Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

[GargantuaBlarg]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Nagan's masked face turned this way and that as she looked around, swiftly assessing the others in her warband. Though that sneakthief had run, chasing down one of their foes, she found that the odd one among them whose soul seemed to carry the heaviest of burdens also seemed to bear the most wounds. Nagan thought she'd often seen the most furious warriors, eager to trade wound-for-wound, always seemed to be those with the most troubled spirits.

The shaman resolved to speak with her later, when they had some time. For now, she drew the totem of a hand that housed the Healer, Naandawi, and pressed it in between her palms, begging her to soothe Sable's pains and close her wounds. Her spirit was in turmoil, and would sew turmoil in turn, were it turned loose; it was not yet ready to be freed.

Spoiler

Spirit Talk and use Naandawi to heal Sable.

If I fuck up the roll I'll choose to draw unwanted attention, I guess.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Colette grimaced as she closed with the beastmaster, suffering the sting of her foe's last glancing strike just as her dueling blade punctured the woman's chest and slid through the ribcage, exiting through the other side of her body. She felt the warmth of the woman's coughed up blood spraying on her shoulder.

"Just lie down, honey. You've had a rough day."

The thief heaved the beastmaster forward, letting her slide off her sword and roll onto her back on the floor. Checking around herself once more to see no immediate danger, Colette flicked her sword once to discard the life's blood of her opponent and then gave the dying woman a salute before stepping across her form and back up to the fight she'd left behind.

She could still hear the distant growls of one of the beasts, though the continued clamor of battle heartened her, for it meant her companions still fought on. Leading with her rapier out, she crept forward silently, hiding in the shadows, readying herself to strike out and aid her friends.

Spoiler

Creeping back to the main battle, will leap out and try to backstab the beast if it gets to her in its effort to retreat.

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Wyndyl worked her way around to the side, her arrow still trained on the wolf that charged towards her, but Mireleth quickly intervened on her behalf. A quick slash from her sword stopped the beast in its tracks, getting it to focus its attention on her, unfortunately landing a blow against her with its claws. It was then that the elf loosed her arrow, hitting it in the top of the head but not quite getting the power behind it that she needed to make it stick... The thing had a strong hide, stronger than normal, but she couldn't help but blame herself for her ineffectiveness in this fight. The creature started to back away then, clearly badly wounded. Wyndyl felt bad for it, but there was nothing she could do for such a warped creature. She notched another arrow and let it fly, hoping to ease the suffering of the poor wolf's soul.

Spoiler

Just gonna shoot at it again. Sir Wolf will continue to support Collette

 

[Astarte]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Rolls

Spoiler

Skipping Knephi for this round, so I just had Sable attack.

Mireleth attacks the wolf (6), but fails, taking 1 damage in return. (+1 Exp)

Nagan uses Spirit Talk (8), successfully healing Sable for 4 HP, but attracts some attention in doing so...

Wyndyl fires at the wolf (9), but fails to do any damage.

Sable attacks (5) and also fails, taking 5 damage in return. (+1 Exp)

Finally, Colette attempts a sneak attack when it flees in her direction (13) and is successful, dealing 7 damage and bringing it down.

Status

Spoiler

Mireleth - HP 12/23, No Status
Nagan - HP 12/19, No Status
Sable - HP 8/21, No Status
Colette - HP 12/20, No Status
Wyndyl - HP 17/17, No Status

Enemies Remaining: None.

The wolf backed away slowly, growling and snapping as the swordswomen approached. Mireleth was first to move, only to be forced back with a swipe of its massive paw, striking her in the side as she stepped in to strike and throwing her off balance long enough for it to retreat further. Another of Wyndyl's arrows clattered uselessly off of its armoured plates as it inched further towards the doorway. Finally Sable attempted to bring the cornered beast down, only to be struck in the same manner as Mireleth. Unfortunately for her though, where Mireleth only felt the impact, the beast's claws managed to catch Sable in the side, tearing a set of bloody gashes into her side and sending her tumbling to the floor.

Nagan was there a moment later, calling on the spirits to heal the fallen swordswoman, but the oversized wolf took the opportunity to dart away, quickly disappearing through the open doorway. The spirit answered Nagan's call, its power settling over Sable's body and the cuts and gashes she had received rapidly closing. She was still in rough shape, her formerly fine-looking clothing now all but in tatters and soaked with blood, the protective leathers over them only faring a little better, but the wounds beneath had at least stopped bleeding for now. That wasn't all Nagan noticed though, any further attention she might want to give her patient challenged by a screaming at the edge of her senses.

The presence of countless spirits had been there since she first entered the ruin, just below her feet, but as she opened herself up to Naandawi's powers, she also heard them screaming. It was easy to determine the source, the congregation of spirits beneath her, but for a moment before the sounds faded again, she was certain that they were screaming at her. Unfortunately that was all she could glean unless she wished to focus on those spirits again and risk whatever that exposure might bring.

Meanwhile, as Colette was making her way back to her companions, Sir Wolf in tow, she heard the sounds of combat soon after and those of a large creature moving in her direction. Taking cover in the shadows, she saw the wolf coming, the monstrous creature too panicked to notice her, and struck swiftly. The beast never saw her coming, staggering and choking for a few moments before slumping to the floor, Colette's rapier having cleanly sliced open its throat.

Mireleth, close as she was to the door and with Sable and Nagan otherwise occupied, was the only one in a position to witness the deed. Only a moment later Sir Wolf bounded out through the doorway, eager to rejoin Wyndyl, and Colette was free to make her own entrance however she pleased. With no more enemies in their immediate vicinity, the party was free to continue their exploration or take a moment to tend to their wounds. The first room they entered had another door, as did the room Colette had pursued the beastmaster into.

Spoiler

A rough map of the explored area:

  ?-█
    |
?-█-█ <- Party Location
  |
Entrance

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Colette watched from the shadows, her rapier at the ready as the retreating monster backed away from the group, swiping savagely and making them pay for coming after it. It was a desperate foe and with its deranged animal cunning, it must have known that it was facing its death. Faced with such odds, it was using every last trick it knew to keep up the fight.

Death, it seemed, would have to come from behind.

And above.

When it got close enough, the spritely duelist flung herself from the darkness and landed on top of its shoulders, her thighs on either side of the beast as the point of her blade pierced through the back of its neck, tearing through its brainstem and spine and exiting through the other side of its throat, through the esophagus.

"Down boy!" She called, and rode the beast as it fell face first to the ground, slumping into a pile. Her blade slid upwards as the pressure of the floor forced it back up. Colette bit her lip and looked coquettishly through the stylized handguard at the face of Mireleth, the eastern warrior and only witness to the rogue's coup-de-grace.

"Hey there, gorgeous. You took your sweet time.~" She winked at the fighter and then steadily rose to her feet and unstraddled the dead abomination. She pulled her blade from its spine and wiped the black blood on the mangy fur, before swiping the blade through the air and taking a cloth from her hip pocket to clean the sword quickly before sheathing it.

"I've taken care of the beast mistress. She put up a decent fight, but her days of sicking messed up dogs on people are well and truly behind her. Much to explore though. Mind the sprung trap as you go down, okay sexy?"

She turned and confidently headed back down the stairs, and began to search the room, leaving Sir Wolf to head back to his elven master and hopefully to allow the party to follow along with her.

Spoiler

WIS roll to discern realities, trying to find anything useful to Colette or valuable, as well as a route that would lead further into the dungeon

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Mireleth cursed inwardly as the hasty swipe pushed her swing wide. She had meant to kill it quickly, but in her haste had misjudged how ready it was. The blow barely even phased her, but it did knock her aside... And out of its path. It took off, seemingly badly wounding Sable in the process, or at least Mireleth saw blood. Wyndyl didn't stop it either, and Nagan... Was doing something. It was hard to say what precisely, but something.

Giving chase, Mireleth skidded to a halt as Colette came down upon the beast's back and jabbed her blade through the wounded creature's throat. It fell in a slump, and in response to Colette's theatrics after her kill Mireleth rolled her eyes. "Chasing dogs is not my forte," She replied simply, "Tis an election I will merrily concede to you, my dear~" She smirked back at the thief and cleaned off her own blade, treating the relic weapon with delicate care as she always did, and as Colette moved to begin the search she did much the same.

"Sure, sure~ And you mind that you don't run off too far if we end up in another fight while we're here. Wouldn't want us to walk in on you in a compromising position, would we? No time for theater and silly lines then, eh?" Mireleth replied to Colette's playful warning as she followed the thief, seeking anything of value that caught her eye or an obvious way deeper into the enemy stronghold. Trinkets and treasures were all well and good, but it was a worthy opponent that she truly sought, and it would not be found among the dead. She did pause, at least, and turn to address the others before leaving them behind completely; "Colette and I will scout ahead this way, find out what you can from this place if you will, or follow us. It is your choice."

(Same as Colette I suppose.)

 

[Astarte]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Rolls

Spoiler

Discern Realities rolls:
Colette: 6 (+1 Exp)
Mireleth: 7

Colette finds nothing new, however still has something she noticed on first entering the room to check out.

Mireleth finds some LOOT.

On further examination, this room seemed to function as both a workshop of sorts and living quarters, presumably for the beastmaster woman Colette had slain. A few bookshelves, most likely dragged from the library they'd passed through earlier were lined up at the back of the room with a bedroll tucked behind it, providing some privacy from the rest of the room. Another was on its own against the far wall, and that was where Colette's attention was immediately drawn. She'd noticed it when first scanning the room for traps, the signs that it had been moved more recently than anything else in the room.

It was clearly hiding something, and it didn't take much effort to find out what. While heavy, it wasn't hard to move, and it was an easy matter to push it aside enough to see what was behind it. What she found was what was perhaps once a hidden doorway, though the stone door that had once stood in it was in pieces on the floor of the tunnel beyond. This didn't appear to be the way further into the complex proper, it looked more like a natural cave system. The air inside felt more humid than the room she was in, and at a glance the cave walls looked a little damp, but it was too dark to tell more than that without venturing inside. She could push the bookshelf aside enough to enter without much trouble if she desired, or return it to its place blocking off the passage.

Meanwhile Mireleth was able to search the room itself. The bookshelves were mostly empty, but the tables along the left wall and various hooks on the wall itself were covered in all sorts of tools and implements. Some seemed to be tools of torture, others were likely used in the training of the beasts. Of particular not were a set of bottles tucked off to the side, similar to the one the beastmaster had tried to throw at the previously, though the labels were all written in a language she didn't recognize. Two contained a green liquid—similar enough in colour to potentially be the substance the beastmaster had thrown at them, which had seemed to be some sort of paralyzing substance. One was colourless, only the cloudiness of the liquid making it look any different than water, and two more were a deep reddish-brown. Unfortunately, there seemed to be nothing other than the foreign labels denoting their purpose.

The door on that same wall lead into another hallway, which branched off halfway. Another door stood at the opposite end, straight ahead, and a downwards stairway branched off. The opposite side of the room was mostly empty aside from the corner containing the bed, the manacles chained to the wall currently empty, though they had clearly held prisoners recently. Near the bed itself Mireleth found a small leather pouch containing various types of coinage. Mostly Imperial, but a few looked to be foreign, or potentially currencies used in the Wildlands themselves, as well as a ring of keys of various sizes. Some were likely for the manacles in this room, while others were larger, possibly for doors or the beast cages.

Spoiler

Map:

  Cave
Down│
 ?┴─█ <- Colette and Mireleth
    │
?─█─█ <- Party Location
  │
Entrance

Potential Loot:
A ton of random tools (General tools, torture implements, and animal training equipment, and a bunch of rope). If you want something specific just say so and I'll say whether or not there is one.
2 vials of green liquid (Paralyzing poison?)
2 vials of reddish liquid (unknown)
1 vial of cloudy liquid (unknown)
44 coins
Key ring

Also the whip and sword the beastmaster was using.

 

[Knephi]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

"Ah... Thank you." Sable swallowed her distaste for the magic as Nagan's spirit healed her, wounds closing before her eyes. She'd taken too many hits already, she should have been more careful in her approach. She'd been blinded by the need to slay these abominations, and had very nearly paid dearly for it. Luckily Colette was there to finish in off as it fled, though she too looked a little worse for wear after her fight with the beastmaster. She was safe though, and that meant they were all still fine for the time being.

"Don't go too far," She called ahead as the two headed back into the next room to search it, pulling herself up into a sitting position. "I need a few minutes before I can continue," She turned back to Wyndyl and Nagan, "It should be safe enough here if you'd like to look around though, I just need some time to bandage these wounds properly."

Nagan's magic had helped, certainly. Nothing was bleeding as far as she could tell, but the flesh was still raw and her muscles ached. It would be best to ensure everything was bandaged to prevent any sort of infection, and some of the salves she'd bought in town would help with the lingering pains. Regardless of whether the other two also left to search the place or not, Sable gingerly began to remove what was left of her armour, careful not to aggravate any of her wounds further, followed by the tattered and bloodstained remnants of her clothing. She'd certainly need to buy some new clothes after they were done here.

Her chest wrap was still fine, so she left that in place, carefully applying some of the salve to her wounded skin before wrapping them in bandages. Once she was finished she put her bloody clothes back on, fastening the leather armour in place again before making her way over to the middle of the room. Kneeling down, she picked up one of the oversized wolf's bone-like spikes, one which had been snapped off when it broke free from Nagan's spell. She'd learned that the bodies of beasts like these could make weapons as deadly as any steel blade, and these plates and spikes had proven remarkably tough. It was about the right size to be carved into a dagger, so she tucked it away for future use.

With that done, she would follow after Wyndyl and Nagan if they had chosen to search in the other direction, or catch up with Mireleth and Colette if they had not.

Spoiler

Using one use of her Poultices and Herbs to regain 7 HP (Over a little time), then using her Grisly Trophy ability to take one of the spiked wolf's spikes as a trophy, probably to be used as a dagger of some kind.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Mireleth picked through the tools, frowning. The tools of torture she had little use for, but she did spot a few things that she opted to add to her collection . She grabbed some coiled rope and attached it to a rung on her pack, and grabbed a pry-bar for use should they run into the problem of a locked object that Colette couldn't open, and a heavy hammer for much the same purpose. The section of the room seemingly meant for sleeping was somewhat more interesting in its content, and after tossing the bag of coins into a pouch she smiled as she lifted the keys.

"Heh, looks like we don't need you after all, Colette~" She said playfully, jingling the keys in the thief's general direction. They didn't necessarily belong to anything they'd want to open, of course, but it didn't hurt to bring them along. She briefly eyed the manacles along the wall, but the chains were too long and it would probably take more effort than it was worth to pry them off of the wall. The bottles near the tools she eyed for a moment before shrugging and gathering them up, carefully placing the various vials in her pack so that they wouldn't be in great danger of breaking. She wasn't much of a poisoner and couldn't read the labels, but maybe they were worth something or someone else in the group could make use of them.

With her search completed, however, Mireleth glanced about and then settled onto the bed, placing her pack down. This place seemed cleared enough, and she had taken a few scratches that needed tending to. She cleaned her injuries as best she could and then bandaged them, letting Colette help if she so desired but not asking it of her. Once bandaged, she got back up and moved to join the thief.

"What'd you find there?" She asked as Colette seemingly discovered a passageway into some sort of cave system behind a bookshelf.

(Use bandaid. Get 4 health back.)

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

"Is that all you take me for?" Colette pouted with feigned hurt in her voice. "A set of keys? Oh! The shame! That I should be taken for granted so!"

The thief put her wrist and hand over her eyes to do an affectation of a thespian bemoaning cruelty and woe. With her other hand she simply went about her business and pushed the bookcase, revealing at the same time the new passageway into a cave opening. Dropping the act as swiftly as she'd begun it, she clucked her tongue and took a sidelong glance down the cave and sniffed at the humid air, wondering if it smelled as bad down there as the mutated dogs did up here.

She then trotted back over to the dead beast master and picked up the whip she had once held. She coiled it up and looped it to a spare fastening in her belt.

"I like to think that my legendary hands and charming personality can open up far better things than any old key ring ever could."

She wandered back over to the cave entrance and waited while the fighter picked up the incidental wealth to be found in the room. Colette's nose for treasure told that there could be far more loot to be found further into the wizards tower, or whatever new dungeon had been hidden behind this shelf.

"It appears to be a cave. The air is heavy down there, and moist. It could lead nowhere, but my gut tells me they wouldn't go through the trouble of hiding it behind a bookshelf if there wasn't something worth storing in there. Want to take a peek with me?"

Colette put a hand on the hilt of her blade and walked through the threshold, stepping with care as she went. The closer they got to a worthwhile find, the more likely and deadly were the traps.

Spoiler

Colette goes into the cave, expecting Mireleth to follow but as per usual isn't entirely bothered by the notion of exploring on her own. She hugs the shadows as she advances and checks for traps with her specialty class move. She'll primarily want to know if there is a trap here and what would set it off. On a full success, she'd want to know how to what the trap did when activated and what else is hidden here. Other than that, she's moving forward all stealthily and seeing what there is to see.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Mireleth rolled her eyes at the thief's feigned offense at her joke, concentrating instead on taking care of her injuries. The suggestive remark spurred her to roll her eyes, but a slight blush crept into her cheeks and she didn't quite manage to look at Colette for the next minute or so.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll go with. Just wait for a minute and let me finish!" Mireleth replied when Colette suggested taking a look around in the cave, though she wouldn't do anything to stop the rogue if she opted to enter alone. If Sable and the rest of their group came down, she would let them opt to follow or not, but either way once she was all bandaged up Mireleth would move to follow Colette, her hand on the hilt of her own weapon as she carefully crept after the rogue.

 

[GargantuaBlarg]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

"Victory, good hunter Sable. Let the triumph color your soul, and let your battle scars remind you of this day." Her troubled companion seemed to draw away from the touch of Naandawi. It did not surprise her - the City Tribes understood much, but feared that which they could not understand. As the beastslayer with hair the color of blood carved her grisly trophy from one of the twisted beasts they had slain - a familiar practice to Nagan, in contrast to most of the things she'd found in the Cities, even if she'd noticed lordlings and Mayor-chiefs often had well-preserved mounted heads in their halls - she spoke, hoping to impart some of her understanding. "Flinch not from the touch of Naandawi, for it is no malignant sorcery - you know her touch when your wounds mend with sleep and rest - her Hand upon you simply makes it faster. Naandawi is the name my people use for her - she is The Healer. In the dawn, when she saw Man covered with the cuts and scrapes as it strove to build the first hall and feed itself, Naandawi acknowledged Man, and promised to close its wounds as well, just as she does for all living beings."

A more urgent issue confronted the shamaness, however. In aiding her companions, it seemed she had drawn the ire of some unspeakable thing far below. It was not ideal, but at least she would not have to hunt for it. Instead, the masked woman flung her arms out and called loud enough that she could be heard in the next room, holding her staff aloft.

"Hear me, companions! Some unholy thing in this tower's bowels traps the spirits here - it must be destroyed, to make the spirit world right once again! I think it best we relieve this place of whatever other foes and spoils this place has, and then make our way to the thing below." She pointed her staff at the unhewn tunnel the pair had found in the backroom the dead shaman had fled to. "That looks like the path, so let us ensure we will have no surprises on the way out."

 

[Tiffanian]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Wyndyl loosed one more arrow at the warped creature as it attacked Mireleth, but again it bounced off the creature's hide harmlessly as it swiped both Mireleth and Sable before running away through the door. She pulled out another arrow and started to make her way towards the door, though by now she was starting to question the point of doing so. The point quickly became moot as Sir Wolf ran through the door, the battle over. Apparently Colette and he had been quite busy and a fair bit more successful than the elf. She hugged the direwolf's neck, scratching at the fur atop his head and saying "<Thank you, Sir Wolf. You've fought well today. I'm sure Colette appreciates it>" in her native tongue. Patting her companion on the flank she started to walk around the room, looking for anything of interest besides the corpses, although the corpse of the corrupted wolf was also of interest. Once she had had a decent look around she would kneel beside it, placing both hands against its side and whispering "<may your soul find freedom from the curse of this corruption>", then moving on to the other and giving it that same prayer. When she had given the slain beasts their proper respect she would follow after Mireleth and Colette, Sir Wolf at her side.

Spoiler

Loot the room and then derp on after the others

 

[Astarte]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Rolls

Spoiler

Colette rolls Trap Expert: 6, but fails! (+1 Exp)
Dex saving throw: ...also 6. (+1 more Exp...)
She takes 2 damage from getting a bit banged up by the trap, but that is all.

Sable uses Grisly Trophy, gaining the following:

Wolfsbone Dagger
When you use this weapon to stab an enemy, roll +STR. On a 10+ deal your damage and reduce their armour value by one. On a 7-9 pick one of the two effects. Regardless of the result of the roll, this weapon can only be used once per encounter (Usually because it remains embedded in the creature's body).

This ability can be used a-is, simply as a spike, but takes a -1 to the roll until Sable can take the time to properly carve it into a weapon.

Wyndyl's Discern Realities to search the room: 12 (Loot listed at the bottom)

Everyone else is able to catch up in time to react as they wish (Though Wyndyl won't be able to take the time to pick anything up if she wishes to hurry), only being one room away.

Status

Spoiler

Mireleth - HP 16/23, No Status
Nagan - HP 12/19, No Status
Sable - HP 15/21, No Status
Colette - HP 10/20, Upside Down
Wyndyl - HP 17/17, No Status

Enemies: ???

Upon stepping into the cave, Colette almost immediately spotted something on the floor up ahead. The glint of the light shining through the open doorway behind her on metal was a dead giveaway. A trio of what looked like bear traps were laid out across the floor ahead, practically insulting in how easy they were to spot. It was doubtful anyone not walking blind through the tunnel without any light would miss them. In fact, it was quite possible that they weren't intended for humans at all.

Unfortunately, whether by inattention, the poor light, or simple distraction by the more obvious traps, the thief managed to miss the odd texture of the floor barely step past the doorway. There was a brief snapping sound which echoed ominously through the cave, and before the thief could react she felt a rope that had been hidden in the dirt tighten around her ankles and pull her up into the air. She only just barely managed to throw an arm back in time to keep from smashing her head on the ground as she was suddenly flipped upside down and dragged up until she heard something heavy slam down somewhere out of sight. She was left dangling roughly two metres off of the cave floor, and the light from the doorway didn't reach up to where she was well enough to tell her how far from the ceiling she was. She could barely even make out her feet, much less any details about the rope, but it certainly felt sturdy.

The rope wasn't her only concern though, as once the sound of the counterweight falling had stopped echoing she heard something else moving, if only barely. Soft clicking noises of something striking stone, echoing just enough that it was difficult to pinpoint a precise direction it was coming from. Only just outside the door herself, Mireleth was close enough to spot the thief trigger the trap and be dragged up out of sight, as well as hear the approaching sound, but visibility more than a metre or two from the door was practically nothing. If she stepped inside she could look up and spot Colette, though she was too high up to do more than reach up and grab her—the rope holding her was out of Mireleth's reach. Her sword might be long enough, but without more light she would be swinging nearly blind and run a serious risk of harming Colette in the process.

There were lanterns hanging from the walls in the previous rooms, and some of the party might be carrying torches in their supplies, but it would be extremely difficult to do anything in this cave without some source of light, and whatever was making the noises seemed to be drawing closer.

Nagan had made it close enough to just barely catch what happened, and the sound of the counterweight falling was loud enough to echo to the other two as well, as would anything Colette might shout in response. Sable had just finished strapping her armour back on, and Wyndyl was just finishing her search of the room when it happened. Unfortunately for the elven woman there would be little time for looting, though there was also little enough in the room. It had been mostly bare aside from the beast cages and a few barrels of what turned out to be dried meat of some kind—likely food for the hounds when they didn't have fresh meat available.

Besides that, each of the warriors had been wearing outfits made from animal hide and a bronze medallion of the same sort as those who had attacked the town, and carrying vicious-looking battleaxes. They had nothing else of value on them, likely having left any other belongings in the same place they slept, but a small shelf on the wall near the far door also held two more vials of the same green liquid the beastmaster had thrown. two hooks sat beneath it, one holding a coiled whip much like the one the beastmaster had wielded and the second empty. She could grab something quickly if she wished to rush to Colette's aid, but she would need to return for or anything else later.

Spoiler

Potential Loot:

A lot of dried mystery meat.
2 Two-handed Battleaxes
2 vials of green stuff (Seemingly the same paralyzing poison the beastmaster threw)
1 Whip

Wyndyl has time to grab one thing (Or both vials) while still reaching Colette/Mireleth's position in time to take another action.

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Bear traps? Really?

Colette frowned, wondering to herself what the implications for this might be. They were laid out right across the main path, far too obvious for any sentient creature to miss. What was their purpose? Some large, but dumb creature? Maybe more of those mutant dogs from before were on the prowl in this cave. Who knew how dumb the mutation made the beasts, and if they were prone to a frenzy, then she supposed it made sense for the big steel toothed traps to be laid out like that.

On the other hand, they could just be a distr--!!!

"Uuwwwoooop!" *CRUNCH* "Huwraaaah! D-dammit!"

The thief had enough experience with snares from the infamous Hall of False Steps in the thieves' guild within the Capital, in order to know that she was going for a ride. She twisted as best she could, landing with her off hand and forearm behind her to cushion her fall and spare her head from the worst of the impact. Then she was dragged and her skirt and short cloak were drawn up and draping down her figure as she was hung like a slab of beef from the ceiling. Off in the near distance, the counterweight thudded into the earth, creating a noise that was loud enough to double as an alarm.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." She muttered, swaying slightly, letting her body relax until she was sure that she was just dangling. She took in the distance from the ground and was pleased that she wasn't too high up that to free herself would result in a break-neck fall.

She closed her eyes and concentrated, then with a surge, she swung her upper body up to grasp the soles of her boots, or if she could, the very rope itself. She wanted to be able to keep her body close enough that she could draw her boot dagger and hew at the rope to let her fall.

If she could cut the rope, she would spring down and land as best she could to avoid further injury, twisting her body in the short distance and landing on hands and feet. She would waste as little time freeing herself, for she did not desire to have to suffer Mireleth's incoming mirth for too long, nor did she want to be caught with her underpants exposed when whatever creatures were click-clacking their way over to her arrived.

Spoiler

Going to defy danger and free myself. Also have enough XP to level up, if you allow mid-dungeon leveling. Was going to buy the contortionist move and that might give me a bonus to freeing myself.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

"Hey, hold up! There might be-" Mireleth's attempt at slowing her companion came a bit too late, and so ended as she rushed forward to try and prevent Colette from being dragged away. She wasn't quite quick enough to do so, unfortunately, but when she heard the rumbling thump of the counterweight she was somewhat glad of that. Luckily it didn't seem that Colette had been badly injured by her mishap, and Mireleth was able to let out a sigh of relief while peering up into the darkness.

The sight of the thief suspended with her skirt draping in quite the wrong direction earned a smirk from the eastern warrior, despite the dire ramifications. "And I wasn't going to tie you up until later!" Mireleth said playfully, shaking her finger up at Colette as she hung suspended. "Always so hasty... That's going to get you into trouble some day!"

The warrior's teasing would end there unless Colette opted to reply while twisting in mid air, and despite the sound of movement from deeper within the cave Mireleth moved to beneath the rope where Colette was likely to drop. She was, of course, careful to avoid the bear traps. If the thief managed to cut herself down, Mireleth would aim to catch her, but if the rope proved too tough she would shrug and say; "Let me go and get a lantern, then I'll cut you down!"

They were wasting time with it, but the risk of severing Colette's foot rather than the rope was worth avoiding. Besides, the bear traps would likely slow down anything coming down the tunnel... Right?

 

[BlueSlime]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

From where she hung, exposed and suspended in front of Mireleth, the thought of how she looked and the idle links to bondage play had already crossed her mind, but to hear the warrior mention as much caught Colette off guard and she could only stammer an unintelligible response back.

"Yeah, well... you... fuh.. just... right, I'm gonna cut myself down. You uh... catch me."

Colette began to saw awkwardly at the rope with her dagger, straining to keep herself in position and apply enough pressure to the strands.

"I can hear something moving down here. Don't leave me alone!" That last bit came off a bit needier than she'd intended, but she didn't like being caught with monsters scuttling about.

 

[Astarte]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Rolls

Spoiler

Colette tries to cut the rope: 10, and succeeds, freeing herself from the trap.

Status

Spoiler

Mireleth - HP 16/23, No Status (Holding Colette)
Nagan - HP 12/19, No Status
Sable - HP 15/21, No Status
Colette - HP 10/20, No Status
Wyndyl - HP 17/17, No Status

Enemies: 3? Oversized Spiders

With some effort, Colette was able to swing her upper body up enough to grab hold of her own boots and begin to saw at the rope holding her with her dagger. It was tough going given her lack of leverage and how tough the rope was—it was obviously relatively new, not left over from the tower's original owner—but she was making progress. Unfortunately, in the time it took her to wait for her body to stop swaying and the time it was now taking to cut through the rope, the sounds were getting closer and closer.

Where at first it had just sounded like a lot of faint tapping on stone, now it was obvious there were multiple sources. Most distressingly, at least one seemed to be moving along the ceiling, and it was getting very close. Just as she managed to finally cut through, the pressure on her ankles disappearing as the rope around them snapped, she managed to catch a brief glimpse of something in the darkness. Only the barest hint of light from the doorway reached this far up, but just before she fell she saw that light reflected in many sets of eyes staring directly at her.

Her escape was just in the nick of time it seemed, the body the eyes belonged to pouncing just in time to strike the rope she'd severed herself from and land on the opposite wall. Fortunately Mireleth was there to catch her as she fell, sparing the thief from a potentially painful landing, but by now the sounds were on every side of them, the creatures making them finally stepping into the light. Massive spiders, each at least double the size of a person crawled along the walls, one on either side of the cave. The third, which had attempted to pounce on Colette only moments before, had crawled down so that it now waited just above the doorway.

Before Mireleth could let Colette down onto her own feet—or try to run with her still in her arms—the spider dropped down to the floor, forcing her to take a step back or have it fall on top of her. That left them surrounded, one blocking their exit and at least two behind them. The bear traps didn't seem like they'd be of any help, obviously having been laid for something that walked on the ground and not the walls, and they'd need to be careful of them themselves if they moved much further down the tunnel.

From the outside Nagan—And Sable and Wyndyl if they had rushed into the room—could only see the back of the spider blocking the doorway. It was all but impossible to make out Mireleth and Colette, though the creature was also potentially vulnerable to their attacks.

 

[Tassadar]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Mireleth caught Colette as she fell, still unaware of the danger's nature as the rogue finally cut herself free but not for long after that. She swept back a step as she dumped Colette onto her feet, not having the time or attention to speak the banterous quip she'd been about to say following the thief's flustered state after her joke about tying her up. Mireleth's smirk vanished into a grim scowl as the other spiders stepped into the light, one practically appearing behind them as it landed in the doorway, another two up ahead. Surrounded.

"Teasing later. Pest control now."

The one directly behind them was the bigger threat, but despite how well the rogue had performed so far Mireleth was more confident in her ability to handle two at once than Colette. "The one behind us. Don't let them bite you," She said shortly, having little time to say more as she went back to back with the thief, hand settling onto the hilt of her blade. She glared at two sets of eight eyes for a moment, but didn't let the two creatures separate before she made a rush toward them, drawing her weapon and aiming to hack through the front legs of the nearer with a wide slash, and would aim a feinted slash at the other to keep its attention on her rather than Colette. Hopefully the length of her blade would serve to keep them at bay, as Mireleth most definitely didn't wish to feel those fangs, but if she could actually pull that off might well be another story.

Spoiler

Hack and Slash at a spodah, then I'm Your Opponent on another. Presumably murdering the first one, or attempting to, will be enough to keep its attention on her. Try to keep them at bay with her weapon's reach

 

[GargantuaBlarg]

Re: Nightmare Lands (Dungeon World Game)

Nagan had only just called out the need to slay the foes laying in wait beneath them when she saw Colette get snatched up by the tunnel's ceiling. When a massive, dark form fell down, obscuring her companions from sight, the shaman screamed a battle cry, and raised her staff, her hands spaced out on its solid wooden shaft. "Unnatural creatures, begone!" the Shamaness cried, charging and bringing her staff down in an arc, trying to crush one of the monstrosity's legs!