S01E06 - The Old Shrine Road
Introduction
Day: 2
Time of day: Late Afternoon
Weather: Sunny
Characters: Hadley, Tasha, Elena
Location: Outside the North Gate, Kethryn
With Kethryn’s gates closed for the night, there is little to do but make camp beside the road. The growing darkness persuades even Tasha that travelling further tonight is a bad idea. Two of the merchants who stayed behind after the accident join them, bringing a small keg of ale and a few provisions. They find a sheltered patch of grass beneath the trees, far enough from the road to escape the dust haze, and soon a fire is crackling in a shallow pit.
After the strain and confusion of the afternoon, the evening is unexpectedly pleasant. Bread, hard cheese and some dried meats are passed around, along with a few apples from a nearby tree. The ale is not particularly good, but it’s drinkable and Hadley doesn’t complain. Around them, other travellers have made their own camps, and scattered fires glow along the roadside beneath the dark bulk of Kethryn’s walls.
One of the merchants, a broad fellow with a surprisingly good singing voice, begins an old lake song about a fisherman’s daughter and a sailor who makes several increasingly bad decisions. Tasha quickly picks up the chorus. Hadley is reluctant at first, then joins in after sufficient encouragement, singing badly and with a confidence lent him by the ale. Even Elena is eventually coaxed into contributing a wistful elven song, its unfamiliar melody haunting enough to quiet the conversation around the fire until she finishes.
Stories follow the songs. The merchants have tales of storms on Footprint Lake, crooked toll-keepers and wagons lost on mountain roads. Hadley tells a carefully edited story from his soldiering days that has Tasha laughing and Elena regarding him with amused suspicion.
“It didn’t happen like that,” Elena says when he finishes. Hadley takes another drink.
“You weren’t there.”
“Neither were half the people in your story.”
Hadley opens his mouth to protest, pauses, shrugs and then takes another pull of ale.
By the time the fire has sunk to glowing embers, the weariness of the day has caught up with them. They wrap themselves in blankets beneath a clear sky, the distant walls of Kethryn black against the stars. The road falls quiet, conversation dwindles, and sleep comes easily. For once, nothing troubles them before morning.
Rest and Recovery
I’ve decided that instead of using the standard OSE rules for healing, I’m going to adopt Tale Of The Manticore’s approach and allow characters to heal a little more quickly. A character who gets a decent night of sleep (a long rest) gets back 1HP through natural healing.
Hadley: 8/9 HP
Tasha: 6/6 HP
Elena: 6/6HP
Weather: Sunny & Dry
Dawn breaks bright and clear over Footprint Lake. The rising sun catches the water beyond Kethryn and turns it briefly to hammered gold, while the city walls throw long shadows across the road. Their little camp stirs early. Blankets are rolled, packs shouldered and the last crusts of bread eaten while the merchants coax life back into their own fire.
They take their leave not long after sunrise. Tasha is plainly impatient to be moving, having already lost the better part of a day to the accident and the closed gates.
“Shallya’s will,” she says when Hadley points this out, though the tightness in her voice suggests she might have preferred Shallya to arrange things differently. Elena glances at Hadley.
“Best not argue with the goddess.”
“Wasn’t planning to,” he replies, with a quick smile.
The merchants reckon the old shrine to be half a day’s walk, perhaps a little more if the road is poor. Their directions are reassuringly simple: follow the North Road out of Kethryn, take the Old Shrine Road where it branches away into wooded country, and keep going.
“You’ll cross an old stone bridge about halfway - that’s the Pilgrim’s Bridge,” one tells them. “If you reach that, you’re on the right road. Shrine’s beyond it.” Tasha listens intently, committing every detail to memory.
The North Road is already stirring as they set out, with carts creaking towards Kethryn and early travellers making the most of the cool morning. After half an hour they reach the turning. The Old Shrine Road is narrower and quieter, its worn surface leading away from the busier highway beneath the trees.
Tasha stops for a moment at the junction, gazing along it with an expression of delight. After days aboard the Running Hind, the distractions of Kethryn and yesterday’s accident, Shallya’s road finally lies beneath her feet.
“This is it,” she says, almost to herself, then starts forward with renewed purpose.
Hadley adjusts the weight of his pack and follows. Elena falls into step beside him.
“Half a day,” he mutters. “Hopefully…”
Tasha, several paces ahead, either doesn’t hear him or chooses not to.
Questions
I want to check if anyone else is heading along the shrine road this morning. Probably not but let’s see:
Anyone else going that way? Unlikely - 2 - No
We know the road is passable from the conversations with the labourers at the North Gate. What’s it like though?
Overgrown? Unlikely - 15 - Yes & event
Event: Travel Challenge / Terrain
The Old Shrine Road is markedly quieter than the North Road. Within a few minutes the creak of carts and clatter of hooves fade behind them, replaced by birdsong and the soft stir of leaves overhead. The road itself is badly overgrown, with thick tufts of grass between the old wheel ruts and brambles encroaching from either side, but as the merchants and guards at the North Gate said, it remains passable. From time to time, someone still passes this way.
For the first few hours the walking is easy but slow. The road climbs steadily into the wooded hills north-west of Kethryn, winding beneath oak and beech and occasionally offering glimpses of Footprint Lake through gaps in the trees. Tasha sets a determined pace at first, but even she slows as the forest thickens and the ground becomes steeper.
“Definitely still Shallya’s road?” Hadley asks as he shakes himself free of a persistently thorny bramble.
“Absolutely,” Tasha smiles brightly. “Shallya never promises an easy road, only that you will, at some point, reach the end of it.”
Under his breath Hadley mutters something mournful about the beer he left at the Hunting Heron, long since tipped into the slops bucket.
By mid-morning the character of the countryside begins to change. The forest thins, bare stone breaking through the soil and roots twisting across the path. In several places small rockfalls have spilled down the hillside, forcing them to pick their way over loose slabs and moss-covered boulders. There are still signs of other travellers - a post driven into the ground near a treacherous slope with a rope to serve as a handhold, a patch of ground trodden flat with signs of a camp fire. Elena crouches briefly beside one muddy patch.
“Boot prints,” she says, studying the faint impressions. “Not very recent though.”
Hadley nods. “Recent enough. We’re not the only faithful travellers who come this way.”
His voice carries a level of sarcasm which makes Tasha raise an eyebrow at him, a tolerant smile on her face, but she says nothing.
Eventually the forest thins almost to nothing, the road ending at the lip of a narrow gorge. Its sides fall steeply between walls of dark, fractured stone, tangled with ferns and trailing roots. Somewhere below, hidden by shadow and vegetation, water rushes noisily over rock.
Spanning the gorge is a narrow stone bridge, scarcely wide enough for two to walk abreast, its parapets worn and patched with lichen. Grass sprouts between the paving stones and small saplings have rooted themselves where the masonry meets the hillside. But despite the fact that stones have clearly recently fallen from the structure, the old arch still stands firm above the drop. Tasha stops at the sight of it, tiredness briefly forgotten.
“Pilgrim’s Bridge,” she says. Elena looks across to where the road disappears once more beneath the trees. “Halfway, then.”
Hadley eyes the ancient stonework. “Looks more like an accidental pile of stones that happen to roughly resemble a bridge!”
Questions
I wonder what sort of repair the bridge is in. It’s pretty disused and it seems the country round here is used to rock slides. Let’s see.
Is there a gap in the arch? 50/50 - 1 - Extreme No
Right - so the arch seems to be pretty solid and still spans the whole gorge. Sturdy but perilous.
Hadley steps forward to the edge of the precipice.
“I really don’t like heights. Never have.”
He sets a foot on the span and shoves hard. The old stones don’t move.
“Well… it seems solid enough although I’d have preferred it a bit wider!” He nods to the centre of the arch where some of the stone has fallen away and the leaves of a sapling sway gently in the breeze.
Questions
We should work out who’s going first. I think they’re going to be cautious and Hadley is likely to want to take the first risk but it might make more sense if Tasha or Elena go first, Hadley holding onto a rope just in case. Then he can hopefully break their fall if anything happens. I’ll do a 50/50 chance each for Elena and Tasha and if neither want to go, Hadley will do it. Let’s see:
Elena goes first? 50/50 - 12 - Yes but…
Ok then. But before she does…
Any other dangers that they can see? Unlikely - 4 - No
Hadley sets his backpack down and begins unwinding the length of rope which is strapped to the side. “I’ll go first.”
“No.” Elena is already slipping her pack from her shoulders. “I should.”
Hadley gives her a doubtful look, and she gestures impatiently towards the bridge. “You’re a lot heavier than I am. And if you tie the rope around me, you can brace yourself here. If something gives way, you might actually be able to stop me falling.” She pauses. “I certainly couldn’t stop you.”
Tasha looks from Elena to the gorge. “That makes uncomfortable sense.”
Hadley grunts, but pulls the rope free of his pack.
“I’m a bit heavier than you, not ‘a lot’ heavier. You’d think I was one of those tubby merchants you see stuffing themselves on feast days.”
He loops it securely around Elena and checks the knot twice before winding the other end around his forearm.
“Go slowly. Test every stone before you put your weight on it. If I tell you to stop, you stop.”
Elena nods. She is a little pale - her confidence has begun to desert her. She steps towards the bridge and peers down into the narrow gorge. Her face tightens and she immediately fixes her eyes on the far side instead.
“I dislike this plan,” she says quietly.
Hadley plants his feet and takes up the slack in the rope. “It was your plan.”
Elena draws a careful breath. “Yes. I’m beginning to see a critical flaw in it.”
Tasha gives her an encouraging smile. “Just don’t look down. You’ll be fine.”
Elena puts one foot onto the first weathered paving stone. “That advice would have been considerably more useful a few minutes ago.”
Questions
I’m anticipating that there’s going to be some Dexterity checks and I’m wondering if Elena is nervous enough for a penalty on some of those.
Is she? 50/50 - 9 - No but…
So she’s nervous but still in control. That “but” is ominous too but at the moment I can’t think of anything to use it for.
Right - Elena needs to roll a Dex check to make it across the span.
Elena Dex (12) - 5 - Success
And I’ll check if Tasha is going next - she probably is so Hadley can hold this end of the rope.
Is Tasha next? Likely - 5 - No + event
Event: Structure / Transient
Eep!! That “but” was very ominous after all!! I think this is the bridge starting to give way.
Elena moves slowly onto the bridge, placing each foot with deliberate care before trusting her weight to it. Her shoulders are rigid and her eyes remain fixed on the far side. Beneath her boots, grit scrapes on the old stones. A few pebbles skip from the edge and vanish into the gorge, their faint clatter continuing for several uncomfortable seconds.
“Easy … take your time.” Hadley calls. He pays out the rope a little at a time, keeping it taut without pulling against her. “No hurry - one step at a time.”
“Thank you Hadley - I’m not intending to dance across.” Elena replies. Her voice is controlled, but she doesn’t look back.
Tasha watches from beside Hadley, hands clasped tightly together as Elena edges past a cracked section of parapet and crosses the last few yards. At last she steps from the bridge onto solid ground and lets out a long breath. “There. Perfectly …”
A sharp crack cuts her off. Elena jumps forward as a section of the bridge’s outer edge breaks away behind her. Stone and mortar tumble into the gorge in a cloud of pale dust, bouncing from the rock walls before disappearing below. When the noise finally dies away, a ragged gap has been torn from the span, leaving the crossing narrower than before.
“… safe”. Elena finishes.
Hadley stares at the damage. “I don’t think that word means what you think it means.”
Questions
Eeshk!! That’s less than ideal!! Is the rope ok? Surely it is?
Is it? Likely - 17 - Yes
Ok good - that’s a relief! However I think Tasha would go next after all - Hadley will want to make sure he can brace both ends properly and he’s heavier than she is.
The rope swings slowly, Elena still grasping her end of it. Hadley calls to her.
“Find a tree - a good, solid one and tie the rope off around the trunk.”
Elena unties the rope from her waist and carries it to a thick beech a few paces from the road. Under Hadley’s shouted instructions she loops it twice around the trunk and knots it securely. When she is finished, she leans back against it with her full weight.
“It isn’t moving.”
Hadley tests the line from his side, then nods. “Good. Leave it there.”
He turns to Tasha.
“You next.”
Her attention is fixed on the ragged hole where part of the bridge used to be.
“I thought you were going first.” Tasha looks pale, her eyes wide.
“Bridge has changed its mind.”
Hadley takes hold of the rope with both hands. “I’m heavier than you. If it’s starting to come apart, better you cross while there’s still enough of it.”
Tasha considers the argument for a moment, then reluctantly removes her pack. “And you?”
“I’ll come last. Rope’s fixed at her end, and I’ll keep it tight while you cross.”
He plants himself firmly beside the road. “If anything shifts, just keep moving. Don’t stop to look at it.”
Across the gorge, Elena takes up a position beside the tree. “It held me,” she calls.
Tasha looks at the narrow span, then at the missing section near the far side.
“Yes,” she says with a wan smile. “Mostly.”
She draws a breath, takes hold of the rope and steps carefully onto Pilgrim’s Bridge.
Questions
Next Dexterity roll, this time for Tasha. Fingers crossed!
Tasha Dex (12) - 17 - Fail
Eeeepp!!!!
Tasha steps carefully onto the bridge, one hand on the rope and the other stretched out for balance. Hadley keeps the line firm behind her while Elena watches from the far bank, a hand resting on the tree where it is secured. For the first few yards Tasha makes steady progress, testing each stone before shifting her weight forward.
She reaches the middle of the span. Here the bridge is more badly weathered, its surface uneven beneath a scattering of loose grit. Tasha places a foot forward and it slides suddenly sideways.
For an instant she hangs on the edge disaster, arms windmilling, one boot scrabbling uselessly against the stone. Hadley sees it happen and hauls on the rope.
“Tasha!”
She gives a sharp cry and disappears over the edge.
The rope tears through Hadley’s hands before he catches it properly. It snaps taut with a violent jerk as Tasha plummets into the gorge, wrenching hard against the tree on the far bank. Hadley is dragged a step towards the bridge trying desperately to brace himself, boots digging into the earth. Elena cries out, grabbing the rope as if terrified the tree or the knot won’t hold.
Questions
Arrghh!! Hadley needs to do a strength check to stop Tasha’s fall - come on Hadley!!!
Hadley Strength (14) - 3 - Yes!!!
Inch by inch the rope slips through Hadley’s hands, dragging him towards the edge. He leans his weight backwards, boots tearing furrows through the loose earth, but there is nothing beneath them to hold. “Elena!” he shouts. “Keep that knot tight!”
Hadley’s heel strikes something solid. He glances down and sees the remains of an old tree stump jutting from the verge. With a grunt he manages to get behind it, planting one boot hard against the weathered wood. The rope bites painfully into his palms, but the sliding stops. He tests his footing, shifts his weight and braces himself.
“Got you,” he mutters through clenched teeth. “I’ve got you.”
Tasha hangs below the bridge, turning slowly, the rope still fast around her. Beneath her is fifty feet of empty air, the gorge narrowing into shadow and broken stone far below. She clutches desperately at the rope.
“Hadley!” Her voice echoes from the rock walls.
“Don’t struggle,” he calls down. “Hold on. I’m bringing you up.”
He wraps the rope around his forearm, leans back, braced against the stump and begins to haul. It comes grudgingly, a few inches at a time, Tasha’s weight fighting him for every foot he gains.
On the opposite bank Elena drops to her knees beside the bridge.
“A little further!” she calls, peering down towards Tasha. “Get her level with the edge. I can reach her.”
Hadley draws another length of rope painfully towards him, muscles trembling with the effort. Slowly, Tasha begins to rise towards the broken stonework.
Questions
It feels like this is another strength check. The first one was to stop her fall and this one is to haul her up. Harsh GM!
Hadley Strength (14) - 11 - Success
Tasha will also need a Dexterity check to clamber up out of the gorge. Let’s see…
Tasha Dexterity(12) - 1 - Success!
Inch by inch, Hadley hauls Tasha towards the bridge. Each pull gains barely a handspan before he has to shift his grip and start again. The rope burns across his palms and his shoulders ache with the strain. Once his boot slips from the stump and he lurches forward, losing precious ground before jamming his heel back against the wood.
“Nearly there!” Elena calls. She lies flat at the edge of the gorge, one arm hooked around a sturdy root while the other reaches down towards Tasha. “Tasha! Look up. Take my hand.”
Tasha swings against the rock face, scrabbling with her boots for some purchase. Elena’s fingers are tantalisingly close. Hadley gives another desperate pull and Tasha rises a few inches more. Their hands meet, slip apart, then meet again. This time Elena closes her fingers around Tasha’s wrist and Tasha grips hers in return.
Between Elena pulling and Hadley hauling on the rope, Tasha comes up over the edge. She claws at grass and roots with her free hand and then suddenly she is clear, sprawling onto the ground beside Elena. For several seconds neither woman moves. Then Tasha rolls onto her back, gasping for breath, and begins to laugh with sheer, breathless relief. Elena joins her, the sound edged with something close to hysteria.
Across the gorge, Hadley sees them lying safely together and releases the rope. He drops heavily onto the grass beside the old stump, arms trembling and chest heaving. For a long moment he simply sits there, staring at the empty bridge and listening to their laughter from the other side.
Questions
Now it’s Hadley’s turn. I really hope this goes well. Come on Hadley!
Hadley Dexterity (14) - 20 - Fail!
No no no!!!!!
Hadley remains on the ground for another moment, flexing his aching hands, before forcing himself back to his feet.
“Right,” he mutters. “My turn.”
He retrieves the rope and ties it firmly around his waist, pulling the knot tight. Across the gorge, Tasha has recovered enough to sit up, though her face is still pale.
“Check the rope,” Hadley calls. “And loop it around another tree. Something solid. If the first one gives, I don’t want to find out on the way down.”
Elena tests the knot around the beech while Tasha feeds the rope around a second trunk nearby. They pull the line tight between them.
“Secure,” Elena calls. Hadley eyes their work, then the bridge.
“Good enough.”
He steps onto the span. The old stones seem to object immediately to his greater weight. Grit trickles from beneath his boots and somewhere below comes the brittle clatter of falling fragments. Hadley moves slowly, keeping one hand on the rope and placing his feet as close to the centre of the bridge as he can.
“Come on,” he murmurs. “You’ve stood a hundred years and more. Give me another minute.”
He is almost across when the stone beneath his right foot shifts. There is no warning crack, no moment to retreat. It simply drops away.
Hadley falls with it. He throws himself forward instinctively, arms reaching for the surviving edge of the bridge as his weight plunges into empty space. His chest strikes the stonework hard enough to drive the breath from him and his hands claw desperately across the rough paving, searching for anything that will hold.
Questions
Oh crikey!! I’m not ready to lose Hadley!! Dexterity check to cling on. I’m also going to penalise this roll because the critical failure (20) on his previous Dexterity check. I’ll give it a +2 penalty.
Hadley Dexterity (14) - 19 +2 = 21 - Fail!
I’m going to give him one last chance - Elena and Tasha have the rope. Can they catch his weight and haul him up? I think I’ll improvise a little here. Tasha will help Elena - if Tasha succeeds I’ll give Elena a -2 bonus on her check.
Tasha Strength (10) - 5 - Yes!
Elena Strength (13) - 4 - 2 = 2 - Yesss!!!!!
Hadley’s fingers rake across the broken edge, catching nothing. For an instant he hangs against the stonework, then his weight drags him away. He crashes against the side of the gorge and goes sliding down the steep rock face, boots and hands scrabbling desperately for purchase. Loose stones tumble away beneath him as the rope snakes after him.
On the bank above, the line whips tight. Tasha and Elena are both wrenched forward, boots skidding across the dirt as Hadley’s weight pulls them towards the edge. Tasha cries out and drops backwards, wrapping both hands around the rope. Elena braces a foot against the second tree and hauls with everything she has. For several dreadful seconds they lose ground, dragged closer and closer to the drop.
Then Hadley’s slide stops. Between them, Tasha and Elena begin to pull. There is no rhythm or finesse to it, only a desperate succession of heaves, gaining a foot and losing inches, until Hadley’s hands finally appear over the lip. He catches a root, drags himself upwards and, with Tasha and Elena hauling on the rope, clambers painfully out of the gorge.
He collapses onto the ground, breathing in great ragged gasps. Tasha catches hold of his coat and drags him farther from the edge while Elena pushes from behind, until all three are safely among the trees. Then they simply collapse together in the grass, exhausted and shaking.
For a while nobody speaks. Tasha is the first to laugh, a small, incredulous sound that quickly becomes infectious. Hadley closes his eyes and lets his head fall back against the earth.
“Cheated death twice in five minutes,” he manages. “Next time we’re walking the long way round!”
Elena lies beside him, still clutching the rope.
“Agreed.”
Death has indeed been cheated… but only barely.
Questions
Truth to tell, I should probably have given Hadley one last check to clamber up onto the lip of the gorge but I took pity on them. Tasha and Hadley both nearly went the way of the Dodo there! At least they made it, if a bit scraped and battered. Hopefully the Old Shrine will be worth the journey!! We’ll see, next time…