[Let's Play] Fighting Fantazine Adventure 5: Bones of the Banished

[Beroli]

The tunnel descends into the ground, winding irregularly through the rock. Holes line one side of the tunnel, passing through to the gorge outside and letting a little light into the gloom. Every so often you come across a small chamber, but they contain nothing of interest except stinking animal skins and gnawed chunks of bone. Still you do not come across another living being – it is as if the entire Oldbone tribe has suddenly abandoned their village. The tunnel ends at a low-roofed cavern in which three holes have been gouged out of the rock. Each is covered with a woven lid of branches and bones, weighted down with heavy stones. You peer into each of the holes but the lattices are woven too tightly to see past them.

Something telling you you don't want to go near the center hole, you lift up the lid on the left hole.

You roll away the weights and slide the lattice away from the hole. You peer down into the hole, but it is too deep to see anything in the dim light. You are about to replace the lid when a faint moan can be heard from below. It sounded like a human voice, but you cannot be sure. Whatever is down there smells foul.

Use a Rope to descend into the hole to see what is there?
Look in the center hole?
Look in the right hole?
Go back up the tunnel and go down the right passage?
Go back up the tunnel and leave Oldbone Gorge?

Name: George
Sex: Male
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 13/15
Luck: 9/10
Weapon: Dagger
Rucksack contents: Meal, Meal, Meal, Meal, Meal, Rope, Torch, strange wood-and-metal staff, Fangthane Gold, _________
Companions: Paru (7 Skill, fires an arrow each Attack Round)
Trophies: Fangthane Gold
Special Notes: Circlet of Hamaskis
Deaths: Mercilessly crushed by Thrandeus, eaten by a dragon, mercilessly crushed by Thrandeus, driven insane by a creature from nightmare

[JourneymanN00b]

So, I guess being a centrist didn't help here, and the correct answer was to fully stand against fascism.

Anyway, I vote to use the rope to descend into the hole.

[Thaluikhain]

Blue option, and comment about penetrating hole.

[Queen of Swords]

I wonder whether the tentacled creature was in league with the Oldbones or if it was responsible for their disappearances.

Use the rope to descend into the hole.

[Beroli]

You tie one end of your rope to a nearby stalagmite and, gripping tightly on to the other end, carefully lower yourself down into the hole. The pitiful moaning renews and as you get closer you see it is coming from a thin humanoid figure crouching at the bottom of the pit.

Attack the creature before it can harm you?
Take a closer look at it first?

Name: George
Sex: Male
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 13/15
Luck: 9/10
Weapon: Dagger
Rucksack contents: Meal, Meal, Meal, Meal, Meal, Rope, Torch, strange wood-and-metal staff, Fangthane Gold, _________
Companions: Paru (7 Skill, fires an arrow each Attack Round)
Trophies: Fangthane Gold
Special Notes: Circlet of Hamaskis
Deaths: Mercilessly crushed by Thrandeus, eaten by a dragon, mercilessly crushed by Thrandeus, driven insane by a creature from nightmare

[Queen of Swords]

Take a closer look.

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to take a closer look at it.

[Beroli]

You reach the bottom of the pit and approach the hunched figure. It cowers in fear, hiding its face with its arms. Gently you reach out and pull away a limb, revealing the terrified face of Udeme, one of your fellow tribesmen! The fear in his face melts away to disbelief and joy as he recognises you. ‘Praise Courga I am saved!’ he cries.

Although weakened from his imprisonment, Udeme is able to climb, and together you clamber out of the pit. You ask him what happened. He explains that he was exploring the plains for a worthy trophy, just as you are, when he ventured too close to Oldbone Gorge and was captured. The evil creatures tossed him into the pit, taking cruel delight in pelting him with stones. You ask Udeme where all the Oldbones have gone.

‘That I cannot explain,’ he says, ‘yesterday I was overcome with a strange madness. A voice spoke inside my head, compelling me to leave the pit and follow it into the wild. I was powerless to resist and would have done anything it commanded me to, but the pit was too deep and I was unable to climb out. After a time I blacked out, and when I awoke all was silent, until you arrived.’

You help Udeme along the tunnel and out to the cave entrance. He will find his way back to Boneridge village, but you still have several hours before you are due back there with your prize.

Give him one of your Meals to give him strength on his return journey?
Bid him farewell?

Name: George
Sex: Male
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 13/15
Luck: 9/10
Weapon: Dagger
Rucksack contents: Meal, Meal, Meal, Meal, Meal, Rope, Torch, strange wood-and-metal staff, Fangthane Gold, _________
Companions: Paru (7 Skill, fires an arrow each Attack Round)
Trophies: Fangthane Gold
Special Notes: Circlet of Hamaskis
Deaths: Mercilessly crushed by Thrandeus, eaten by a dragon, mercilessly crushed by Thrandeus, driven insane by a creature from nightmare

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to give him a Meal.

[Queen of Swords]

Yes, give him a meal.

[Thaluikhain]

Take the person we rescued out for dinner.

[Beroli]

Udeme is taken aback by your offering (remove one of your Meals from your Adventure Sheet). ‘Thank you, my friend. I will make sure the elders know of your courage. Please take this.’ Your fellow hunter removes a carved stone talisman from around his neck and presses it into your hands.

‘I believe this charm gave me the strength to survive my imprisonment. I hope you will also benefit from its power.’ With that, Udeme begins his journey home. Restore 1 Luck point for your generosity. Any time you have to Test your Stamina you may choose to draw upon the magic instilled in the charm and automatically succeed in the test. You may do this once and once only, after which the charm becomes useless.

You decide against re-entering the deserted Oldbone warrens.

Strike out northeast along the spine of the ridge?
Return to the plains and begin the homeward journey?

Name: George
Sex: Male
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 13/15
Luck: 10/10
Weapon: Dagger
Rucksack contents: Meal, Meal, Meal, Meal, Rope, Torch, strange wood-and-metal staff, Fangthane Gold, Charm of Endurance, _________
Companions: Paru (7 Skill, fires an arrow each Attack Round)
Trophies: Fangthane Gold
Special Notes: Circlet of Hamaskis
Deaths: Mercilessly crushed by Thrandeus, eaten by a dragon, mercilessly crushed by Thrandeus, driven insane by a creature from nightmare

[Queen of Swords]

Strike out northeast.

[JourneymanN00b]

Sure, I vote to go northeast.

[Beroli]

Your travels take you down into a deep and narrow gully formed by the meeting of two craggy outcrops. As you carefully edge your way down the steep path you sight one of your fellow candidates. You recognise him as Sefu, a proud and arrogant warrior around the same age as you. Since you were both young you have continually competed with each other, be it in hunting, racing or combat. This fierce lifelong rivalry, and Sefu’s continued stubbornness, has prevented the pair of you from ever forming a proper friendship.

At this very moment Sefu is fighting for his life against a massive four-legged beast that has him cornered in one end of the ravine. Its wide body and squat head are covered in thick plates of bony armour and a similarly-protected tail swings behind the creature, ending in a bulbous, spiked club of fused bone. You fear that this will be a one-sided fight, for Sefu is armed only with a hunting spear.

Rush to lend Sefu your aid?
Leave Sefu to his fate and continue on your way?

Name: George
Sex: Male
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 13/15
Luck: 10/10
Weapon: Dagger
Rucksack contents: Meal, Meal, Meal, Meal, Rope, Torch, strange wood-and-metal staff, Fangthane Gold, Charm of Endurance, _________
Companions: Paru (7 Skill, fires an arrow each Attack Round)
Trophies: Fangthane Gold
Special Notes: Circlet of Hamaskis
Deaths: Mercilessly crushed by Thrandeus, eaten by a dragon, mercilessly crushed by Thrandeus, driven insane by a creature from nightmare

[Queen of Swords]

Leave him; he got mad at us for helping last time.

[Thaluikhain]

Half vote for helping anyway, in case there's a penalty to leaving him to die.

[JourneymanN00b]

I will vote to leave the ungrateful asshole this time.

[Beroli]

Leaving Sefu to probable death wins 2 to 0.5.

Although a fiercely arrogant individual and a competing candidate, Sefu is still a member of your tribe and deserving of your aid. Leaving him to fight for himself against such a foe was a cold-hearted and callous act. Lose 1 Luck point.

Your journey takes you to a copse of baobab trees, standing alone in a sea of grassland. You decide to enter, seeking relief from the scorching rays of the afternoon sun. After hours of travelling across the wide-open plains, the densely-packed woods feel positively claustrophobic. Nevertheless you pick your way through the trees and enjoy the shade of their leafy limbs. The leaves, fruit and seeds of the baobab are edible; you can spend some time collecting supplies if you wish (roll one die and halve the result, rounding down. Add that many meals to your Adventure Sheet. If you roll a 1, add 1 meal to your Adventure Sheet).

Eventually you come across a small pool of water fed by some underground spring that has given life to the surrounding oasis. A four-legged beast the size of an ox and covered in leathery green skin is drinking at the water’s edge. A row of orange plates runs down its spine, which ends in a short tail studded with stubby spikes.

Approach the baby Shingleback and also partake of the fresh water?
Ignore the feeling of thirst and press on?

Also vote on whether to collect food and--should you happen to roll a 4 or higher if you do--what to leave behind, as one more meal will mean your rucksack is full.

Name: George
Sex: Male
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 13/15
Luck: 9/10
Weapon: Dagger
Rucksack contents: Meal, Meal, Meal, Meal, Rope, Torch, strange wood-and-metal staff, Fangthane Gold, Charm of Endurance, _________
Companions: Paru (7 Skill, fires an arrow each Attack Round)
Trophies: Fangthane Gold
Special Notes: Circlet of Hamaskis
Deaths: Mercilessly crushed by Thrandeus, eaten by a dragon, mercilessly crushed by Thrandeus, driven insane by a creature from nightmare

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to eat a mean, and collect food. However, I vote not to leave anything behind for this. Finally, I vote to press on this time.

[Queen of Swords]

Agree with this.

[Thaluikhain]

Seems reasonable.

[Beroli]

Your roll is a 3; you collect one Meal, replacing the one you ate.

You leave the copse behind you and continue on your way. The rest of the journey is uneventful and soon the familiar site of Boneridge Village comes into sight.

Evening is falling when the welcome sight of Boneridge Village appears, bathed in the fiery glow of the setting sun. After two days of exploring the deadly Plain of Bones you can finally return home and stake your claim as chieftain of the tribe.

Paru is your companion.

Your pace quickens as home finally comes into view, but Paru hangs back. ‘You go on ahead,’ he mutters, ‘I’m no leader.’ No matter what you say, you can’t change his mind. Begrudgingly you continue on without him.

At last you have returned home! You walk down the main path that leads to the village, proud of what you have achieved, but no one comes out to greet you. In fact, as far as you can tell the entire village is deserted. There are no fires lit, no smells of the evening meal being prepared, and no voices of the returned candidates swapping tales of adventure. You appear to be utterly alone.

By the time you reach the first clusters of tents, your fears are confirmed. You poke your head into the dwellings, only to find each one deserted. You rush to the meeting circle in the centre of the village, but it is also deserted, the fire pits cold and dead. It is as if your entire tribe has vanished into thin air!

You hear a voice coming from somewhere to the west. You race towards the sound, ducking and weaving past tents and the netting that is strung up between the bones of great beasts to protect against the harsh sand storms that sometimes afflict the area. On the fringes of the village, standing on the edge of the cliff overlooking Boneridge Valley, you find Ogmil, the apprentice of Valgrek the village shaman. He spins around to face you.

‘Kuwi?’ he cries, ‘Oh, it’s you. I wondered whether you had the fortitude to survive the Rite.’ You have never gotten along well with Ogmil, but now his words seem particularly laced with venom. You ask him what happened to your people.

‘They have been taken far away from this place. I know where. Come, I will show you.’ He beckons you to join him at the cliff’s edge.

Join him?
Stay where you are?

Once again, you have returned without what would make it possible for you to find where Valgrek has taken your people, and are in a walking dead state, so please vote on whether to record another death by Thrandeus and rewind to where you had a chance, or continue.

Name: George
Sex: Male
Skill: 11/11
Stamina: 15/15
Luck: 9/10
Weapon: Dagger
Rucksack contents: Meal, Meal, Meal, Meal, Rope, Torch, strange wood-and-metal staff, Fangthane Gold, Charm of Endurance, _________
Companions: None
Trophies: Fangthane Gold
Special Notes: Circlet of Hamaskis
Deaths: Mercilessly crushed by Thrandeus, eaten by a dragon, mercilessly crushed by Thrandeus, driven insane by a creature from nightmare

[JourneymanN00b]

I vote to again take the death and Press Button to Continue so that we can rewind to the place where we made the fatal error.

[Queen of Swords]

Oh great, we lost again.

Sure, rewind.