Sworded Tales

Kurn raised his own hand and passed Borlak’s signal back along the line.  He then moved his mount a stride ahead of Erellia’s to shield her.  Getting the horses into cover would take many seconds, so Kurn accepted exposed shield point on the halted line as everyone prepared and moved as they would.  Whether Borlak’s intent was to conceal himself and flank once whatever was advancing had passed his position or whether Borlak intended to himself advance and investigate on foot remained to be seen.

Kurn pulled his shield to arm and his sword to hand.  With no immediate danger yet evident, the riding horse he sat upon accepted the halt docilely.  He looked forward to try to follow Borlak’s indication and determine the source of the warrior’s alert. Continue reading

“Jooorreeeeey.”

Sputter’s call snapped Jorey from her reverie.  She was off course for the first bridging.  She shook her head as she spun into a corrective loop.  Old age was making her complacent.  Taking a little more air in her modified wings, she gained the altitude necessary, diving to accelerate through the final correction.

Sputter waved at her as he spun lazy spirals.  It was a wonder how he didn’t throw up more regularly.  Jorey had developed a fondness for the boy over the years that they had been traveling together.  More of the protective older sister than a mother son relationship, but she hated thinking of the time she would have to leave them.  They were a good bunch, but she had to move on from time to time for everyone’s safety.

She regenerated whatever damage she took, and some of her comrades were starting to notice.  She had also stopped aging. Continue reading

“And yet, he still seems intent on going,” Merinde said.

“You mistake my meaning,” Anibel replied, “It’s the place, not the act.  The Seeming is madness.”

Merinde raised her hand with deliberate care, and both Halflings chuckled in spite of the somber topic.  They looked to each other, and Gerard swept an arm forward for Anibel to do the honors. Continue reading

From his position some distance away, Kurn missed the exchange between Erellia and Zulian but noted Zulian’s route away from the the rest of the party.  Kurn threw Erellia a questioning glance and nudged his own horse to angle off in the same direction, trailing back from Zulian but closing the distance.

Erellia guided her horse into a canter to close the distance between herself and Kurn.  “There is no need for you to follow her, Kurn.  She is only ghosting Daroun for a short while to insure there are no hunters following him.  She will rejoin us before long.”

Erellia turned her mount in the direction of the slowly moving train and as an afterthought said with a smile, “Plus, I don’t
believe you could follow her.  She’s very good at what she does.”  She then began making her way back toward the others. Continue reading

I have been playing the rat snot out of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game of late.  I tend to run in jags over the ten months I’ve owned it.  That largely has to do with the maintenance of the box of cards.  Ideally you gather with a group of friends and play the game through without backtracking in the story or running multiple characters at different times.  Ideally.

I’ve played nine of the eleven characters thus far in various combos of solo, duo and trio.  Running a whole party would tickle me silly, but the logistics of physical card management make that a challenging notion.  I’ve had the good fortune of running games of 4-6 people here and there, and the play suffers only a little lag depending on player experience and investment.  But I digress, the biggest time sink for me comes from retooling the box to a state of play for newer characters.  Sift all the cards out, and eventually shuffle them back in.  Rinse and repeat as often as you like.

Plus, I’m a sleever.  One card, one sleeve.  Very simple.  The plastic tray insert designed by Paizo is awesome, but it is designed to hold UNsleeved cards.  A quick internet search revealed this very clean divider for the box.  I struck out to accomplish something similar with that uber-versatile substance.  Cardboard.  An hour or two with a box cutter and voilà.  Sleeved card storage for the manic card shuffler.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I just finished a box three run with three characters, and I need to reshuffle the works for a new crew of adventurers.

The pair of sailors coiled and spun in the rushing descent.  Aiming for a racing island in the distance, neither could gain a significant upper hand in the grapple, but each knew the only chance for survival was using the other to absorb the brunt of an island impact.  No one returned from the mantle.

“Your deat–” Lord Kremm started to say when Jorey struck.

She knew the pompous ass would open his blowhole before they crashed.  He couldn’t not.  It was his nature.  When the right syllable came, she hammered an elbow into his jaw.  She didn’t see the tip of his tongue disappear as his teeth sheared it off, but the spray of blood was indicative. Continue reading

“The Seeming,” Anibel replied, “You’re serious.”

“I am,” Gerard said, “It’s the best way to be sure if that Shredder was a fluke.”

A resonating slurp turned all eyes on Merinde.  The woman continued sucking on her spoonful of stew for a few seconds longer.  She then smiled at them.  “I’m going to do that, or something equally annoying, every time you assume I know what the hell you’re talking about.” Continue reading

“A noble conclusion to a notorious life,” Erellia said of the bonfire with a faint smile, “But we must continue to look to the horizon.”

If she noticed the tension within the ranks of the party, the Elven woman gave no outward indication.

“We must depart,” she said, eyeing Thorum’s hasty retreat, “No doubt my efforts will bring undo attention upon us. We ride for the hamlet of Anquilla as soon as possible. Break camp and prepare to head south along the river.” Continue reading

Sixty-seven years earlier…

Sail duels were not uncommon.  With a great majority of islanders skilled at navigating the air currents between land masses, mid-air battles were a natural evolution.  Song and legend recount some glorious air engagements where blood rain painted the skies for days at a time.  This particular duel was personal though.  Two single combatants settling a challenge issued in honorable form. Continue reading

Merinde sat swaddled in her cloak, cross-legged before the fire.  The warm stew bowl was cupped in her hands and contentment resonated from her.  Gerard and Anibel watched her, sharing glances at the evolution of noises coming from their third.

Gerard was sitting as well, propped against a rock with one leg pulled up towards him.  “The basic needs are never truly appreciated, unless they have been absent.  I’m pleased that the stores here were intact.”

“Mmm, what did you call it?” Merinde asked.

“Rockaway Chimney.” Continue reading