@Tamamo
Rossaria, you and Lady Red consider waiting for dusk, but upon realizing that it is already midnight on the NIGHT OF THE FIRST SNOW, you resolve to leave for the mansion now, knowing that you can take refuge within if the sun becomes a menace. You take the form of a DIRE WOLF and Lady Red climbs on your back. With paws to the ground, you sprint from the dying forest and break across the field, coming to the dour mansion relatively swiftly.
"Gaudy little estate, isn't it?" Red comments. "Shall we knock loud? Or softly?"
There's a PUMPKIN PATCH to the northwest of the grounds, tucked behind some kind of GREENHOUSE. To the northeast, a hedge maze looms ominously. Then again, there's always the front door.
How do you knock?
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@mrz84
Zataka, you secure the perimeter and then ask if anybody knows what this machine is for. To your shock, that GNOMISH WIZARD appears, leans in, and comments. "It's a drill. Doesn't look like it's finished, though." You try to ask him where he's been, but as soon as you blink he's a CARDBOARD CUTOUT again.
It's clear the ogres were kidnapping gnomes to build or repair this machine. ...But what could they be drilling for?
Sancireph has found the blood trail again, going out of the chamber. The amount seems to be less than what was present before. Either the beast has almost bled to death or it is healing at an astronomical rate.
What do you do?
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@SUCCESSOR
Reven, a strange thought pops into your head. SVARKS are rather a lot like ogre boars, right? And Texia seems to be... well, she's almost like a cat, coming and going as she pleases and looking to you for sustenance. Perhaps she is to dragons as the SVARKS are to ogres; a related species that operates on a different instinctual level. You hesitate to use the term chattel as it doesn't feel appropriate, but you get the vibe that while she is a dragon, she is one of a different caliber. Perhaps the term is too general.
Jerias takes the crossbow and fires it into the beast. The two of you then proceed to play tug of war with the svark while it slowly bleeds to death. It's tiring work, but your quarry surrenders its life and you roast a fine meal from its carcass.
It's almost dawn, and the two of you have been going nonstop since yesterday. Is it safe to camp here? You haven't seen any signs of ogres, but you notice a growing cloud of smoke over the treetops. Could you be near the map's destination?
You ask Jerias to check the map. He says he left it with you, but you can't find it in your pockets.
What do you do?
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@TheDarkOne
Sancireph, close examination of the machine does indeed reveal that it has needlessly complex mechanisms to achieve a very simple goal: it appears to be a drill of some sort. You note that several pieces are missing, confirming your suspicion that the ogres kidnapped gnomes for the purpose of building this machine. For what purpose? Suddenly you catch the scent of blood in your nostrils. Following the smell you find a very narrow path leading out of this chamber. However, the amount of blood on the walls is minimal. With that ogre missing both of its arms, how could it pass through such a narrow passage without leaving a mess? Has it nearly bled to death? The passage looks like it can only accommodate one person at a time. You enter cautiously, assaulted by the darkness of the cavern and feeling a looming sense of dread. If you were to traverse this passage, the healthy ogre could very easily get the drop on you when you emerged. They know they're being followed. Worse, there might be more in these caverns that you're unaware of.
You need to decide how to proceed. What do you do?
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@bigjoe
Jerias, while travelling west through the forest with REVEN, the two of you come across some kind of boar beast, which Reven refers to as a SVARK. He hands you a crossbow with line and tells you to shoot the thing so the two of you can cook some dinner. After doing so and after a rigorous tug of war with the beast, you end its life and the two of you set to cooking the beast (Reven on a spit and you and Atticas with careful bursts of firebreath). The night is growing long and you are very tired. With a meal in your belly and a warm fire it is hard to resist drifting off to sleep. But is it safe to rest here? A cloud of smoke grows in the forest further west from here. You feel you might be close to the location the map was depicting. Reven asks to see the map again, but you don't have it. When he searches his pockets he cannot find it and begins to grow frustrated.
You feel subtle vibrations on the ground near you.
What do you do?
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@Xyvol
Malichor, you zone out in the cavernous chamber with your friends Sancireph and Zataka, trying to determine the purpose of this machine. You hear somebody mention that it's a DRILL, but you can't place your finger on who actually said it. What would somebody want to drill in the mountains? Unless... hey, that Dwarf guy said there was a mine directly below here.
Sancireph wanders off.
What do you do?
