.
Will this devolve into combat? 2d10+4→[7,3]+4→ Yes, Exceptional
As expected, we will be starting the next session with some combat which I think should be fun. It’s one of the first times we are running combat with Mythic. Should be interesting to see how this shakes out in terms of the overall dream and how it affects the party relationship. There has already been one knock against Kal’s Trust in Jilna.
Network Presents…
As always thank you for reading/listening. Excited to have you along for the ride and excited to see how this goes. This week the network gives you Peoplz and Dragons. Director Peoplz uses Mythic to not only run an interactive west marches style game for his viewers. But he also uses Mythic to run adventures in some of our favorite settings, Poke’mon, Morrowind, to name a few. Highly recommended!
How long does it take her? 2d10→[5,10] Strong +50% We’ll mark this as a knock towards Kal’s Faith. [1/4]
Can she make things in the dream? 2d10+2 →[7,10]+2→ Yes
Precious Trade mineral of the Efros Isles.
Contested Roll Fear→ d6+2 v. d10 (rank shift down due to successful defense) [4]+2→ 6 v. [1]
Can he call Atliss? 2d10→[2,7]→ 9 NO!