S01E08 - The Pain Of Parting

Introduction

Day: 2

Time of day: Late Afternoon / Early Evening

Weather: Downpour

Characters: Hadley, Tasha, Elena

Location: Outside the ruined Temple of Shallya

Questions

After the horrific events of the last episode, I think the next scene is going to be a couple of hours later. The fire has died down and they have retrieved what’s left of the bodies from the wreckage. Tasha and Elena have buried the bodies. Hadley is off looking for any sign of where the clerics of Malal vanished to.

Scene test: 9 / Expected

Ok. Let’s see what happens…

A couple of hours later, rain falls steadily over the ruined temple, steam rising from the scorched timbers. Outside the walls, three narrow graves lie beneath freshly packed earth. There was little left of the Shallyan clerics to bury. The fire had burned with a vicious heat, consuming flesh and bone with a voracious appetite, far hotter and hungrier than any of them has seen before. Hadley has gone to search the surrounding area for any sign of Malal’s followers, leaving Tasha and Elena beside the freshly dug graves.

Tasha kneels in the mud, pale and gaunt, her soaked robes clinging to her shoulders. Her hands lie open in her lap. For some time her lips have been moving in whispered prayer, her hands gripping her pendant, the dove of Shallya, so tightly her knuckles are white. Elena stands nearby, equally pale, rain dripping from her hair and hood. She watches Tasha, uncertain whether to speak.

“I don’t know their names,” Tasha says at last.

Elena crouches beside her. “Someone in Kethryn will know.”

Tasha looks across the three patches of earth and her voice falters. “There might have been something inside. A book. Letters. Something to tell us who they were.”

“We looked as carefully as we could,” Elena says.

Tasha lowers her head, and Elena rests a hand on her shoulder. For a while they remain like that beneath the steady rain.

Questions

I think Elena will go back into the ruins and scout around again to see if she can find anything at all that’s survived the inferno.

Elena - Wis (16) - 18 - Fail

When Tasha begins to pray again, Elena quietly rises and leaves her beside the graves. She picks her way back through the ruined gateway, stepping over fallen masonry into the courtyard. Rain patters on the wreckage and gathers in the fresh cracks in the scorched paving stones.

She searches for a while, working slowly around the walls and through what remains of the shrine. Wherever she can, she shifts loose debris, looking beneath it for anything they might have overlooked. There is nothing. Only twisted, blackened timbers, shattered carvings and stones cracked by the terrible heat. At last she straightens, wipes her filthy hands on her cloak and turns back.

Tasha is still seated beside the graves. As Elena approaches, she plants a hand in the mud and stands wearily. Tears have left pale tracks through the grime on her face. Her gaze moves to Elena’s empty hands.

“Nothing?” she asks.

Elena shakes her head. “I’m sorry.”

Tasha looks down and wipes her cheek with the wet heel of her hand. “Thank you for looking.”

Elena steps beside her, close enough to offer an arm, and Tasha takes it.

Questions

I wonder how Hadley is getting on. He’s gone to try to find out what happened to the dark cleric and his followers. I think I need a roll to see how he gets on.

Hadley - Wis (10) - 1 - Success!

A 1 is pretty good - I’m going to treat that as an exceptional success so he finds something pretty compelling. I’ll roll some spark words:

What does he find - Wild/Heavy, Structure/Blade.

Ok - something has sprung to mind from that.

Just beyond the Old Shrine Road, Hadley finds tracks leading through the mud into the woodland. He follows cautiously, pausing now and then to listen. Rain ticks against the leaves overhead, masking quieter sounds, and he tightens his grip on his sword hilt.

The tracks bring him to a small clearing. Around its edges, the trees look scorched and dying, their leaves curled brown on blackened branches. One tree has been sheared almost in half. Hadley approaches it slowly. The damage looks less like a lightning strike than the work of some enormous, white-hot blade, slashing down and cutting away the branches in a single blow. Along the exposed wood, the edges are burned black.

His gaze follows a straight scorch mark down the trunk and across the ground. He steps back to judge its full extent: perhaps seven feet high and four or five feet wide. Rainwater runs through the blackened earth at his feet. Hadley looks from the scar to the surrounding trees, then turns slowly, checking the clearing again.

Questions

Eeshk! Some sort of portal or teleportation event happened here? Goodness knows! I think Hadley is going to try to find any other clues that might be here.

Hadley - Wis (10) - 6 - Success

Go Hadley - you are super perceptive today! I have an idea for what I’d like him to find - some sort of rune or mark in the wood.

Is it a symbol of Malal? Likely - 11 - Yes but…

Interesting…

Burnt into the damaged trunk is a charred symbol. Hadley steps closer, trying to make it out against the charred wood. His stomach turns, vomit rising in his throat. He stops, swallows, and presses a hand against his belly until the sudden nausea eases.

The symbol of a blackened blade burnt into the wood. He recognises the mark of Malal, but there is something wrong with its shape. The edges seem to shift as he studies them, bending where they should be straight. He blinks and tries to focus. For an instant the whole symbol appears to writhe against the trunk, and bile rises in his throat.

Hadley backs away. Only when he looks elsewhere does his stomach begin to settle. He shivers beneath his wet coat, glances once more towards the tree, then leaves the clearing and heads back through the woodland towards Tasha and Elena.

Questions

Ok - back to Tasha and Elena then. I have no idea what I would do in this situation. I think Tasha is going to want to head to another Shallyan temple to warn them of this terrible event.

Let’s see how it goes…

By the time Hadley returns, Tasha is standing beside Elena near the graves. She is still pale and gaunt, her clothes sodden and muddy, but she has regained her composure. Her eyes are reddened from crying; when she looks at him, her gaze is clear.

“I’ve prayed to Shallya for guidance,” she says. “The nearest temple is in Lingen. We must go there and tell them of this desecration. For all we know this may be other such events - the order must be ready.”

Hadley wipes rain from his face. “How far?”

“About ten days on foot. It’s a smaller city, north of here.”

Elena looks towards the road. “Do you know the way?”

Tasha nods. “Enough to get us started. We can ask as we go.”

Questions

I’m just going to check that they all agree on Lingen. I suspect at least Hadley will have reservations; they have minimal provisions and may even want to purchase horses or consider travelling by ship.

Do they all agree on Lingen? Likely - 10 - No + an event

Event: 1/5 - Close Threat / Injured - Wounded and hostile

Something immediately springs to mind. Given Malal seems to be in opposition to Shallya, a god of decay and death, it seems possible that victims of his clerics may not rest peacefully in their graves…

Do the buried bodies rise? 50/50 - 17 - Yes

Eeep!!! I’ll say that one of the party notices - who is it? I’ll do a simple d6 roll. On 1 or 2 - Hadley, 3 or 4 - Elena, 5 or 6 - Tasha.

Who notices? 1 - Hadley

“Ten days,” Hadley says. “Without horses, and barely enough food for the next few meals.” He looks between them. “We should go back to Kethryn first. Get supplies, maybe buy a couple of horses if we can afford them.”

“And walk straight back into Ketter and the Rook Brothers?” Elena asks. “They’ll almost certainly be looking for us.”

Hadley rubs his wet jaw. “I know, but we don’t have enough for a ten day march and we don’t know if we’ll find anywhere between here and Lingen to resupply.”

Tasha draws breath to answer, but Hadley’s attention is fixed beyond her on the three freshly dug mounds of earth.

Beside one of the fresh graves, a small clod of earth rolls into the mud. Hadley watches. The packed soil lifts slightly, then settles. His hand closes around the hilt of his sword.

“Tasha,” he says quietly. “Come away from the graves.”

She looks at him, puzzled by his tone. He holds out his free hand.

“Now, Tasha. Come towards me.”

Questions

Oh crikey! I have a bad feeling about this.

Is it all three graves that are affected? 50/50 - 2 - No

That’s good! I’m going to say that the grave in which lie the remains of the old Shallyan cleric is the one that’s moving but the graves belonging to his acolytes are quiet.

Tasha takes Hadley’s hand and steps away as the earth shifts again. It is the grave of the old Shallyan cleric. Beside it, the other two graves lie quiet. A mound of soil rises, breaks apart, and slides aside. Through it thrusts a charred hand, its blackened skeletal fingers scrabbling for purchase in the mud.

All three recoil. Hadley’s sword hisses from its sheath, and he swears under his breath. Tasha stares at the charred fingers groping out of the soil.

“Shallya, protect us,” she whispers. “Holy mother, be with us now!”

Beside her, Elena begins to mutter an incantation. Her fingers trace a familiar pattern, then falter. She tries to gather her power, but there is nothing left. The spell at the temple has exhausted her magic.

“I cannot summon my power,” she says, her voice tight. Hadley moves closer to them, his blade held out towards the grave.

A second hand claws upwards through the soil. Between them, a blackened head emerges followed by hunched shoulders, shedding clumps of wet earth. What remains of the old Shallyan cleric hauls itself slowly from the grave, its charred body twisted, its limbs trembling beneath its weight. It lifts its ruined face towards them and hisses.

Combat

A zombie of some sort! This is nasty. Zombies are 2HD monsters - this should be ok but Elena has no magic and Tasha only has a small Turn Undead chance. Hopefully Hadley can inflict enough damage that the thing is dispatched quickly. A quick update on the characters’ health before combat begins:

• Hadley - 8 out of 9 HP
• Elena - 5 out of 6 HP
• Tasha - 6 out of 6 HP

Zombies are slow and always lose initiative. I’m still going roll though as I’m want to know what order the PCs act in. I’m going to rule that the zombie is far enough away that it will take a round to reach them. Here’s the zombie stats from the OSE rulebook.

Zombie - 9 HP, THAC0 18, Attacks - 1 x 1d8

This is a dangerous fight. Both Elena and Tasha are vulnerable to a high damage roll from the creature.

Round 1

Initiative:

• Hadley - 1
• Elena - 6
• Tasha - 5

Attacks:

• Elena - Ranged Attack / Thrown dagger - 19 - 3HP damage
• Tasha - Turn Undead - 6 - Fail
• Hadley - Ranged Attack / Thrown dagger - 21 - 4 HP
• Zombie - Not yet in range

The creature lurches towards them, dragging one blackened foot through the mud. They retreat, struggling to watch it and keep their footing. With a yell of horror, Elena snatches a dagger from her belt and hurls it. The blade strikes solidly in its chest. It staggers, one arm flung wide, then rights itself.

Tasha stops backing away and raises her arms. “Shallya, hear me! Turn this creature aside. Let your servant rest!” Her voice rises above the patter of rain, but the dead cleric keeps coming. She holds her ground for another heartbeat before Elena catches her sleeve and pulls her back.

Hadley draws his own dagger, keeping his sword in his other hand. “Move!” He throws at close range. The dagger buries itself beneath the creature’s collarbone, driving it back a stumbling pace. Its knees buckle, and for a moment it seems about to fall.

Then it straightens. Both daggers jut from its ruined body as it lurches forwards again. Hadley swears and brings his sword up between them.

Round 2

Initiative:

• Hadley - 6
• Elena - 4
• Tasha - 6

There’s little Tasha can do this round as she has no spells and she can’t attempt another turning. Elena has a second dagger and then she’s out of options. The zombie is down to 2HP so a good thump from Hadley should sort it out.

Attacks:

• Hadley - Sword - 2 - Miss
• Tasha - no action
• Elena - Throw dagger - 1 - Miss

Eep! That’s not great. The zombie is now in range and will attack one of them. A d6 roll - on a 1 or 2 - Hadley, 3 or 4 - Elena, 5 or 6 - Tasha.

Target - 5 - Tasha Zombie - Attack - 14 - 7HP

Oh no!

Tasha…

Hadley swings at the creature, but his boot slides in the churned mud. The blade passes harmlessly before its chest, and he stumbles sideways, struggling to recover his footing. Tasha staggers backwards as the blackened thing turns towards her.

Elena draws her second dagger and throws. It flies wide, vanishing into the wet ground beyond the graves. “Tasha, move!” she cries.

The creature shrieks in incoherent rage and lunges. A claw-like hand slashes across Tasha before she can get clear. She screams and reels backwards, clutching herself as blood blossoms across her sodden robes.

Round 3

Initiative:

• Hadley - 6
• Elena - 4 - no action

Elena is out of attacks and can’t attack. I’m going to be generous and say that she is able to scramble through the mud past the creature and grab her second dagger from where it fell. At least next round she’ll have options if she needs them. It’s all on Hadley this round.

Attacks:

• Hadley - Sword - 2 - Miss

• Elena - no action - picks up her dagger

• Zombie - Target (50/50) - Hadley - 16 - 5HP

  Oh gods alive! This is horrendous - Hadley is wounded…

Hadley cries out in rage and horror as Tasha reels away. He slashes at the creature, but his boots skid in the mud again. The blow goes wide, dragging him off balance. “Get away from her!”

Elena scrambles past its outstretched arm and drops to one knee beyond the graves. She spots her dagger in the mud, snatches it up and turns. Tasha has fallen, both hands pressed against her bloodied chest.

The creature wheels on Hadley before he can recover. He tries to bring his sword between them, but its claws catch his arm and rake through sleeve and flesh. He gasps, stumbling back as blood runs down to his wrist.

Round 4

Initiative:

• Hadley - 5
• Elena - 2

Attacks:

• Hadley - Sword - 11 - 3 HP

It’s over.

Hadley sees Tasha fall. A raw scream of horror and anguish tears from him. He drives his heel into the sodden ground and surges to his feet, lifting his sword above the creature’s ruined head and bringing it down with all his strength.

Steel cleaves through blackened bone with a sickening crack, splitting the skull and driving deep into the ravaged torso. The force jars through his shoulders. For an instant he stands almost face to face with it, teeth bared, before wrenching the blade free.

The creature staggers, its split jaws sagging as the ravaged skull collapses. One claw reaches towards him, then falls away as the thing pitches into the mud at his feet. Beyond it, Elena stands rigid with her dagger in her fist. Hadley scarcely sees her. He leaps over the fallen thing and runs to Tasha’s side, sliding to his knees in the mud.

Elena drops into the mud beside him and gathers Tasha’s head into her lap. A cough shakes Tasha’s body, bringing blood to her lips. Her face is terribly pale, her eyes shadowed and struggling to focus. Elena wipes at the mud on her cheek with trembling fingers.

“Tasha! You’re alright, you’ll be alright…” The elven woman’s voice is ragged, desperate.

Hadley presses both hands over the wound in her chest. Blood wells between his fingers. He pulls a fold of her robe beneath his palms and bears down, desperate to stop it, but the cloth soaks through almost at once.

“Tasha! Stay with us! Hold on… please!” His voice is strained and hoarse. He looks helplessly towards Elena.

“I’m here, Tasha,” Elena says, weeping openly now. She brushes the hair from Tasha’s face and bends close. “We’re both here.”

Tasha coughs again, and blood spatters her lips. Hadley feels her chest heave beneath his hands. He holds the cloth tighter, though blood is already running pooling on the wet ground. Tasha looks up at Elena, then at Hadley. Her hand lifts and covers Hadley’s, stilling it. Her lips move. Elena lowers her head to hear, still cradling her against the rain.

“She is calling me home,” Tasha whispers.

The pain loosens its hold. Tasha feels herself rising, though there is no effort in it, no weight to lift. Below, she sees her own body lying in the mud. Hadley is bent over her, pressing the torn robe desperately against her chest while Elena cradles her head, tears coursing down her face. Tasha reaches towards them, but her hand passes through Elena’s shoulder. At her own feet lie the ravaged remains of the dead cleric. Looking at him now, she feels an aching sorrow, a pity so fierce she longs to kneel beside him, to comfort him somehow.

Beyond the graves, the trees have grown pale and translucent. Through their ghostly trunks she sees a darkness seething in the woodland, spilling from a tree that stands burnt and savagely slashed. She does not know the place, yet the sight troubles her. Then she becomes aware that someone is waiting nearby.

A woman stands a little way off in a simple silver-white robe. Her face is filled with sorrow, but her sad smile comforts Tasha, easing the fear she feels coursing from the torn tree. She holds out her hand.

“Come, child.”

Tasha looks back at the two figures huddled over her body.

“Will they be alright without me?” The woman’s hand remains outstretched.

“Their fate is no longer twined with yours, daughter.”

“They are my true friends. I love them.”

Hadley bows his head, his bloodied hands trembling but still holding the cloth in place, his shoulders shaking as his grief overcomes him. Elena touches Tasha’s cheek, gently as though she fears it might hurt her. Tasha watches them, unwilling to turn away.

“And they have loved you,” the woman says. “Come. It is time.”

Quietly, with rain falling gently on her face and her friends beside her, Tasha dies.

End Scene

I was not ready for this. Tasha, Hadley and Elena have been a trio in my mind since I was a teenager. I wrote short fiction pieces about them. Tasha was the balance to Hadley’s jadedness and Elena’s disdain. In my mind’s eye they have travelled far together and seen much. But here Tasha’s story ends.

I think this is the power of stories and role playing games in particular. Tasha is on the one hand, a collection of numbers on a piece of paper. On the other hand, she was a vibrant part of the story in my head, alive and vital. I decided at the start of this adventure that I would always accept the dice rolls. So be it.

Farewell Tasha.