Fiction | Game | Medium Adventurers League ⚔️

Dire Straits

A chapter of a Primatria quest

This is part of a story that works as an interactive game. You’ll need to have dice and a notepad at the ready! Click here for the beginning of the Medium Adventurers League, here to go back one chapter, and here to return to Rebel Bar.

It occurs to you that these villagers rarely leave their homes, and are timid and ignorant. Perhaps that can work in your favor?

“Well, before I move on, perhaps you have at least heard of a noblewoman of some kind that is building a mansion in these parts?”

Her face falls.

“Near the lake? That would be Duchess Tithe. A real beast of a woman. Her servants are thieves and murderers.” With that, the local woman turns away, hurries to her home, and bars the door.

So — Duchess Tithe. You ponder over the name for a moment, thinking to yourself. It’s the first time you’ve heard it, you’re fairly sure. What could she and her people have done that’s so bad? And how did she get the artefacts that the dwarf mentioned?

But hey — as long as you get paid, that’s the main thing.

As you progress, the path gets muddier and narrower. The light is also fading a bit, although it is still early in the afternoon. There is a heavy cloud cover, and combined with the spreading beech and oak trees above, it feels like twilight. You have to watch your footing.

As the path dwindles almost to nothing, you pause to get your bearings. Can you find your way from here to the lakeside?

(Here is a link to a dice-rolling app!).

Encounter: To the lakeside.
Challenge rating: Easy (roll 11+).
Roll using wits.
Roll three times.

If you got directions from a villager, add +4 to each roll.

If you succeed at least two times, click here.

If you fail two times or more, read on below.

The conditions only get worse as you proceed, and you find yourself wondering why anyone would come this way.

The tree roots seem unusually large, and you stumble several times, once smashing your forehead into a branch as you right yourself.

Subtract one point of health.

All the same, you press on. Knee deep in mud, you pass through the last of the trees, and see water ahead.

The Wailing Lake.

You look both ways, and realize that you have come too far north. All the same, the direction that you need to go is reasonably clear, at last.

You move down to the water’s edge, splash water on your face, and do your best to remove the mud from your clothing and boots. Good. Now you are ready to complete the final leg of your journey.

But then, you hear a scraping noise on the rocks behind.

You turn, reaching for your weapon, and see four dire wolves. They have been stalking you, and now, as you retreat, you have nowhere to run, with the lake’s edge at your back.

You’re going to have to fight them.

Encounter: Dire wolf pack.
Challenge rating: Medium (roll 15+).
Roll using brawn or magic.

If you succeed on a roll, you kill one dire wolf. There are four in all.

If you fail, one of them bites you. Lose 1 point of health. If your health drops to zero, you die. Click here.

If you kill all four dire wolves, click here to read on.

Thanks for reading — and playing! ⚔️

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