Post by Tom M on Oct 7, 2023 18:16:15 GMT
Ronkk's Tarokka reading done at the start of the session:
Four of Stars, The Abjurer – Representing missed information or overlooked clues in Ronkk's past
Master of Swords, The Warrior – Representing present identity as "The Mightee Warrior"
Major Arcana, The Beast (inverted) – Representing that Ronkk's future involves something malevolent hiding in plain sight, but not necessarily an antagonist
As Kem approaches the caravan he stops abruptly, his arm being yanked back by the leashed goat that suddenly has no intention of following him any further. It bleats and swings its head in resistance, forcing him to grab the rope with both hands and brace against it.
He digs his feet in and drags the thrashing animal forward a step and then sighs, letting a bit of line out to let the goat rear up and stumble backward slightly, digging in to its new position.
He rolls his eyes, “I’m not your enemy little goat.”
Kem hunkers down to squat on his haunches, smiling amiably and fishing out a handful of feed from a pouch at his waist. The goat eyes him suspiciously, sniffing the air as it approaches the caravan and turning to look at it.
“Hey, don’t worry about that. Eyes on me okay?” He lets go of the rope, “You’re free to make your own choices my friend.” He says, circling his hand enticingly as the goat looks at the rope on the floor for a moment, but then wanders over cautiously.
“There we go.” He says as the animal munches greedily on the feed. He twists and with his other hand undoes the bolts on the wagon’s rear and slides down a ramp, bringing the hand with the feed up it until the goat wanders in. He shuts the door behind it and begins making a fire.
Within a few minutes he hears the noise he was waiting for; a sickening crunch followed by a gentle trickling of liquid. A twinge of guilt crosses his mind, but he shakes it off.
The fire lit, Kem waits for the inevitable complaining.
“You were talking to… a goat. I teach you magic with which you can turn mortals into puppets on strings and you use it to bring me… a goat.”
“Did you prefer the hares?”
“I bore of hares.”
“Hence the goat. I… came into some money.”
“You know what I want.”
Silence rings throughout the small camp
“Go on then.”
“Hmm?”
“We have this discussion and then you tell me a story as compensation. It’s droll.”
“So you don’t want the story?”
Silence once again
“Tell me the story.”
Kem smiles “If you insist bulibașă.” He settles in, “This time, our handsome Skaraga protagonist was joined by a man touched by the gods themselves, an eloquent faerie courtier, a canny wanderer of the wilderness, and a giant whose only friend was a weird… bug thing.”
“A weird bug thing?”
“He called it Brian – its origins a mystery for the ages.”
“Because you didn’t ask?”
“Thing creeped me out – didn’t want to. Anyway, their quest was to look into a cult seemingly to a constellation, the Eye of the Boar and spearhead an attack by a group of powerful knights upon that cult once they found it.”
“After tracking them through the wilds, the group came across their quarry – a heavily fortified location surrounded by armed guards, clearly fanatics to their cause and trained in the deadliest forms of combat. Nevertheless, our brave Skaraga joined his friend the giant in providing a distraction for their companions to use to sneak into a better position. Brazenly walking through the front gate, the savage cultists moved to attack them, but their mysterious benefactor recognised the power of the individuals before them and bade them stay their hand.”
“The Skaraga and the giant were instead treated as honoured guests and brought before the Eye of the Boar itself. The creature, perhaps an ancient deity, reshaped the world around them until it was only the two brave adventurers and it – alone floating in the cosmos as the irrelevance of the rest of the world fell away. The eldritch being, falling as many do for the charms of our protagonist, offered them a dowry of gold, power, kingdoms at his feet in exchange only for nought but his company… and yet none of this could persuade the Skagara to give up his freedom. Effortlessly severing his connection with this terrible presence he realised that whilst his other companions were engaged in battle with the cult, the giant was still in this creature’s thrall.”
“The giant needed only a few words of encouragement from his new friend to himself break free from the entity’s grasp and aid in tricking the foolish cultists into bringing their most sacred artefact, that seemingly housed their god, straight to the waiting knights who had finally received signal to come and aid the adventurers.”
“As they received their congratulations from the commander of the knights, the group each reflected upon their roles, but for the Skaraga the message was clear: no matter what power he might be offered, his freedom was a price he could never pay.”
Kem pulls a blanket over himself as he winds up his tale.
“A little heavy handed at the end.”
“That speaks more to the intended audience.”
After a long pause.
“I do not consider that respect and hospitality.”
“My apologies bulibașă, I shall do better in the future.”
“See to it that you do. In recompense-“
“No. Goodnight.”
Four of Stars, The Abjurer – Representing missed information or overlooked clues in Ronkk's past
Master of Swords, The Warrior – Representing present identity as "The Mightee Warrior"
Major Arcana, The Beast (inverted) – Representing that Ronkk's future involves something malevolent hiding in plain sight, but not necessarily an antagonist
As Kem approaches the caravan he stops abruptly, his arm being yanked back by the leashed goat that suddenly has no intention of following him any further. It bleats and swings its head in resistance, forcing him to grab the rope with both hands and brace against it.
He digs his feet in and drags the thrashing animal forward a step and then sighs, letting a bit of line out to let the goat rear up and stumble backward slightly, digging in to its new position.
He rolls his eyes, “I’m not your enemy little goat.”
Kem hunkers down to squat on his haunches, smiling amiably and fishing out a handful of feed from a pouch at his waist. The goat eyes him suspiciously, sniffing the air as it approaches the caravan and turning to look at it.
“Hey, don’t worry about that. Eyes on me okay?” He lets go of the rope, “You’re free to make your own choices my friend.” He says, circling his hand enticingly as the goat looks at the rope on the floor for a moment, but then wanders over cautiously.
“There we go.” He says as the animal munches greedily on the feed. He twists and with his other hand undoes the bolts on the wagon’s rear and slides down a ramp, bringing the hand with the feed up it until the goat wanders in. He shuts the door behind it and begins making a fire.
Within a few minutes he hears the noise he was waiting for; a sickening crunch followed by a gentle trickling of liquid. A twinge of guilt crosses his mind, but he shakes it off.
The fire lit, Kem waits for the inevitable complaining.
“You were talking to… a goat. I teach you magic with which you can turn mortals into puppets on strings and you use it to bring me… a goat.”
“Did you prefer the hares?”
“I bore of hares.”
“Hence the goat. I… came into some money.”
“You know what I want.”
Silence rings throughout the small camp
“Go on then.”
“Hmm?”
“We have this discussion and then you tell me a story as compensation. It’s droll.”
“So you don’t want the story?”
Silence once again
“Tell me the story.”
Kem smiles “If you insist bulibașă.” He settles in, “This time, our handsome Skaraga protagonist was joined by a man touched by the gods themselves, an eloquent faerie courtier, a canny wanderer of the wilderness, and a giant whose only friend was a weird… bug thing.”
“A weird bug thing?”
“He called it Brian – its origins a mystery for the ages.”
“Because you didn’t ask?”
“Thing creeped me out – didn’t want to. Anyway, their quest was to look into a cult seemingly to a constellation, the Eye of the Boar and spearhead an attack by a group of powerful knights upon that cult once they found it.”
“After tracking them through the wilds, the group came across their quarry – a heavily fortified location surrounded by armed guards, clearly fanatics to their cause and trained in the deadliest forms of combat. Nevertheless, our brave Skaraga joined his friend the giant in providing a distraction for their companions to use to sneak into a better position. Brazenly walking through the front gate, the savage cultists moved to attack them, but their mysterious benefactor recognised the power of the individuals before them and bade them stay their hand.”
“The Skaraga and the giant were instead treated as honoured guests and brought before the Eye of the Boar itself. The creature, perhaps an ancient deity, reshaped the world around them until it was only the two brave adventurers and it – alone floating in the cosmos as the irrelevance of the rest of the world fell away. The eldritch being, falling as many do for the charms of our protagonist, offered them a dowry of gold, power, kingdoms at his feet in exchange only for nought but his company… and yet none of this could persuade the Skagara to give up his freedom. Effortlessly severing his connection with this terrible presence he realised that whilst his other companions were engaged in battle with the cult, the giant was still in this creature’s thrall.”
“The giant needed only a few words of encouragement from his new friend to himself break free from the entity’s grasp and aid in tricking the foolish cultists into bringing their most sacred artefact, that seemingly housed their god, straight to the waiting knights who had finally received signal to come and aid the adventurers.”
“As they received their congratulations from the commander of the knights, the group each reflected upon their roles, but for the Skaraga the message was clear: no matter what power he might be offered, his freedom was a price he could never pay.”
Kem pulls a blanket over himself as he winds up his tale.
“A little heavy handed at the end.”
“That speaks more to the intended audience.”
After a long pause.
“I do not consider that respect and hospitality.”
“My apologies bulibașă, I shall do better in the future.”
“See to it that you do. In recompense-“
“No. Goodnight.”