The Lone Apprentice, Chapter 1

Liking the concentrationsm concept

Go to the river, wash up a bit and then head to the cottage and see what's up.

>>391297

Seconding>>391358

Drink from the river, maybe gather some water in a container assuming we have one, before heading towards the cottage.

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>>391358
>>391397

You make your way to the river. As you get close you notice just how fast the water is flowing as well as trouts making their way up stream. You were never much of a swimmer, living in the mountains and all. You figure the river would be difficult, if not dangerous, to cross.

You wonder if the water is drinkable, Master Amsworth taught you to always boil water from rivers and creeks, but Master is dead, and so will you be unless you get hydrated. You get down on your knees and take a few sips; the water is cold and tastes amazing. You drink more.

After you have satisfied your thirst, you take off your tunic and wash it in the river, when you are done you use it to scrub yourself relatively clean.

You start heading towards the cabin with your wet shirt still in hand.

Cont..

>>391430
>cabin
It's not like we can't magic-kill anyone in the cabin if they look at us cross-eyes. Or does magic require some preparation?

>>391444

We're just an apprentice who knows how to cook, sew, and hunt; however, I'm assuming we didn't grab any of our gear while we ran for our lives.

Anyways, I don't think we know any magic.

I'm just hoping we had enough sense to grab a knife. Our master was hopefully pragmatic enough to drill that into our head. Hopefully we weren't too dumb/shocked to forget it.

>>391397
Forgot to say, we have no supplies whatsoever (yet).

>>391430

As you get close to the cottage you are able to get a much better look at it. It is an abandoned sawmill with the smoke plume still reaching for the sky. There is a shack right on the edge of the forest, no more than two meters long and half as wide. The door to the shack is open but you can't see inside. Unfortunately, the door to the mill is closed shut... but wait! As you examine the rugged facade you notice two shields leaning against a pile of logs just to the right of the building. They are shaped oval with red and violet coloring.

>Sneak closer and try to get a look through one of the windows.
>Go knock on the door.
>Go to the shack.
>Steal one of the heavy wooden shields
>Write in

>>391444
>>391450
We do know magic, but not well enough to kill anything with brute force. While on the topic of magic and concentrationism; do you want me to lay out what I have in mind or incorporate it in the story?

Knock and holler to see if anyone is there. Maybe not everybody wants to kill us right off the bat.

>>391457

Knock on the door, and step back far enough that we could run if everyone does want to kill us on sight.

>>391457

Changing my vote>>391488

Go looking through the windows all sneaky beaky

>>391457
Voting to sneak closer and take a look inside. If there's nothing too alarming in there then knock

>>391471
This

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>>391471
>>391512
>>391493
>>391510

You decide to get even closer. Not knowing who is inside you choose to err on the side of caution and take a look inside before knocking. You hug the right side of the main building, the same side as the shields are on and opposite the shack.

You catch the smell of food, some stew most likely. Your mouth waters as you realize you have not eaten anything since last night's supper; the last supper at Windholm.

You turn around, meaning to go back to the front and knock on the door, but you spot a rusty wood splitting axe in the grass on the other side of the pile of logs.

>Pick up rusty axe
>Knock on door

Keep the axe in mind, but don't take it to the door. Don't want to look like a dick/bandit on first impression.

Pick up the axe. I assume I can use it well enough.

pick the axe, palce it next to us in the ground and then knock the door. ( So a anybody t open the door and we are with a axe in hands)

>>391560
Just knock on the door, chances are we wouldn't be able to do much with an axe anyways.

>>391560
>Leave the axe; knock on the door.

Do we have a weapon?

>>391587
>Do we have a weapon?

Unless you're planning to towel snap whoever opens that door with your wet T-shirt, no. OP have said no supplies.

Heh, hope for warrior women and beefcake it up.

>>391602
changing my vote to this

>>391583
Seconding this

>>391560
>Pick up rusty axe
What could possibly go wrong with us picking up weapons when confronting two (shield count) strangers. He was just attacked, escaped with his life, barely: When he sees a weapon, he going to pick it up, not thinking about how it will look. Maybe the strangers can remind him.

>>391457
>incorporate it in the story
Sounds more interesting and you can tweak it any way you want if you reveal it piece by piece.

>>391587
>>391586
>>391566
Since you have nowhere to put the axe except in your hands and you don't want to come across as hostile you leave the axe in the grass. You can always come back to it later, unless you can not, that is.
>*Knock, knock... knock*
You hear startled and hushed voices, but you can't make out what they are saying, just that they are getting closer. You take a step back and wait for the door to open.

A large man, probably forty years old, opens the door. Before he even adresses you he turns around and shouts into the dim room: "It's just a boy! If that..." The last words were barely a mumble. He turns back to you while ignoring whatever the person inside the sawmill is shouting back at him. "What are you doing here, boy, ain't nobody living around here. And why are you half naked?"

>"I'm from Windholm, I came down Pine's End last night... Please, you need to help me. I've got nothing... I'm so hungry, please."
>"This is my father's mill, you are intruding. You have to be gone within the hour!"
>"I could ask you the same, except the part about being half naked I suppose. Who are you and why are you hiding in an abandoned sawmill?"
>"Good day Sir, I'll trade you a magic trick for some stew, if it pleases."

>>391681
"It's a long story. A story best told around a fire and some food in my stomach." We don't want to reveal where we're from truely, nor is antagonizing them a good idea imo.

Option one.

>"I'm from Windholm, I came down Pine's End last night... Please, you need to help me. I've got nothing... I'm so hungry, please."

Like this, but maybe a bit more cautious. don't put all our cards on the table at once. Not that we have many to play...

>>391703
But what if they're part of that attack? Maybe some scouts who wandered around a bit? Just hope we don't find the real owners lieing in their blood...

>>391681
>"I could ask you the same. Why are you hiding in an abandoned sawmill?"

>>391702
This

>>391681
Is anti-magic sentiment common? If so we don't want to reveal that we are a freak.
>I could ask the same
Maybe segue into pitiful begging if that doesn't lead anywhere.

>>391681

>I'm from Windholm, I came down Pine's End last night... Please, you need to help me. I've got nothing... I'm so hungry, please."

>>391702
>>391705
>>391703

You soon realize you have nothing to offer but the truth.
>"I'm not from around here, my village was attacked last night and I've been on the run, quite literally, since. It's a long story, long and dreadful... Please, Sir, could I come in?"

Suddenly a second man appears, even older than the first one but half the size. "We're no 'Sirs', boy, not anymore at least..." He gives a blank stare, seemingly in deep thought. He snaps out of his gaze and blurts out "Well get in here then, if you must. This one's no company anyways!" he said as he jabbed his companion in his side. "I am too! Argh.."

It's just a single big room, with the old saw in the middle of it. The two men had set up a campfire on the dirt floor in a corner and over it hung a small kettle with a brown, thick stew slowly bubbling. Through the windows across from you you can see out the back where two horses are tied to a pole.

You tell the two men about the attack. You intentionally leave out anything having to do with sorcerey, how Master Amsworth concentrating the smoke from two dussin burning houses and suffocating four Horgs with it, or how Lisa resurrected her beloved Harold twice, right there in the street, before an arrow pierced her throat and the roles were reversed, except that Harold had mastered the art of pickpocketing rather than healing. You tell them how you ran, obeying Master one last time, and how you kep running until you hit the great plains and could see the night sky. You also mention the grazing deer without quite knowing why.

"Dreadful indeed... Tell me, boy, why would anyone hire The Horgs to attack this village of yours, what was it called again?" The small man has a certain look in his eye, he doesn't look bothered by the slaughter of a couple hundred men, women, and children. Rather, he looks curious, as if he has the answer to a question waiting to be asked, as if he's holding back a smirk.

>"Windholm, and I don't know why. The sorcerers of Pine's End have lived in peace for over century."
>"I would rather not tell you, I don't even know your names!"
>"Ehh... It's called... Antlercreek! Yes, born and raised."
>Write in

Unfortunately OP happens to be a eurofag with work in the morning, will continue tomorrow. Think we got off to a good start. You Americans are welcome to discuss and vote on >>391871
, I'll check in first thing in the morning.

>>391871
It doesn't matter what it was called, I called it home, but it's gone now. Also I think the horgs were after my lucky charms. Everyone is always after my lucky charms

>>391934
I lol'd, i could go with a version of this.

>>391871
>>"I would rather not tell you, I don't even know your names!"

>>391934
Let's do this, haha.

>>391934
>>391960
>>393002
I feel stupid but I don't get it. Are we talking about the cereal?

>>393006
Yes.

>>391871
>"Ehh... It's called... Antlercreek! Yes, born and raised."

>>393007
Then consider my vote cast!

>>391934
+1

And the quest continues..!
>>391934
>I doesn't matter what it was called, I called it home, but it's gone now... That morning, the day of the attack, I baked crispy little treats, I had Alice teach me how the day before. She used to make them for me when I was a child, they were my favorite. 'Lucky charms' she called them... you're supposed to eat them with goat milk sweetened with honey in a bowl. I guess I must've kept bringing them up to Master because one day he told me to bake him 'some of those damned lucky charms', so I did. Master never got to taste the crunchy sweetness... I watched two Horgs raid our house for anything and everything. One of them threw a tray with my lucky charms on the ground, the other cursed him and tasted a one left on the table. After that he crouched down and started devouring the treats right off the floor. If I didn't know better I'd say the Horgs weren't paid at all but were just passing by and caught the scent from Master's oven. I remember how the other children and I used to flock outside the bakery moments after Alice's lucky charms filled Windholm with their mouthwatering fragrance... I'm sorry, what am I even on about? I'm afraid my wits have been forced to make room for my hunger..."

Suddenly you realize the look in the little man's eye was gone, and neither of them seem to have noticed that you refused to tell them your origin.
"Well, son, those sound like some bloody tasteful biscuits"
"Argh, I want a bowl... Or three!"
"Aye, but you'll have to settle for rabbit stew. As will you, boy, I won't have none of your starvin' on my conscience. My name is Flint, and the thickheaded one's Otis. You got a name lad?"

> [OPTIONS]
>"Thank you so much, Flint. And you Otis. I don't need much, just to keep my breath warm and belly silent. My name is Liam. [Truth, yay we got a name]
>"I'm Liam, but I'm afraid I'll have decline your stew. I'm vegan; meat is murder. Besides, nothing builds character like a bit of malnourishment."
>"My name is as secret as Alice's lucky charms recipe, and you're getting neither."
>Grab a bowl of stew and start to gobble. Halfway through you look up and say "I'm Liam" with food still in your mouth.
>Write in

>"Thank you so much, Flint. And you Otis. I don't need much, just to keep my breath warm and belly silent. My name is Liam. [Truth, yay we got a name]

http://pastebin.com/myQ6Sifz has been updated, additional (usefull) lore added.

>>393370
+1

>>393314
>"Thank you so much, Flint. And you Otis. I don't need much, just to keep my breath warm and belly silent. My name is Liam. [Truth, yay we got a name]

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>>393370
>>393561
>>393516
You said you weren't going to eat a lot but Flint offered half of his third and you couldn't refuse. The three of you go to sleep on a thin layer of hay. You don't mind that it's not too comfortable, at least tonight you have a roof over your head and food in your belly.
When you wake up, the men are gone. You glance out the window and their horses are as well. You turn around towards the corner in which you slept and notice a piece of paper lying in the hay, you pick it up.

"Heading into forest, better travel light. Odds and ends in shack. Always stay on the move. Nice tattoo. -F&O"

>What is your course of action?

>>393668

We have a tattoo?

Also gather up some supplies and shove off, like they said best we stay on the move

OOC question, for our brand of magic I was wondering how viable an idea concentrating a bubble of blood in say someones Anterior Aortic artery would be causing it to have an aneurysm

>>393718
>We have a tattoo?
http://pastebin.com/myQ6Sifz

>for our brand of magic I was wondering how viable an idea concentrating a bubble of blood in say someones Anterior Aortic artery would be causing it to have an aneurysm

OOC: I'd consider it viable, although not easy for our young apprentice. There is a relevant historical anecdote which is coming up in the lore, just not sure when best to release it for the sake of the story. It involves blood and a penis.

>>393764

Right, sorry I skimmed to lore before jumping in, must have missed the tattoo bit

Awesome, if we can pull it off then that is a quick way to kill

>>393764
>It involves blood and a penis.

Well you certainly got my attention, my bet is good ol' Master Amsworth found the magical equivalent of Viagra

>>393668
Check out the shack, don't forget the axe out front

Still around OP?

>>394787
I am now! In hindsight I think leading a quest with a busy work schedule in a shitty timezone was a tad ambitious. I also think I took too long writing which meant that people lost interest.

If there are people interested, please let me know and I'll continue from where we left off >>393718
>>393827

>>396454
I'm here OP

>>396454

I am here as well OP

qst is a slow board

I'm here too. Just showed up late.

>>397366
>>397420
>>397433
Aaaand let's hope you still are! Writing as we speak.

You have to admit to yourself that it felt good to have some company and that you would've prefered if Flint and Otis stayed, but it can’t be helped. You had been worried about them noticing the tattoo yesterday, not knowing how they’d react. The lowlands are controlled by the emperor and thus never entirely safe.

The morning sun was blinding as you stepped outside, you looked across the grassland, noticing the beauty of it for the first time. Wasting no time you pick up and carry it with you to the shack where Flint had promised there’d be something waiting for him.

There’s an old wasp nest in the top right corner, abandoned and dried out. There’s a workbench taking up half the floorspace, on it lies an old saddlebag with a broken strap, a flint, two stumps of rope, and a hooded cloak. The cloak caught your eye, it was moth-eaten and dirty, Otis had been wearing it last night. He thanked them in his mind. Then he looked at the saddle bag with dismay, right now it’s no use to you.

>What is your course of action?

>>397791

Make sure to take the flint, rope, cloak and ax. Pity about the saddle bag. Any closer sources of water? and anything to keep said water in?

take everything we can. like >>397803 says.

maybe try to fix the saddlebag quickly if we can, it could make a nice rigged up slingbag. Maybe.

>>397690
>>397791
OOC: name from another thread, fixed

>>397791
There's a trough out back, for the horses. The water they left looks spoiled.

You could always go looking for a source in the forest. You have nothing to hold water at the moment.

>>397861
Do we know any super useful/relevant cantrips?

>>397868
Elaborate

>>397856
You split one of the rope stumps in half and tie each half on either side of the sorry looking saddlebag. It's not pretty, but it'll work. You put the flint, the other piece of rope, and the cloak in the bag and fling it over your shoulder.

>>397861
>>397803

Let's look around the place quickly (inside and out) and see if we can scavenge anything else useful, maybe see if they left that axe

>>397895
Hmm, mend fabrics (saddlebag), purify/heat water, etc?

>>397791
"Wasting no time you pick up THE AXE and carry...", my bad.
>>397920
You have the axe, it was used to split the rope.

You walk a lap around the house and take a final look inside. There's a bottomless burlap sack, half a dozen nails, and a pair of deer antlers.

>>397971
take nails and antlers, both are useful items. derped on the axe though. whoops

>>397980
Anon, tell me EXACTLY what you would do with those antlers. In the woods.

>>397988
wepaons, close range ones. you ever mount knife blades in one? it works quite well and looks neat. they're improvised digging tools among others. just take the damn things.

>>397953
You recall one day when you were twelve years old and Master Amsworth used an elegant spell to concentrate the dirt within a bucket of milk which had been left outside. The bucket vibrated slightly as the tiny pieces of gravel and dust swirled to the middle of the bucket and lifted into the air as a single sphere. "Liam, remove the dirt, would you."

>>397980
You pick up the nails and casually drop them into your bag. The antlers are quite ungainly but you manage to fasten them on the outside of the old saddlebag with the remnants of the straps.

>>398005
We could eventually use our magic to concentrate alcohol, right? Like concentrating a certain amount of the water in a barrel of cider and then extracting it with a tap at the bottom of the barrel?

>>398053
Anon,
are you thinking what I think everybody is thinking?

>>398053
It's not a coindident that Windholm used to produce some of the finest and strongest wines the realm had ever tasted. It is said that the Old Emperor had the grapes from his personal garden sent all the way to Pine's End and back.

>>398067
I don't know; are you still thinking about using antlers for ' personal ' purposes?

>>398087
Yes.

You are standing in the field just outside the sawmill. All your beloingings are stored in your makeshift backpack, save for the rusty axe loosely gripped in your right hand.

[Where do you head next?]
>Follow river
>Follow treeline
>Into the forest
>Write in

>>398174
>Follow river

Rivers have running water and will eventually lead somewhere

>>398187
[Giving the other's a few minutes to give their opinions]

>>398174
river

>>398212
>River

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>>398187
>>398227
>>398333

You follow the river for a couple of hours. At last you spot a town in the distance, it's larger than Windholm with stone towers and the river running right through it. You do not know for certain whether they will greet you a friend or a foe, but you won't be able to survive out in the wilderness for very long. The town in a pleasant sight to say the least.

[This is where I'll have to stop for today, past 2 AM where I'm at. Thanks for keeping the quest alive guys! I'll be here tomorrow]

>>398462
I'm here now, too.

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[Good evening guys! Bumping and letting you know that we're in session. Picking up right where we left off:]

As you walk a farther ahead you notice that the river actually splits into two. One of the 'new' rivers runs, like you saw earlier, right into the town which is growing in size as you approach it. The water here is actually significantly slower and it looks shallow enough, althought the water isn't clear enough for you to tell for certain. Crossing here, thus bypassing the town in fear of what might await you there, could be an option.

>[Options]
>Walk into town
>Attempt to cross river
>Write in

>>400590
>Walk into town

>>400610
There’s no wall or fence surrounding the town on the river, but there’s a clear entrance, guarded by two men wearing mismatched gear, most of it in different shades of green or gray though. They both have hoods of chainmail but only one’s wearing it, a boy not much older than yourself. The other man speaks up:

“Halt! I’ve lived in Riverfast all my life, boy, stood at this post for half. I know the face of every peasant, knight, tradesman, and whore who entered during the last twenty years, yet yours is a new one. What’s your business here, stranger?”

>Write in

>>400687
Really great map, OP, and welcome back
>Activate haggard pouty face
>Please, sir, have you seen a young girl, a little shorter than me come by? I haven't heard from her for weeks, and I fear the worst, with the banditry in these parts.

>>400724
Sounds good.

>>400724
The guard looks through you as he seems to pick his own brain.

"A lot of young girls come through here, so I'd be lying to you if I said no. If she came alone your best bet would be to go look down by the market, where the rest of your like spend their days begging for coin."

>"So, can I enter?"

"By all means, Riverfast survives off of trade, I wouldn't be doing us no favour by shutting people out, not even a dirty wanderer like you... but bring trouble and I'll personally make sure you're repaid tenfold."

>"Thank you, I won't get in anyone's way."

"Best hope so!" the young guard said out of nowhere, after a stern look from his elder he added: "..eh, welcome, you may enter."

You walk through the gate and you get to a crossroad. You search for signs but fail to find any.

>[Options]
>Walk straight ahead
>Turn left
>Turn right
>Ask for directions

>>400786
>Walk straight ahead

>>400724
>Really great map, OP, and welcome back
Thank you!

>>400846
You choose to walk straight ahead. After a about fifty meters the row of building on your right ends to give room for the river which the street now runs parallell to. On your left there are shops of all kinds imaginable. Tanners, tailors, basket weavers, and bakeries to name a few. But after a while the scent of freshly baked bread and worked leather gives way to the smell of fish and tar. You, as well as the river, make a slight left turn and before you know it Riverfast's harbour lies before you.

"That's quite the backpack you got there, boy, unique."
>"I.. thank you, I suppose. What's it to you?"
The old woman looks at you and smiles, revealing her severe lack of teeth, white or otherwíse. "Don't worry, I don't mean to mock you. I know resourcefulness when I see it is all. Looking to earn a couple of coppers lad, or have you better use of your time?"

>>400954
Maybe.

>>400954
>Sure.

>>400954

I could do with some pay, what's the job?

>>400954
Take the job.
looks like I'm a little late in joining, but my mind agrees with the choices so far.