The gates of Felcross are behind you now. The city where you were raised, the city of your first failures and rare achievements, the last great city on the way east. You look back, as if to say goodbye. There is nothing of worth left for you there, only your bickering family and your more successful peers.You are a wanderer now. On your belt is a sword, on your back - a bag with tools, travelling gear, some money - whatever was left after your purchases - and rations. They won't last long, but you'll think of solving this later. Two javelins fit nicely in the quiver, slung over your shoulder close to the travelling bag.Barely a man, not a youth, you start down one of the roads. You don't know much of the world, but you've had dreams. Dreams of power, people bowing to your might, of... freedom, to do what you want, however indulgent your desires may be. Of immortality, like in the tales of the Flower Harbringer and the Collector of Names.They are far away, but one who doesn't begin his journey will most certainly never see its end.You possess basic ability in the way of the sword and the javelin, having been given basic training for the militia, like any able man of the kingdom. You also know your way around the streets, courtesy of your upbringing. You can repair and take care of your weapon, and know the basics of crafting, having helped around the smithy for a time. You think you can survive on the road and subsist if need came. That's about all you are capable of.You heard the road east leads to the frontier, the outlands. Not completely devoid of settlement, it is, nevertheless, a dangerous place - some of the monsters manage to sneak into the heartlands of the kingdom of Hien, not to speak of these wild lands, where they may have greater reign. Their distance from the heartlands means all kind of folk flock there, sometimes good in heart, but often dark. It also means greater freedom, whatever the cost. At least, that's what the caravans and travellers from that land told you when they passed through Felcross."Only madmen go east," your grandpa once said spitefully. "Those that don't know the worth of a family at your back or a proper home you can return to." Didn't stop one of your elder brothers from going there. Didn't stop you.The road is calm for a few days as you pass by caravans going west. You didn't have enough money to buy your place in one, so you're going alone.After the sun sets on the 4th day of travel, you consider making camp, like the previous days, but see a light further down the road. Approaching closer, you see a person sit by the campfire, a man, if you read their build correctly. He doesn't seem to have noticed you, tinkering with something in his hands. A tent is pitched nearby, and a spear rests by the fire. The faint scent of herbs and medicine drifts in the air. The smoke, too, of course.(1/2)
The stranger doesn't seem to have noticed you. There's no one on the road, and most likely no one will appear for the entire night since this hour.>Hail the stranger. Ask if you may rest here for the night. Initiate a conversation.>Sneak up to him and slay him with a precise strike. The crackle of fire and the sound of crickets will obscure your approach. His supplies will be yours.>Write-in
>>6305455>>Sneak up to him and slay him with a precise strike. The crackle of fire and the sound of crickets will obscure your approach. His supplies will be yours.
>>6305455>>Hail the stranger. Ask if you may rest here for the night. Initiate a conversation.Interesting quest, lets not be a roving bandit
>>6305455>Write-in, slowly approach the stranger and ask to sit by the fireIf that doesn't work il pick to hail the stranger
>>6305461>>6305569>>6305571>>6305584Was planning to update now in the morning, but it seems a tie appeared just as I checked the thread. I'll wait a couple hours for someone to break it.In the mean time, I will answer>Interesting quest, lets not be a roving banditI am glad to hear that. I feel compelled to say what I have in mind for it. Scumbag Antipaladin is a direct inspiration, but I imagine the mc less as a rampaging murderhobo with a terrible personality and more a neutral (?) self-serving and calculating man. You will find it reflected in the suggested options. There will be some stuff going on behind the scenes, but rolls will be very simple based on d100 against a set DC. That's about all I can say. Hopefully it will be fun for anons.
>>6305455>>Hail the stranger. Ask if you may rest here for the night. Initiate a conversation.
>>6305611Since it seems my write in isn't gaining support I'm changing my vote
>>6305611>>6305612I already treated it as a "Hail the stranger" vote for the purposes of deciding whether to use a diplomatic or aggressive approach.Either way, tie has been broken by >>6305604>Sneak up to him and slay him with a precise strike. The crackle of fire and the sound of crickets will obscure your approach. His supplies will be yours.Please roll 1d100 against 30 for sneaking up and killing. Not Bo3, just a single roll.
Rolled 90 (1d100)>>6305617
>90You quietly unsheathe your sword and begin approaching the figure. The man doesn't seem to have noticed you and continues doing whatever he is doing. Your heart thumps under your shirt, but you manage to approach close enough for a strike. All that's left is to land a killing blow, just like in training.A thrust into his back, around where the heart is, and blood sprays on the ground and grass. The stranger lets out a pained moan, but has enough strength left to scramble for his spear. You don't let him. Landing a slash, you make a deep wound on his neck. Blood pools under the stranger as life leaves him.Your first kill. Your father, a veteran of one campaign in the west, once told you that killing someone changes a person irreversibly. You feel... afraid, your consciousness yells you've done wrong. But at the same time, there is a fullness in your heart, and the lightness of freedom - is that not what you wanted? You calm down, filled with determination.You look what the person has been doing, and find a book - a journal, it would seem. It's not very thick, but well-used. You're not literate, so you can't make out what is written there, but you take it anyway.In the tent, you find a big rucksack with all manner of herbs and bottles, sorted neatly into various compartments. The smell of medicine is thick as you open it. The vessels are signed, though just like the journal, you can't read what's on the labels. Besides that, there's travelling gear similar to yours - cook pot, simple cutlery, rope, camping and survival tools - rations for a week, and several other books and envelopes.You can't take it all, but you take a good deal of the bottles and herbs - those that seem most interesting to you - the books, journal, envelopes and rations. Your bag is quite heavy now, but you should be fine.There's the grim question of what to do with the body. The most obvious solution would be to drag it off the road and bury it somewhere - you've got a small shovel as part of your survival kit. Fields of tall grass surround you, with a forest in the distance. If you're careful enough, you can very well conceal the grave in the grass.Maybe burning the corpse in the campfire beforehand would be good. Dried, burnt remains may leave less of a trail.As you ponder this question, you notice something glinting in the light of the flame on the neck of the stranger. You inspect it closer, paying attention not to sully your clothes with blood, and find a pendant. It seems to be in the form of a circle with lines going through it in a strange pattern, and 3 going out and upward. Through one of them, a necklace holding the pendant goes.You think you've seen this earlier. Travelling healers and medicine traders sometimes wore it, but you never bothered to ask the meaning of this symbol.(1/2)
Either way, there is still the question of the body. Maybe you can come up with something to do about the bloodied grass as well. What will you do?>Burn the body, then bury it.>Just drag it off from the side of the road and bury it. Try not to get too much blood on your clothes.>Write-inCamp here or travel a bit further afterwards?>Camp here.>Keep going down the road. Distance yourself from the site of murder.
I forgot to mention there's also some money. Quite a bit, in fact - enough to live for a month in a city. You take it with you as well.
>>6305644>Just drag it off from the side of the road and bury it. Try not to get too much blood on your clothes.>Keep going down the road. Distance yourself from the site of murder.
>>6305596>Scumbag Antipaladin, now there is name I haven't heard in a while>>6305644>Burn the body, then bury it.>Keep going down the road. Distance yourself from the site of murder.
>>6305644>Burn the body, then bury it.>Keep going down the road. Distance yourself from the site of murder.
