Norm zoned back in and realized he was being lifted off of the ground. In a panic, he looked to see who it was, and was relieved to see the green face of Lucy Ahenadon, the bartender here at the Smiling Orc, and one of only a handful of people that Norm called friend. The relief did not last long, as he looked back down at Nikolai’s body.
“Please Luce, It was an accident,” Norman yelled softly as tears started to well in the corner of his eyes, the drunken words spilling like ale on the floor.
Sojourn. When you spend time in a community seeking assistance, roll +heart. If you share a bond, add +1.
1d6+2= 5 versus 1 / 10, Weak Hit. Choose one. If you share a bond, choose one more.
Recuperate: Take +2 health for yourself and any companions.
Plan: Take +2 momentum.
“Shh, shh, don’t talk. Don’t admit anything. Don’t be stupid,” she whispered to Norman, “We’ll take care of this.”
She walked Norman to the back room and sat him down on a stool amidst casks of ale. She lifted his shirt over his head and he saw where it was covered in blood and ale.
“Turn around,” she said firmly, “Let me see the damage.”
Norm spun on the seat and felt her parting his hair in the back.
“Nikolai did a number on you with that chair. The good news is that you’re going to be fine. The bad news is that one of the gamblers ran off to get a guard and they’ll probably be here soon.”
Norm attempted a laugh, but found the chuckle stuck in his throat, “Great. Just great. So I’ve got the guards who are going to take me in, and then once I’m on the inside, I’ll probably be attacked again by one of Nikolai’s fellow gang members.”
Norm felt the sensation of a rag scrubbing at his head where Lucy was cleaning his wound.
“Right, like I said, don’t admit anything. Dozens of folks here saw the way it went down. Niko came at you out of nowhere with that chair. You’ll be fine on that front. Now, the Denim Road gang, that’s a different beast. You’re probably right, though. They’ll be coming for you.”
Norman thought about his situation.
“Fuck, I gotta go check on Casey. Niko said that he had pulverized him, he’ll be an easy target for Denim Road right now.”
Lucy stopped Norm from getting up, “No, stay. I’ll go check on him. Be here when the guards come. Let others do the talking.”
She gave him a smile and pat on the back and left the room. Norman groaned to his feet.
"I’m getting too old for this shit,” he said as he staggered towards the doorway, watching Lucy as she strode out of the door of the Inn. The gamblers were picking up silver coins from the floor. One attempted to retrieve a playing card from the pool of blood but thought the better of it.
Norm took a seat at the bar, wordlessly exchanging glances with some of the gamblers until one broke the silence, “I reckon you had to do it, Norm.”
Norm nodded and reached behind the bar, pulling a bottle of dwarven fire whiskey up and uncorking it with shaky hands before taking a long drink. The door of the Inn slammed open as two armed and armored guards marched in, followed by a short man Norm recognized as one of the gamblers. All three of them stopped when they saw Nikolai’s lifeless body.
“'Ere he is!” the short man pointed at Norm, “E’s the one who was fightin’, ‘e musta did it to Niko.”
The guards moved forward, the second one retrieving a pair of manacles from his belt. Norm opened up his mouth to attempt to reason with them.
Compel. 1d6+heart= 4 versus 8 / 2, Weak Hit. +1 Momentum, , they’ll do what you want or share what they know, but they ask something of you in return. Envision what they want (Ask the Oracle if unsure).
Ask the Oracle: Action and Theme roll. ACTION: Affect THEME: Trade
“He attacked me first! Hit me over the head with a chair! Ask anyone here!” Norm cried out.
The first guard took the fire whiskey from Norm’s hand, “Right, sure, we’ve had dealings with Niko before. I believe you.”
The guard put the whiskey down and motioned towards the back room, “Let’s talk back there,” he said, glancing over at his partner who was bent over Niko’s body, examining it.
When the Norm and the guard had moved to Lucy’s backroom, the guard spoke, “You did that? By yourself, in the state that you’re in?”
Norm became conscious of the fact that he was swaying slightly as he stood there.
“Yes.”
The guard nodded and scratched his chin, thinking.
“We can make all of this go away, but I need something from you, first. Your name, please.”
Norm thought about lying for a brief moment, but didn’t, “Norman Riggs,” he spoke truly.
“Norman. Okay, like I said, we could make all of this go away, but first, we’re going to need you to do something.”
The guard placed his mouth underneath a cask of ale and opened the spout, taking a long, drawn-out drink directly from the spigot. When he was done, he wiped his chin.
“Tomorrow night, after the textile mill closes, there’s going to be a gathering. You’re going to be there. You’re going to fight, and you’re going to win.”
The nervousness in Norm’s heart dissipated, “Is that all?”
“Yes,” the guard said, staring at him, “You’re going to make me a lot of money.”
Norm nodded and said, “I’ll be there. Can I go now?”
The guard stepped out of the way, gesturing to Norm that he could pass, “Tomorrow night, when the sun goes down. Don’t be late.”
Norm scampered off, quick as he could, leaving the Inn behind in search of his best friend Casey.
As Norm rounded the corner near Casey’s boarding house, he nearly ran into a crowd of onlookers. He saw the form of Lucy towering above many of them, near the front. Norm gulped.
“It’s as bad as I thought, then.”
Norm smelled the air and realized that there was smoke. As he pushed his way to the front of the crowd, he realized that the bottom floor of the boarding house was smoldering. A team of aquamagi was spraying out the last of an area near the front windows.
“Lucy, is Casey okay?” Norm said, coming up beside her.
“I don’t know,” she replied.
Norm couldn’t stand the wait. He pushed past the wooden barricade and ran towards the building, crying out, “My friend lives here, is he okay?”
An aquamage caught him in a half-hug, half-restraint, speaking in a low, calm voice, “Sir you can’t be here right now. We haven’t found anybody. Please just be patient.”
Norm fought back, shoving past him and running into the smoldering structure, headed straight for Casey’s room in the back. Through the darkness, he began to kick and pad at the ashes on the floor.
GATHER INFORMATION: Roll 1d6+wits(2)+bond(1) = 7 versus 2 / 1, Strong Hit. +2 momentum
The faint outlines of furniture were clear to him, including where Norm was able to piece together that a struggle had ensued, due to pieces of furniture broken and not being where they normally were.
But more importantly, Casey, nor his charred corpse, wasn’t here.
