There was a tie between the children and looking for work. I rolled for it. 1 being work, 2 being children. Children won.
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[X] Find some information on your bow. The local temple or lore-keepers might have something.
You wake up as the sun seeps through the grimy window of your room. You throw yourself out of the bed and stretch quickly working out the stiffness in your arms and legs. You mentally go over your plans for the day. You needed to find work, or some way of extendi-
What about the children?
You blink. Where had that thought come from? Still, something tugged at the back of your mind. There was something about those rumors that dug at you, that made you skin crawl and left a knot of dread in your stomach. Everything felt strange, off, like the world was a few degrees of kilter.
You grasp at the charm on your wrist and immediately tear it off as you hurl it into the door.You hiss in pain noting the red mark where the charm had burned you. You turn your head to the bow. You knew that it was doing something to you, working some sort of spell. You reach out with a shaking hand and touch it. You can feel a thrumming power reverberate from the bow and into your bones.
"Just what are you?"
You needed to figure this thing out now. If it was slowly draining your life force than you needed to know now, if not than you'd still have a better idea of what you're dealing with.deciding that the lore-keepers would be your best bet you head there first.
The lore-keeper's college was a rather pleasant place. Old stone buildings with a number of verandas, gardens and fountains lent it a peaceful studious air. You passed a few groups of students whose teachers had taken the good weather to hold their lectures outside. You spend a few minutes searching in till you come across a young man reading a book in the shade of a tree. He looks up from his book as you approach him.
"Hello, uh can I help you?" he hesitantly says as he stands up. He's pale and brown haired. His body is smothered by the traditional brown robes of a lore-keeper. He is short as well; his head comes about even to your chin.
"Yes, I found this in the Deep Woods" you gesture to the bow "and I think its doing something to me."
He looks at you dubiously "Really?"
"Yes, and my cold iron charm left this n my hand." You hold up the burn on your palm for him to see.
His jaw hangs open for a few seconds before he collects himself. 'That's not good. Uhmmm, Why don't we go find Keeper Smithson. He is the foremost expert on the fae here. If anyone would know what to do, it'd be him." He quickly stands up and begins to walk quickly towards one of the nearby buildings. You follow.
He glances back at you and stops. "Oh yes, where are my manners, I'm Initiate Reginald. You?" He holds his hand out.
You take his hand and give it a firm shake "I'm Rose."
"Good to meet you Rose." Reginald quickly takes you through a number of seemingly random turns and up a few flights of stairs before barging through a door.
"Professor Smithson! This is Rose, and she says she found a enchanted bow in the deep woods and I thought you would be interested in seeing it and also she says her iron charm burned her this morning and I think she wants you to look at it see if its going to turn her into some horrible monster or something!"
The professor, who had been going over some papers slowly raises his balding head and looks at Reginald. "Tarnation boy, what did I tell you about sentences?!"
Reginald looks crestfallen and answers as if repeating a lecture. "To use them and that I need to break up my stream of thought into something resembling coherent speech."
"Good lad." Professor Smithson then looks at you expectantly for a moment. "Well give me the damned thing and I'll sort this out right now."
You hand him the bow. He quickly clears his table of papers by shoving them all of to the side as he lays the bow down and holds his index finger up into the air. A crimson flame sputters to life atop his finger which he then runs across the length of the bow. A think cloud of smoke emerges from the flames. Smithson banishes the flame with quick flourish before gathering the smoke between his hands. The smoke shifts into a collection of strange symbols which the professor briefly inspects before banishing the smoke out a nearby wind.
Both you and Reginald stand in shock.
"Professor! I didn't know you could do that!" Reginald pauses for a moment "What did you do professor?"
Professor Smithson leans back and sighs. "I have a fire-elemental somewhere in the family tree . I just checked the bow for enchantments."
"And? Is it?" you speak out.
"Yes, but don't panic." He holds his hands out. "It taking energy from you as well as collecting ambient energy from the environment. It then feeds most of that energy back into you."
A knot of worry tightens in your stomach. "What does that mean?" you ask.
"Nothing, or at least nothing so far as I can tell. Most of the bow's functions are unknown to me. It doesn't look malevolent so you should be fine. Just keep it with you and you'll also need to stop wearing cold iron."
"Why?" you ask. You were rather averse to giving up your protection.
Reginald speaks up "Oh! well it's due to-" he cuts himself off, sheepishly looking at the professor.
"No, go ahead Reginald." The Professor kindly prompts.
"Right, so cold iron works by absorbing magic. It heats up as a result. It's likely trying to absorb the converted energy from the bow and is overloading, hence the burn. If you keep it on too long it might even melt."
You purse your lips. The idea of being vulnerable to fae trickery does not sit well with you.
The professor seems to pick up on your concern "What Reginald is leaving out is that you can still cold iron, just avoid prolonged contact. Now, was there anything else?"
"No." you respond "Thank you for the help."
The professor waves you off, muttering to himself. You take that as a sign to leave.
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[X] Investigate a rumor. Which do you investigate?
- Missing Children.
You were lucky. You were walking past a clump people who had mentioned that a nearby farmer's daughter had disappeared last night. The only sign of her passing was an open window at her bedroom. You asked for directions and headed towards the farm. A short walk later you find a dirt path heading towards the farm. Before you are able to make much progress a voice interrupts.
"Greetings!"
You spin around facing the newcomer. He is a large man, a head taller than you. His face well weathered and a wild mane of brown hair trails down his neck. A rough-cut beard obscures most of his face but he sports a friendly smile. He is wearing plain leather armor, adorned with a number of pouches as well as a short-sword and hand-axe in his belt.
"Hello. . ." you say carefully. You have no idea who he is or what he wants.
He glances over at the distant farmhouse and then frowns. "So you heard about the girl too."
"Yeah, I was going to talk to the parents, and try and see if I could find any leads."
"Good, I would appreciate the help." He holds out his hand "Woodsman Jurgen. The Warden sent me to investigate the missing children."
You take his hand and give it a firm shake. "Rose. I heard the rumors last night. Something about this doesn't sit right with me."
He nods and beckons you to follow him up the trail. "Agreed. I've been prowling the woods the past few days. Last night I caught a wiff of something foul. My gut tells me its related to the children." He motions to your bow. "You know how to use that?"
"I. . ." you pause, unsure of yourself. You had done fine in the Deep Forest. "I think so."
Jugen sighs, obviously disappointed by your answer. "Well four eyes are better than two at least. We'll comb the woods for clues after I interview the parents."
It takes you two about a half hour to make your way to the farm. It has a fair sized field of grain approaching harvest. A small patch of vegetables grow near the two story house which is situated about 100 feet from the woods.
"Rose, you willing to check around the house for tracks while I speak with the parents?"
You nod your head in acknowledgement and begin to walk around the house. You crouch down, inspecting some strange tracks moving through the pigsty when you freeze. You feel a tingle down your spine and your skin crawls. A thrumming reverberates through your bones. Every thought halts as your sense focus. There was something watching you.
You hear something large moving through the nearby woods. You stand up slowly as you ready your bow. Peering through the gaps in the foliage, you make out something large and humanoid moving through the woods. You can only make out the silhouette. It stops and you can feel its eyes focus on you. You both hold freeze for a moment. It sizes you up, while you slowly draw your bow. Then it takes off running and you lose sight of it. You can hear it thrashing through the woods, breaking branches and shrubs. It takes you a heartbeat to realize that the sounds are growing closer!
[ ] What do you do?!
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Whew! I think this is the single largest update so far, it feels like it at least. As a note I'm doing rose's dialog unless there is a significant choice or outcome, that way I avoid bogging things down to much. Only thing I have to add is that I'm a little surprised no one found my. . . . hint, in the last update. As always, please direct any questions comments, concerns, etc.
