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Rolled 2, 4, 1 = 7 (3d10)

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ignoble_dark
Questions: http://ask.fm/Ignoble_dark
Archive: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=laughing+dog

Voting:

Most posts will be narrative, with the player and QM working together to create a worthy story. Every post will provide at least one might-based, nobility-based, and artifice-based avenue if applicable to the situation, and write-ins are both permitted and encouraged. Players vote for their preferred option, with majority determining the final choice. However, in the case of especially critical events, called “trials,” fate will be given its due through the roll of dice.

Trials:

During trials, after the majority have chosen a course of action, the QM will then roll 1d10, add the player’s relevant Aspect (Might, Nobility, or Artifice), and add any relevant bonuses from items or context. If the resulting sum meets the trial’s threshold, the player succeeds. If the sum falls short of the threshold, the player fails. For each margin of 3 the player exceeds or fails the threshold by, the outcome will be more severe (either positive or negative).

The thresholds for each trial are known only by the QM, and are different for every option. Depending on the situation, one option or another will probably be easier than the others. Sneaking past the elite palace guard will be easier than fighting all of them. Killing the feral tribe of cannibals is probably easier than talking them down diplomatically. This could change, of course, if the player is particularly proficient with one Aspect and deficient in another. Perhaps your Artifice is so bad that Might is the better option for getting past those palace guard, after all. Players should consider which approach is most likely to succeed given both the context of the trial and the character’s own skillset.

Criticals:

A trial roll of 10 that passes the threshold is a critical success, and reaps additional benefits. Conversely, a 1 that fails the threshold is a critical failure, and has additional consequences. A 10 that fails to beat the threshold still fails, but the player receives some accommodation, insight, or unforeseen benefit in the attempt. Likewise, a 1 that passes the threshold succeeds, but with a minor hiccup or unforeseen complication.

Kejeral Roericar (character sheet to come soon)
Korathi Cataphracti Officer

>Might 5
Martial prowess, constitution, and stamina

>Nobility 4
Charisma, leadership, and allure

>Artifice 3
Cunning, subterfuge, and stealth

XP: 0
Inventory: Tattered cloth, expired candlerod, sharpened stone dagger


Stamina for each character:
Kejeral: 1d10+5
Kirari: 1d10+3
Dorje: 1d10+5

>>127967
Ohhhhh boy. Are we in trouble?

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>>127967

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4GRWxp3UMA&list=PLVluA4G4N3H9_zcMPG6w2j6wY7lC2J7pZ&index=3

All three of you begin to feel the effects of fatigue draining your strength. You haven't had much to eat or drink, and the exposure to the cold stiffens your muscles and sends a chill deep into your bones.

None of you appear to be lagging behind the others, but all of you are noticeably getting weaker.

A gust of wind kicks up and pelts you all with some sand, stinging your bare flesh. You look down and see some tiny cuts on your arm where the sharp pebbles managed to break your skin.

--------------------
>turn back
>find shelter and rest
>keep going, things will only get worse if we stop
>write-in

>>127967
> 2, 4, 1
Awww shit, hang in there Dorje.

No xp for flailing the undead in the tomb OP?

>>127970

So far no, but if anyone rolls poorly enough again I will be penalizing their actions with a -1.

>>127996

The results when added to Might scores:

Kejeral: 7
Kirari: 7
Dorje 6

No one is particularly worse than the others, but everyone is universally feeling the onset of fatigue

>>127987
>find shelter and rest

>>127987
Keep on truckin. We don't want to do this in the sun

>>128027
>>128029

Giving a few minutes for a tie-breaker. I will roll off if no one votes

>>127996

I will codify an XP system for next time when I make a character sheet

>>127987
>find shelter and rest

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>>128075
>>128027

You look over your shoulder and see your kindred lost in their own thoughts. Kirari has her arms crossed over her chest, doing her best to fight off the chill that was certainly afflicting her the worst.

Dorje holds his wounded shoulder with his good arm, his breath heavier and more ragged as he struggles to keep up. His wound was slowing him down.

"We'll stop here for a moment and recover," you tell you them, waving them over to a rocky outcropping that provides some shelter from the wind. That damned sand stings your flesh every time it kicks up.

You gather some more dried scrub brush and place it before Kirari, who once again charms a fire out of it with her talents.

--------------------
>Stay for 20 minutes
>Stay an hour
>Stop for the night
>Write-in

>>128120
>Stay an hour

Share the mysterious words that occurred to us during the trek, see if they remember anything.

>>128120
>Stay an hour

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>>128143
>>128146

The fire does nothing to help your thirst or hunger, but at least it drives the cold from your bodies. Kirari looks noticeably better, while Dorje sits almost motionless with his eyes closed.

Kirari leans in closely to you, out of his earshot. "His wound will fester if we don't find medicinal herbs for it, and there are none in this wasteland that I have seen," she says, the distress in her voice obvious. "It will take some time...a week, perhaps...but once rot sets in it can't be treated well. We have to find civilization," she says, looking around you "...if there even is civilization any more."

"If there is a way, I will find it," you assure her. You only had two kindred left, you weren't about to lose one to a festering wound.

Kirari accepts your confidence and gets up to find more fuel for your fire, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

If there even is civilization any more...

How long had it been? What had their people's society been like? All you had were feeling, no clear memories. You knew what was right, what felt famililar, but you couldn't put anything into shapes or words. A deeper shadow passes over your camp, and you realize that the stars are dimmer.

"Keje!" Kirari calls from the top of the rocky outcropping you are camped beside. Something is wrong.

You jump to your feet and climb beside her, and see the approaching tempest. A distant howl of winds crawls across the landscape, and makes you look down at the cuts on your arm. The sand...

------------------

>Run!
>To shelter!
>write-in

>>127949
Would you mind including a link in your tweet next time so I can open the thread from there?

>>128265

Sure, still getting used to how these things are done.

>>128225
>Run!

>>128225
>To shelter!

>>128225
>Run!
It's time to leave this desert, we need food and medicine more than we need to hang around in a cave for hours.

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Rolled 6, 3, 1 = 10 (3d10)

>>128287
>>128299

You think quickly as adrenaline surges through your blood again, banishing the fatigue for now. From your vantage point you look about you, trying to find somewhere you can flee to, anywhere that can provide a refuge. Given how fast that storm appeared on the horizon, you can only imagine you have a few minutes before it is upon you.

"There!" you say, pointing to a larger crag about a half mile distant. It was large enough...maybe...to provide a shadow in which you could take cover.

"Run!"

Kirari jumps down from the rocks and takes Dorje by the arm, helping him to his feet as she frantically explains what is happening. The three of you run to the landmark, and you pray to whatever nameless gods you might have worshipped to protect you...

(might trial: rolling 3d10 for the party)

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>>128351

trial results:
Kejeral 11
Kirari 6
Dorje 6 (-1 for previous crit failure) = 5

You sprint to the cliffs, looking back over your shoulder. Kirari is right behind you, but Dorje...he won't make it at this rate.

The howling winds have grown louder, almost to the point of drowning out your words. "There is no time! Hurry!" you call to them. A wall of dust throbbing with pulses of lightning whips towards you, its fury like a ravenous monster. Already the sand about your ankles starts to swell, the sharp blades inside cutting at your legs like tiny razors.

--------------------

>Keep going
>Go back and help Dorje
>Find the best shelter you can here
>Write-in

>>128392
Get dorje

>>128392
>go back and help dorje

>>128392
>Go back and help Dorje

Nobody deserves two critical failures in a row.

>>128392
>Go back and help Dorje

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>>128413
>>128418
>>128425

(Might trials to resist damage)


You run past Kirari as you go to help your wounded brother. "Keep going, don't stop!" you yell at her, your voice barely discernible over the roaring winds. A larger grain of pale white sand whips across your brow, nearly clipping your eye as it tears into your skin and leaves a river of blood in its wake.

Shielding your eyes with one arm, you find Dorje in the swirling dust. "Leave me, brother!" he cries out.

You ignore him, and take his arm over your shoulder, carrying most of his weight. Razor sands whips across your exposed backs, numbing them with pain. You are bot hgoing to die...

Suddenly, you feel the other half of Dorje weight lift from your shoulders, quickening your pace. You can barely see her, but Kirari has taken up his other arm and is running with you.

Blood from your cut brow drips into your eye, blurring your already darkening vision, but before you, at last, you see the dark shadow of the crag before you.

The three of you collapse behind it, still not completely protected, but at least out of reach of the rushing fingers of flaying death.

The three of you pile together low to the ground, and wait out the madness...

Rolled 9, 6, 9 = 24 (3d10)

>>128502

(apologies, forgot the dice field)

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>>128515

Dorje looks bad, but has survived the ordeal. The binding Kirari had placed on his wound has been shredded away, leaving it open and weeping again, the red half-circles of teeth marks still plainly visible in his deltoid. Kirari tears another shred of cloth from herself and replaces her bandage.

All three of you are covered in tiny cuts from whipping sand...had you been in its full fury, you imagine you would have been flayed alive. Kneeling down, you take a handful of the lighter grains that had covered you, sifting them through your fingers. Most of it was ordinary, harmless...but the few tiny white flakes, sharp as blades yet light as paper...they had nearly killed you.

Looking around you as the starlight returns, you see that the mountains to which you had been travelling are perhaps still 7 miles distant.

--------------------

>Write-in. Come up with a plan.

>>128562
Ask Kirari if she could use fire magic to disinfect Dorje's wound. We need to buy him some time.

>>128590

Kirari shakes her head shamefully. "I have no memory of one...I know how to make poultices, and to treat wounds, but I have no magic for this."

>>128562
Once the storm passes, we find the nearest high hill and scout the area. If we can't find anything else, we head for the mountains, anything is better than this desert.

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>>128649

The final swirls of wind die down after some minutes, and you climb atop your shelter to survey the landscape. It is difficult in the star and moonlight to see far, especially with the dusty haze still fogging the the air, but from this height you are now certain you see...something nestled at the foot of one of the cliffs. A patch of darkness in a sea of dirt and sand. With this past storm, the tracks you had been following were entirely washes away by the wind. Still, you are confident that was where they were leading. And also the direction the four-legged creature seemed to be headed... You push that thought aside for now. You couldn't know for certain what that things was, or even if it was real at all.

Further still, perhaps another half dozen miles beyond the dark patch, you notice a conspicuous shape built atop the cliffs - a rectangular, artificial-looking block breaking the monotony of the jagged ridgeline.

You return to Kirari, still tending to Dorje. "We are only six or seven miles distant. I can scout ahead, acquire what provision may be there, and return..."

"No," Dorje interjects. "I can make it, brother. Best you not have to return for me and risk another storm twice."

"You need to save your strength, Dorje," Kirari protests.

"I have plenty of strength left yet," he responds sternly. "I can make it seventy more miles. Seven is an insult."

--------------------
>Take Dorje with you, travel together
>Have them make camp, return to them after you scout alone
>Write-in

>>128815
>Take Dorje with you, travel together

It's too large a trip to make twice, and we need help as soon as we can get it.
Trust in the dank doggo.

>>128815
>Take Dorje with you, travel together

It's the only option. What is the point of scouting ahead if they are dead when you return?

>>128815
>Take Dorje with you, travel together

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>>128891

You place your hand on Dorje's good shoulder. "I don't doubt it, brother. We stay together, as we have thus far."

Kirari is about to say something, but stops herself, not wanting to undermine your authority. You help Dorje to his feet, and sling his good arm across your shoulders again. "We stay together, but you will accept my help when I offer it."

He smirks, swallowing his pride and letting you take some of his weight. With that, you set out.

Kirari takes the lead, turning to check on you both every so often. With the storm passed (for now), the adrenaline has subsided and left the fatigue to hit you again twice as hard as before. Every tiny abrasion in your skin burns a little, most especially the one above your eye. Even so, you know Dorje with his deeper wounds feels the pain more deeply, and Kirari, with her less muscular figure, must feel the cold worse than you. You soldier onwards.

The hours drag by, every moment heavy with the anxiety of another storm coming, or a wild beast hunting you, or some other horror coming to finish you and your kindred off. In your condition, there wouldn't be much you could do to stop any of them. Your crackled lips and dry throat ache with thirst, and you notice the sky lightening above you, the stars slowly fading in the sky above. The Sun would rise soon, and the heat of day would crush you.

"Keje!" Kirari calls to you, waving you to her side. You dismiss your worries and take Dorje with you, looking in the direction she points...

Relief washes over you, the most welcome feeling you have felt since awakening a day ago. There, not too far and tucked away in the mountain's shadow, lies a cluster of trees...and with trees, water...

You hand Dorje to Kirari and go ahead first, making certain there are no obvious dangers. The trees are short and stubby, but dark green and healthy. A bush shakes to your right, and you turn with a sharpened stone dagger ready...

A goat runs from you, off into some rocks. Game, as well as water. Push aside the branches of a palmed bush, and find the most beautiful puddle you will ever see in your life. Trees and bushes fight each other to pack close to the water's edge, and it's placid surface ripples slightly with the soft wind. Falling to your knees, you cup your hands and take a long drink of it, finally bringing relief to your parched throat.

You wave the others over, and they do the same. A terrible burden has been lifted from you as you realize you have not led your kindred to their deaths.

You look around yourself more carefully, surveying the terrain. The oasis lies in the shade of some sandstone formation that arch over you, providing merciful shade as well as water. Some vines hang from the tops of them down into the water itself. On the other side is a cave...no, an entrance. You see carved stairs leading inside. Perhaps you are not alone...

--------------------

>Write-in, make a plan

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>>129059

(world explored thus far)

>>129059
Call out up the stairs, check for some intelligent life.

>>129059

Have our injured friend watch the cave for now and spend an hour resting and hydrating. After that, maybe we can hunt down a goat with the girl and her sling?

>>129162
This. Dorje's had one rough day.

>>129162
Yeah, no more adventure today. Try to get food but aside from that we drink and rest until tomorrow.

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>>129162
>>129172

Every one gladly takes an hour to rest at the water's edge. If there is someone else here, you don't want to disturb them just yet - best to get some strength back first.

The water is surprising cold, protected as it is from the sun by the arches overhead. You hear the sound of falling water to one side and see that there is a trickling waterfall feeding the pool, the source of the spring likely then to be further up the cliffside.

Some goats lap up water from the opposite side of the pool, keeping a wary eye on you but too thirsty to leave. They scatter, though, when something larger charges them - a horse.

The stallion spooks the other animals away and lowers its own head to the water, shaking some sands from its mane as it waters. Looking closely, you can see a saddle on its back, feathers tied into its mane, and mud smeared across its flanks. no, not mud. War paint.

"Keep your eyes open, some one else has been here." Been here, yes...but left their horse? Something didn't add up.

"We need to eat and recover as much strength as possible before we are discovered. I doubt such paradises are common in this forsaken place, and it won't be long before we encounter someone or something else come here for the same reason we have. If their intentions are hostile, we need to defend ourselves."

"I will see if I can slay one of those goats," Kirari offers, collecting some of the smoother stones for her sling.

"And I can make some tools, if you can find me the wood for them," Dorje offers. It is clear he doesn't have the stamina to collect the materials himself.

"Very well, but stay within sight of each other," you instruct.

It takes a couple of hours, the sun climbing higher overhead, but Dorje does manage to make some weapons for you. The wood here is poor, but you find enough suitable for two makeshift spears and three javelins, capped with sharpened stone heads. Kirari has less luck with the goats, but assures you she just needs some time.

You may have to use them...the stallion's sudden whinny catches your ear, and you look over to see it leaping away, running from two smaller, but more predatory shapes...
--------------------

>Interject and kill or scare off the sandcats
>Leave them be
>Leave the oasis
>Take shelter in the cave
>Write-in

>>129281

Try to kill a cat and rescue the horse! It would be a huge asset.

The horse might be useful, if it decides to go back where it came from, but it's essentially two fresh predators versus three wounded and fatigued men, it might be better to ignore and leave them to chase the horse if that is what they want.

Find a secluded spot and camp outside while keeping an eye on the cave. We don't know what's in there and if something or someone enters and traps us we're going to be in big trouble.

>>129281
>>129281
Spook the cats!
It's Cataphract time!

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>>129347
>>129356

"Kirari, we may need that horse! Help me try to scare them off!" you instruct, motioning the maneuver with your extended arm. You and she both grab one of the primitive spears and make ready, but what tactics should you employ?

--------------------

>Circle around the water's edge, it will be easier to fight if necessary
>Swim through the water to the other side. It will be faster, and your height will give you an advantage if the sandcats try to fight you in the water.
>Grab javelins and try to fight the mat range
>Get in close with spears
>Write-in

>>129399
>>Grab javelins and try to fight the mat range

>>129399
>Get in close with spears

>>129446
>>129469

tie breaker
even = range
odd = close
1 or 4 = through water
2 or 3 = around oasis' edge

Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>129528

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Rolled 10 + 5 (1d10 + 5)

>>129534
>>129446

You motion for Kirari to to follow you around the edge of the pool, jogging as you keep a watchful eye on the sandcats and the surroundings, wondering if there are any more of them.

The stallion is cut off by one of the two predators, who roars at it and makes him rear up with his hooves defensively. He stamps down, then picks backwards, warning the two carnivores to stay at range. The motions are practices and not panicked...this horse is a war horse, and combat trained.

Kirari takes up a position on some high ground, flinging a couple of stones at the nearest of the two cats. The first goes wide, but the seconds strikes home, impacting one of its shoulders. The beast turns to snark at you both, more annoyed than anything else it seems.

As the beast circles you now, you wind up and hurl your own missile...

(trial: Might)

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>>129578

(critical hit)

---and piece its vulnerable eye, sending it twitching to the ground instantly. The second sandcat, now feeling outnumbered, tears off into the tall grass.

A third sandcat you did not see - the alpha, by the look of its mane - joins it in retreat (critical success bonus).

The stallion takes the opportunity to gallop off in the opposite direction, towards the cave entrance where it has the most distance from both you and the fleeing predators.

"That was an impressive throw, Keje," Kirari compliments you, collecting her stones. "I don't think I need to hunt us a goat any more."

--------------------

>Try to capture the horse
>Finish off the cats
>Write-in (including reply to Kirari)

>>129618
"I don't know about you but after days on but one snake, some goat might not go amiss. We still have a ways ahead of us Kirari."

>>129618
>Try to capture the horse

>>129618
>Try to capture the horse

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Rolled 1, 17 = 18 (2d20)

>>129661
>>129723

(Nobility trial to handle the nervous horse. First roll for Keje +4, second for Kirari +5.)

"We will need more provisions when we travel again, but for now, help me corner this stallion. If I can get it's reins, I may be able to subdue it."

Kirari nods and helps you approach the horse, still skiddish from its recent encounter with the wild sandcats. You can more clearly see the paint on its flanks now - simple splotches and stripes in earthen colors, not ostentatious in any way. It wasn't war paint per se, but more like camouflage, then. It's saddle was simple leather, but with some trimming and finely-crafted.

Keeping your motions calm and steady, you try to convince the horse you are no threat. If it was already tamed, it should not fear people so strongly as sandcats...

>>129794

(hmmm...rolled d20s instead of d10s by force of habit, but Keje obviously rolled low and Kirari rolled high. I'm giving it to her)

You reach for the dangling reins of the stallion, but it recoil and rears up, forcing you away. You think to try and rush it, maybe to mount it quickly and subdue it that way, but instead you get a bite for your trouble. Nothing serious, just enough for the horse to communicate how it feels about the idea.

Before you can retort, Kirari has a hand placed on the side of its neck. The beast calms, turning its head to her, and she whispers quietly in its ear as she gently strokes its nose. She hums it a little tune, and soon the stallion is at peace.

Taking it by the reins now, Kirari starts leading it back to your camp, where Dorje is still waiting. "Give him some time to get used to you. He's still quite nervous."

--------------------

>"Now it is my turn to be impressed."
>"Perhaps I should hunt that goat, then."
>Try to ride the horse
>Explore the cave
>Rest a while yet
>Write-in

>>129843
>"Perhaps I should hunt that goat, then."

>>129876

I'd prefer if we cooked and ate the cat first.

>>129843
>>"Now it is my turn to be impressed."

And start cooking some cat

>>129876
>"Perhaps I should hunt that goat, then."
Hee hee

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>>129893
>>129917

"Now it is my turn to be impressed," you say, seeing how easily she was able to gain the animal's trust. "You go ahead and take it back, I will collect the kill."

The stallion is happy to follow Kirari around the oasis' edge back to where you left Dorje. You remove your spent javelin from the dead sandcat's eye, then sling the beast over your shoulders and carry it back to camp. Gods, it was heavy...you regret not asking Kirari to charm the stallion enough to carry the beast for you.

With some difficulty, you make it back to find the stallion browsing the grasses nearby. Dorje has kept his eyes on the trail leading in, and points some things out to you and Kirari begins to cut up the sandcat's carcass.

"The path we followed it was there, before the winds wiped it away," Dorje says, pointing northeast. "And there is another one, close to the mountainside, and well-worn. It is no game trail, and if it were not currently in use, it would not be packed enough to still be visible after that storm. I believe it goes there," he says, pointing to a distant peak.

The tower you say from the desert is clearly visible now in the morning sunlight, sitting in a fortified position atop a mountain further along this same mountain chain you now camp in...

>>129843
>"Now it is my turn to be impressed."
Cook some cat stew. Lotta meat on the cat, we don't need goat now.
Also we should skin it for the pelt. That'd be awesome.

>>129985
>>129987
Still voting for skinning the cat and making something from the fur.

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>>129985

"...and there is a third path," he says, gesturing further south east. "It is lighter, but even after the storm you can still make it out, heading that way, deeper into the wilds. I don't know what that tower is, but it looks military. I'm not sure what the best course of action would be from here."

-------------------

>Stay a while, then head southeast
>Stay a while, then head to the tower
>Leave tomorrow southeast
>Leave tomorrow for the tower
>Go back to the monastery
>Explore the cave
>Write-in

>>130012
Stay a while, at least until our buddy is out of infection danger, stock up on food and provisions and try to craft some better clothing.

>>130023

Agreed. Keep watch on the cave for tonight in shifts and rest up - tomorrow we can investigate whats down there and assess our next steps

>>130012
>>129995
>>130023
Definitely see what we can do with this cat carcass. Maybe cure some extra meat for the road?

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>>129995

You return to the camp and help Kirari finish gutting the sandcat. It occurs to you that all three of you know what you are doing here - whatever your backgrounds, hunting and survival were among the skills you possessed.

The animal provides a generous amount of meat, which Kirari cuts into portions as blood covers her arms, chest, and legs.

You take it upon yourself to skin the beast, and make what clothing you can from it. The three of your have endured hellish heat, cold, sandstorms, and combat almost entirely naked, and while Kirari is certainly pleasing to look at you are all three tired of looking like savages. At least with some pelts, you can look like better-adjusted savages.

Dorje gathers fuel for a fire, which Kirari starts and begins to prepare the meat upon. Your kinsman take the leg bones of the sandcat and starts to carve some speartips.

"I can make better spears with these, but they won't last long. Oh, and these..." he tosses you and Kirari both a Sabre-like fang from the beast's mouth, each fully five inches long, which he has hung from a cord of fur and tendon. "For our victorious warriors."

You thank him with a smile, placing it around your neck. Kirari does as well, fastening it behind her head and then brushing her hair back over it.

You eat your fill of the meat (which despite being quite foul, is still very filling), and take stock of what you have.

>3 primitive javelins with bone tips
>2 spears with bone spearheads
>some rudimentary bone cutting tools
>three catskin lioncloths
>the shredded remains of your burial shrouds, hardly anything left of them
>enough meat to last quite a while - perhaps a week, though it would spoil if not consumed before then

"We will stay a couple of day, hunt up more beasts if need be. Kirari, try to find some medicinal herbs nearby. If there are none, we will need to continue onwards within two days."

--------------------

>Explore the cave
>Just recover for now
>Write-in

>>130146
>Explore the cave
If the horse went to hide there, it's likely that his owner was there at one time, probably dead now. He might have left some loot.

Also what gender is our horse?

>>130156

He's a stallion, ungelded.

>>130173
Neat.

>>130156

I'll back this

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>>130023
>>130066

You agree to just lay low for the evening. Whatever is in that cave can wait another day. Kirari hikes up and down the hill and through the oasis brush, looking for any herbs that could have healing properties. You make some hide boots for the three of you, enough to give your bare feet, torn raw, a bit of reprieve.

As you are finishing, Kirari comes back looking...different. She has bathed, and without the grime and blood caked on her she looks more human that you and Dorje put together.

"Did you find anything?"

She shakes her head. "No. Some figs and dates in the trees, but no medicine. She hands you each a few of the foraged fruits. They aren't at all filling, but taste far better than that wretched cat.

You assign watches and relax the remained of the day, then sleep through the night. The two sandcats can be heard not far, roaring their displeasure for being forced away from their watering hole. They would be back eventually, but now you were better armed. As long as your guard was up, they were no immediate threat.

The night thankfully passes uneventfully otherwise, and the sun rises the next morning as high and hot as the day before.

--------------------

>Explore cave
>>Leave tomorrow southeast
>Leave tomorrow for the tower
>Go back to the monastery
>Write-in

>>130237
>Explore cave

>>130189
>>130156

I had forgotten to include the narrative of staying for the night without exploring further, since that's what the previous vote was. I'm not ignoring you, just fell behind is all.

>>130237
>Explore cave

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>>130251
>>130330

You awake and find Kirari on watch, and Dorje looking better after a full night's rest and filling meal. His wound doesn't appear to be slowing him down yet, but you trust Kirari's judgment that that will change if infection sets in. You need to get ahead of that, or risk losing your brother to disease.

"We should find out what is in that cave before we set out. Perhaps the owner of this stallion never came out of there, and left something for us to use."

Dorje takes the second spear and Kirari her sling as they follow you to the cavern. Cavern was perhaps not hte correct word - it was once a natural opening, but the strike of mason's tools on it was apparent, a craftsman having worked it into an archway.

It is not so deep as you had thought, being comprised of only a single room which the sun's indirect light half-fills. Bones lie scattered all about the ground, along with feces and fur. You've found the sandcat den, it seems. In the center, though, sits a statue of a woman - beautifully sculpted to be kneeling beside a horn of water, though worn by time and neglect. As you look upon her features, you remember something...some story stirred up in the morass of your mind. A story...or a legend, perhaps...

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>>130409

THE THEFT OF LAUGHTER

The Mother Aruset fled from her husband's wrath into the wilderness, fearing for the lives of her three sons. To protect each, she hid them where the Creator's passing eye would not find them.

Tyg, the mightiest, she hid beneath a great stone.

Kor, the most cunning, she painted with mud and hid amongst the wild tribes.

And Cael, the fairest, she placed in the darkness of a hole in the earth.

Tyg, as he held up the stone which would crush him, became stronger.

Kor, as he learned the hunt, became swift.

But Cael was only alone, and only afraid.

As Cael lay in the darkness waiting for his mother to return, a voice came to his mind with the drawn hiss of the serpent.

"What is this broad creature which has crawled into my nest?" the serpent asked, because to her man was an absurdly broad creature. "I will bite, and my venom will kill you."

Cael, in his brilliance, spoke back to the darkness around him. "I have stumbled into your home unwelcome, and deserve to be bitten. But in place of my life, let me instead offer you my words, that you may like man have speech."

The serpent pondered Cael's offer, for his words were quick and like honey. "Your words for my nest. A deal is struck."

And so for two summers while Cael hid from his father, he spoke his words to the serpent, and taught her to speak as he. And in return, the serpent left her nest and found a new place for her eggs. Content, she spoke to herself as she sought prey on the plain.

"What are these sounds I hear, but the voice of man on the plain?" The painted dog had heard the serpent's soliloquy, and followed it. "How is it the serpent has taken the power of speech? Have you eaten a man?"

"No, dog," the serpent said proudly, drawing to her full height. "If I had eaten him, I would have only taken his last words. Instead, I have bartered all of his words for a mere hole in the earth. Now my eggs are laid, and my children also will have his speech. As the ages pass, they too shall have the power of men and their father."

"But serpent, if your children speak as men, will they not also be as broad?"

At this the serpent threw her head back in laughter, for to her men were absurdly broad creatures. Without warning the painted dog lunged, and bit her exposed neck before the serpent could bite. He ate her, and after so doing laughed as well...

-------------------

>Write-in

>>130459

Thread seems quiet, so I'm going to call it there for tonight. I will try to start it back up the day after tomorrow.

As always, feedback is welcome, questions to ask.fm, twitter for notifications.

>>130648
Thanks for running.

Perhaps we should hunt the rest of the sandcats for their pelts, too.

>>130648
Can't wait. How'd the interview go?

>>131454

I got the job, start next Monday

>>131511
Grats OP

>>130459
Hey OP, this is well written. I have to say you really have a way with words.

new thread here: >>140816