1628, Storm Season, Fertility Week, Freezeday
Context
At the house in Boldhome. Varanis has promised to climb a waterfall with Berra. Follows after Cold morning blues. (After Session: Sundown.)
Events
Berra has been bouncing around since dawn, packing a few things and singing marching songs badly. Hot food in a pot inside a woven basket stuffed with straw is the last thing; that goes into a bag over her shoulder. “Ready?” she asks Varanis.
Today is waterfall day.
Varanis grins. “Of course.” She’s dressed well for the weather: wool and waterproofed leather, good gloves now too. Her hair has been tightly plaited and tucked up under a warm hat.
Berra, in contrast, is still lightly dressed, but in a warm cloak. “There’s a place that comes down not far from Ducktown,” she says, “Which isn’t up by the trolls or the Telmori, and doesn’t come from the ice wall. It’s not big, but we could find a bigger one if you want.”
“Given things still aren’t resolved with the Telmori, away from them sounds wise. Let’s start there. We can always go higher another day.” That’s an unusual degree of caution for the Vingan. 1Insight: There’s concern there, that is not being spoken. Enthusiasm is definitely the prevailing emotion though.
Berra nods, picks up the bag, and makes for the door. Despite her mood, she does pause to check nothing lurks outside, before giving a yip of joy and setting off down the road.
Together, they stride through Boldhome. Varanis matches her stride to Berra’s, so that the shorter woman is setting the pace.
Berra hops and skips and bounces, until the food pot nearly takes out her knee, and then she just walks fast. As they reach the cliff wall, Berra says, “If we can’t keep going, you have to get us both down. Or get you down and have someone come and get me down. Or get me down and I’ll come back with a rope.” What she has, what she can carry, is not going to be nearly enough for getting stuck halfway up a cliff.
Varanis shrugs then smiles with confidence. “I can fly you down and climb, if need be. There’s very little I can’t climb.” With a glance skyward, she asks, “Do you think the weather will hold?” The sky is a study of varied greys, casting an uncertain mood over the city.
“We’re going up the waterfall. Rain doesn’t matter.” Berra puts down the pot and her backpack, and empties out what is needed. “But if it starts hammering down, we might get really cold.” She does not seem to have much plan beyond ‘go up’.2 Do me a climb roll?
Varanis studies the cliff face, looking for the best options for a climbing path. “I see a few ways up. That way,” she points to a path that starts close to the falls, “starts easy, but it’ll get very tricky about a third of the way up.”3Crit. I’ll take that roll! After a moment longer, she says, “That one. You’ll have the best possible hand and footholds for as far up as I can see.”
The waterfall is a modest river, or fast stream, that clings lazily to the steep cliff, having carved itself a path that bounces and splits and finally enters a shallow pool. There are slick rocks and lethal stone staircases, and the water is another enemy. In places it is fast enough to push someone away from the rocks. Berra says, “Nah, not wet enough. I didn’t say climb a path close to a waterfall. I want a challenge.”
Varanis studies the falls and then turns an assessing look on her friend.4V: I want to know if I think Berra is well enough and skilled enough for this. First Aid and Climb? B:The climb from before will do – she’d be at her limit. And an Insight (Human): She knows, and doesn’t care.
“Just checking… you don’t have a death wish, do you?” the Vingan asks.
“Never have,” Berra says lightly. She starts stripping off her cloak, and then her tunic, and gives Varanis a wide smile. “You?”
“Not at the moment,” Varanis says with an answering smile. “This is going to get cold though. It’s going to be easier without all these layers, isn’t it?” She starts to peel off her outer layers.
“Yehuh.” Berra has a light undershirt, and keeps that and her shoes on. She picks up the ropes she brought. “These are hide, so they won’t get too heavy, but they will get soft or stretch if we have to rely on them. Just for if we have to.” They look well oiled, but there is still a waterfall.
The Vingan folds her clothing into a neat pile, wrapped in her oilskin vest, which should mostly protect the wool layers. She’s left wearing a linen shift over her wraps, and a pair of sturdy leather boots. Plus, of course, her hat. “I thought the gloves might be useful, but I’m thinking it might be best to leave them. I need to be sure I can feel the rocks properly.”
Berra considers Wind Tooth, and finally lays the sword down on her clothes, to keep the precious blade from the ground. “Hat. I forgot a hat,” she says happily. Her hair is already damp from the spray. She steps into the water, which is waist deep on her when she is at the bottom, and starts clambering. It is not easy, but it is mostly treacherous and cold, not onerous.
Varanis eyes the water with trepidation. “That looks very cold.”
“It is,” Berra squeaks. “It’s great!” Like the worst salmon in Glorantha, she starts moving upwards.5B: I think that CON rolls will be needed as well as Climb rolls. Hah! 04 on CON. Berra is so Sartarite this is just a walk in the park!
“I’m going to need new boots…” With a shake of her head, as though questioning her life choices, Varanis steps into the river. As soon as it tops her boots, she shudders. “This is not our brightest idea…”6Oh, I got a 9. V is going to suck it up, I guess.
Berra is slow compared to Varanis, but the waterfall itself is wide. Leaning back to get a good look is dangerous, however. Everything is slimy, and rounded, save where it is slimy and sharp.
She squares her shoulders and takes a deep breath. “I suppose that’s what makes it interesting.” Then she ploughs forward, catching up with Berra.7V: Sounds like Dex too! B: Yeah, if you want to overtake, then DEXx5, followed by another Climb. V: Normal passes on both
It doesn’t take long before Varanis catches, then passes the smaller woman. She slips a little here and there, but is managing fine despite the bone-chilling cold.8 And three more Climb passes to get to a place where we can stop. Two more passes and a special.
For a while, Berra gets stuck on a spur of rock and stands there, looking up and replanning, and then she makes her way up, forcing her way through a channel that really should be a one-way trip. A soaking-wet Humakti pulls herself up next to Varanis and laughs. “Wet,” she says, through the giggles and the teeth-chattering.
Varanis, who had made the climb thus far with comparative ease, is grinning madly, despite her violent shivers. “I thought I might need to rescue you for a moment there. Also, this is a spectacularly stupid idea! Who will yell more? Maalira or Mellia?”
“I could have got down, or sideways, but those didn’t help.” Berra lies on the rock for a moment, but there is still water above and she eyeballs the cliff. “Not sure I wanna stop,” she says.
“Oh, we can’t stop now,” Varanis exclaims. “We have to get to the top. Stupid or not, the top of this waterfall is waiting for us!”
Berra nods. “Yeah.” She rolls to her feet and points to a narrow split in the rock behind a sheen of water. “I think that’ll probably be useful. Come out at the top of it and you’re past the big lump…”
Varanis assesses the suggestion, then nods. “I’ll go first, shall I?” 9V: Three rolls again, you figure? B: Yeah. V: Pass, Crit, Pass
“Sure.” Berra does not bother with the ropes – they are forgotten in her small backpack.
Varanis moves out ahead of her companion, climbing easily. Part way through, she picks up speed, clambouring up the waterfall as if born to do so. A chance glance back down reminds her that she has company and she slows down again to make sure that Berra is managing the trecherous climb.
Berra climbs steadily, keeping into the rock and letting the water split around her. A couple of times she pauses to shake out a hand, or to roll her shoulders, and then move on. Up she comes, slowly, but surely.
Varanis begins to sing a praise song for Vinga as she waits. The chattering of her teeth impede the melody somewhat, but she sings with gusto anyway.
“Alright.” Berra pulls herself up onto the big lumpy protrusion. “I can see how the Colymar thought Enjossi couldn’t do that.”10Insight (Human): Berra wants a fight, and not with a person. She looks like she will take on the cliff if she has to, and she also looks like she cannot suggest stopping. V: But, does she also look like she needs to stop? B: No, not yet.
“Still good?” Varanis asks, after giving the Humakti a once over stare.
Berra nods without even thinking about it. “Yeah. We’ve got a long way but we have more to go.” Her face shows determination and more; a wilfulness that is not normally there.
Varanis gives her a bit of a wild grin then turns to study the cliff. Her eyes gleam with intensity, as if she has discovered a profound joy beyond the boundaries of her daily life these past weeks. 11Insight: Before, there was excitement tempered with at least some degree of caution, but something has shifted in her, perhaps with the song. Also, I rolled 1 on Air.
The last long stretch has no friendly crevices, and plenty of sharp rocks that bite at the hands. Berra cuts a finger, swears, and speeds up. Her stout muscles and short stature mean she can power through the water in the places that it hammers down, for it just seems to touch her less.12B: Pass, pass, special, and I rolled CON again as well. Berra is fine. V: Oh dear… special, pass, special, then the CON… Fumble.
Varanis makes the climb easily, staying ahead of Berra the whole way, but remembering to check back as they go. When she reaches the top, she sits on a ledge, her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. Her teeth chatter as she calls out encouragement. Her soaking wet linens are plastered against skin that has turned blue. Her hat is sodden and one of her plaits has come loose and is stuck to the side of her face. She ignores it.
Berra pulls herself out onto the ledge, and says, “From here there’s not much waterfall to climb, unless we go into the rock.” She sits there looking at the view and perhaps admiring the stupid thing they have done.13Having failed First Aid I think Berra is not noticing the problem.
“We can go in?” Varanis asks. “Like a cave? Or in to go higher?”
“The water comes out of the rock just up there,” Berra says. “Maybe some other time. You can’t breathe water and I left my magic at home so I can’t breath water either.”
“But… I can see under water!” the Vingan exclaims. “I learned how to do that. I just keep forgetting. And I swam like a crocodile once, remember?” She is shivering violently, talking between clenched teeth as she tries to silence their clatter. “I’m cold,” she admits at last. “Maybe we should go back down soon. You good for the climb? Your hand is blooding. Bleeding.”
“We could fly down?” Berra suggests. “I want food. It’ll be warm still.” She sits carefully, smiling in victory of a kind, and looking over the ground below.
“I’ll fly you and then climb,” Varanis says seriously. “Not sure I can fly us both. Boots are too heavy.” 14V: INT*5 and/or Insight? B: 8 for the INT, 58 for the Insight. Special and Pass, given we know each other. V: Ok, so INT says that if Varanis’ connection to Vinga is strong, she should be fine for the flight. It’s possible she’s used magic when you weren’t around that drained her, of course, but you aren’t aware of it. Insight… something is a bit off, but Varanis herself might not recognize it.
The Vingan starts to fumble with the straps of her boots. “They got full. Ice for boots. I need them off so I can climb now,” she mutters. The sodden straps are not giving way.
Berra tilts her head to one side. “You need to go down with flying or ropes,” she says. “In fact, let’s try that. I fix ropes and go down then, you release and bring them down? And if I get stuck I’ll be fine, on a rope.”
“Huh? Ok. We’ll go down with ropes. That’s a good idea. D’you have a knife?”
“I’m a Humakti. But keep the boots on for the minute. The rocks is sharp and we don’t know what’s there. We’ll get them off down below.” Berra pulls off her little backpack, and pulls out the hide ropes. They are short, but they did not get too wet on the way up. “You sure that Vinga can’t take us both?” In the end she knots her two lengths to get them around a boulder and over the edge of the ledge, wrapping them around her arm to lean over and look at the possibilities below.
“Um…. I’ll try! Good idea.” Varanis concentrates, her teeth chattering as she mutters.
Meanwhile, Berra just watches her carefully.
She stops muttering to herself to stare skyward. Then she gives Berra a lopsided grin with lips gone completely blue. “Oh! I know! I’ll carry you and you can carry my boots! You can pretend to be Ernalda and I will carry you off to my hall!”
“Or I can fly down,” Berra says. “And if you want you can pretend they are cold because they are sandals of Darkness. I have not been Ernalda except for about six weeks when people were finding out if I liked men, and I don’t fancy being so again. Ok. You don’t have to be Ernalda. But… I’m pretty sure it’ll be easier if I carry you.” Then she blinks and looks amused again. “You could carry me. That would be funny, but only if you have to,” Berra says. “I bet your grip ain’t great right now.” She holds onto the rope, still. “And… I could. But people should be independent. You, and me.” An expression passes over her face for a moment, twisting into a smile. “Can you do that?”15B: Insight at half its usual score: The word Berra did not add to ‘you and me’ was ‘together’. V: Wow, yes. That would have been a special again if the score weren’t halved…
“I’m going to make you fly now,” Varanis says, clambering to her feet. She gives Berra a solemn stare that fails to impart any sense of solemnity because of the shivering. “Don’t fight me, k? I can’t do it again if you fight me.”
Berra nods, and relaxes.
Varanis glows a brighter blue and then the magic flows from her to Berra. There’s a momentary shock as it connects, before the spell settles in. The Vingan grins. “Pretty sure that worked. Check before going over the edge?” 16Varanis passes casting Flight.
“And you,” Berra says as her eyes flash orange and her hair stirs in the breeze. She rises into the air, under control as much by concentration as by natural ability.17V: Also, just to be clear in case you have ideas, that was just enough for you. She still has to cast it again. B: nodnod V: And it seems Vinga wants her alive.
Varanis offers up a prayer to Vinga, then concentrates and repeats her spell. This time, as the magic flares, the effect is nearly blinding. And though the spell settles into place and the intensity of the light dims, she stays blue. Vingan blue, rather than the icy shades of Valind’s touch.
“That feels right,” the Vingan says baring her teeth in a broad smile. She is no longer shivering. “So much better. Shall we fly?”18V: I have decided, because I can, that while the spell is in effect, the hypothermia is held at bay. Not gone, but not affecting her for a bit. Reasonable? B: I think it could seem that way, without setting a precedent. As there is likely Rune magic for being immune to cold, it’s something I would not let a different god do. But you might be in a lucid phase.
Without waiting for a response from Berra, Varanis steps off the cliff, dropping out of sight, before swooping back up in a flashy series of spirals.
Berra unhooks the rope and flies down, jerkily but with some control. “Let’s grab the food and eat it as no wait first you need to put warm clothes on oh I see you are not coming down…”19Edited after V’s player says: Um… you are working off the assumption that she’s coming down…. Flying! She doesn’t get to do this often, as it’s a big use of magic and she gets 15 minutes of pure, frozen joy. There must be points higher to get to… if you look at the map of Boldhome, roughly which direction are we in, do you figure? She is stripping off her wet underclothes even as she lands, much to the surprise of some ducks who are dabbling in the plunge pool, and she gives them a cheery wave as she grabs her own trousers. She yanks her tunic over her head and does not bother with the arms, and then she picks up Varanis’s bundle. “Bloody Vingans,” she tells the ducks with a grin, and sets off upwards again.
Varanis is flying roughly westward, continuing her series of joyful spirals and loops. She appears to have forgotten why she needed to fly in the first place.
Berra catches snippets of song, carried by the wind. Something about Vinga and Valind in a duel of wits.
Berra sighs, and while she manages to wriggle into her own clothing, she does not do much else that makes her slow down. That brings her up doggedly on the Vingan. “V’ranis! Y’need to put warm clothes on,” she calls.
“Your winds are but whispers, a gust I can shear,” Varanis sings, dancing in the sky.
She pulls her hat off her head at throws it towards Berra. “Be off, cousin Valind!”20I had the sudden realization that Valind is Orlanth’s nephew and therefore Vinga’s nephew/cousin, depending on religious perspectives. And Berra is Varanis’ cousin of sorts. And well… she has ice for brains. Varanis, not Berra.
“Fucksake,” says Berra, but she is laughing as she tries to keep up. “Can you dress in the air?”
“Why cousin, does my state of undress disturb you? I shall fix it.” Varanis ceases her westward flight and begins to circle around Berra instead. Somehow, she manages to peel off her shift, which flutters in the wind before she simply lets it drop. Somewhere down in the city, someone may be surprised by having wet linen land on them. At least it is of fine quality!
“You’re not dressing according to your rank!” Berra yells back. “How will anyone know you?”
“Because I’m blue!” Varanis peels off the remainder of her linens and lets them fall too. Now she’s wearing nothing but her skin and the boots. “In the dance of the elements… Harmony in strife…” she sings.
“Yep. You’re blue. Now come and feast with me.” Berra points back towards the duck village.
“I was going to go home,” Varanis says, pointing to Quivin Peak where it looms in the distance. “Will there be songs at this feast? Good wine?”
“There will be good food and a host you can trust, who wants you there,” Berra says. “And we can call for music.” Not, technically, a lie.
“Oh, very well! But if it’s boring, I’ll fly home as soon as it’s polite to leave. Lead on!” She circles closer to Berra now, no longer trying to evade and seemingly less inclined to show off. “I might have a nap first,” she says.
“Then dress first.” Berra offers over a tunic, finely embroidered at the cuffs and expensive-looking. 21Given how much clothing she has already dropped on the unsuspecting citizens of Boldhome, that is a bold move. Ok, no fumble on DEX. In fact, it’s an 8, so even with substantial penalties, she’d pass.
Varanis swoops close enough to snatch up the tunic, gives it a quick look and a nod. Apparently, it will do. She wiggles into it, managing to maintain her altitude in the process.
Berra says, “I have trousers too. Two pairs! Would you prefer small and plain or long with the coloured ties?” Her own, and the Vingan’s.
“Colour, of course! Plain is for farmers!” Varanis proclaims. “Or Humakt. He doesn’t understand the good things in life. Wait… you’re not Valind. Humakt! No, Berra. Berra, I’m cold. You have hot food. Can we eat that and then maybe go home?” Her teeth have started to chatter again.
“Yeah. Trousers on.” Berra hands over a pair and keeps flying, a little erratically. “Hot food and your cloak and we can eat as we go.”
“I seem to have lost my under things,” Varanis mutters. She attempts to put the trousers on anyway, but the boots are in the way and her flying rapidly becomes clumsy. It’s not going to be possible until she’s on the ground. She abandons the attempt and just holds tightly to the garment instead. When she’s not trying to contort herself in the air, her flight becomes smooth again. All acrobatics have stopped and she is now focused on returning to their starting point.
It is not far away by now, and Berra heads straight for the pot and the warm cloaks to land there. “You got too cold,” she says cheerily. “But we’ll get the boots off you. Sit down, don’t let them drip on your trousers?”
The Vingan drops with an uncharacteristic lack of grace and gets to work on the straps of her boots again. She still glows blue, but the light is beginning to fade. Her hands are clumsy, but somehow she manages to loosen the first one and wrestle it off her foot. Water streams out. The foot is encased in a blue wool sock that covers her from toes to ankle bones. She sets to work on the other.
Berra helps yank off the sock, and puts it down by the boot. “Well done.” While Varanis fights the second boot, she opens up the food pot, and scoops out a pile of spiced stew into a shallow bowl. Unable to feed her vegetables, Yehna makes up for it by giving her sister expensive spices and bread with poppy seeds on top, held there by milk, not egg. Berra checks on Varanis and her progress once she has a bowl ready.
As Varanis gets the other boot and sock off, she stares ruefully at her feet. The blue is fading to grey and her feet are wrinkled up like Yelm-baked plums that have been sitting for a year. “This is going to hurt when I can feel again. And the White Ladies will definitely yell.” She sighs. “You’re you again. I think.” This last seems to be directed to Berra, rather than to her feet.
“Yep.” Berra doles out another portion, then moves things around until the pot is in the bag, but without much straw in. She offers both over and says, “Hug this while you eat.”
“Inna sec. Trousers first.” She wriggles into them, clumsy but managing on her own. As the last of the magic fades from her, the blue of her skin is now obviously not right, but at least she’s coherent. Varanis wraps herself around the pot and the bowl of food. She begins to shovel stew into her mouth using a chunk of bread. She doesn’t speak, concentrating on getting warm.
Berra dresses, and eats. She is cold and shivery, but not as much as Varanis is. She hiccoughs a bit after bolting the hot stew, but does not slow down much. “So after this maybe we should rest for a few days, but bad ideas are fun,” she says once she is mopping up the last of it.
Varanis nods. “It was beautiful, once we reached the top. I think. And I love flying. Flying is good.” She has begun to shiver again. “I’m glad you’re you. A couple of times I thought maybe you were gone. I wondered if your body was just a shell and maybe…” She shakes her head and doesn’t finish the sentence. “I’m glad you’re you,” she repeats.
Berra looks down at her plate. “It’s good to be me, I think,” she says quietly. “You should borrow my foot wraps to walk back in. They’ll be warmer than your socks.”
Varanis shakes her head. “But then your feet will be bare. And you’ve been sick. I’ll manage.”
“You’re ill now. I was ill before.” Berra gives Varanis a look. “And I’m a Humakti. You shouldn’t be seen barefoot, like you can’t afford shoes.”
“I can just wriggle back into these.” Varanis nods at her boots, turned upside down now to let the last of the water drain out. “I wonder if they’ll be salvageable.”
“Yeah, but you wear the wrappings first.” Berra comes to sit down by Varanis. “I can always stop off at my Temple on the way back.” A Wyter Priest, barefoot, like she cannot afford shoes.
“But, your Eril’s priest now. You can’t do that. Let’s just have a little rest and then we can arm wrestle for the wraps. It’ll be better after warm food and a nap.”
“Nah, it’s cold out here,” Berra says. “And I said I’d get you home, right?” She leans forward to wrap a square of rather damp, coarse wool around Varanis’ foot, an operation that will require at least acquiescence, if not help.
Varanis watches, but doesn’t argue. “You’re a real Sartarite. You don’t mind the cold. I want to be real too. A real Sartarite, I mean. I am real. I think. Can’t tell. Too cold. This was dumb, but worth it. If I die, can you burn me up there? Then I’ll be warm an’ enjoy the view.”
“Sartarites put their boot on and let me do the other foot-wrap,” Berra tells Varanis in return. “And they snuggle into their cloaks. And they bring dry clothes with them if it’s going to be raining.” She is still in her thin, but dry-ish, linen clothing, and her warm cloak.
“I have warm clothes! Oiled leather vest even. I should put that on. That would be good.” She dutifully struggles to get her boot back on. “Mellia will yell. That isn’t fitting right and I bet it should hurt. But maybe it’s good that it doesn’t.” Somewhere in this conversation, she decided to practice her Heortling, but there are some Trade Talk words and phrases coming in. And the Mellia will yell was purely Esrolian. “We’ll stop at your temple and you can get warm an I’ll go home and Mellia can yell and Marta can look disappointed and I’ll laugh and then sleep. It’s fine.” Her boot is on and the straps are done enough. She has the other boot ready to go when Berra finishes with that wrap.
Berra looks Varanis over, and says, “Right. Stand up. Wraps aren’t like socks – your toes are together instead of apart, so they stay warmer.” She puts the wet socks into the pot bag, and stands. “You dropped your hat, but that can’t be helped. Hood up, hands inside the cloak, don’t walk too fast – you want to keep the food down.”
“S’a good thing I wear good wool,” Varanis says with a laugh. “Naked unnerneath!” Then, “Balls. That was a good hat.” She pulls the hood up and clenches her fists into the fur lining of her cloak, holding it closed in front of her. She cooperates fully with Berra, all the rebellion and flightiness frozen out of her for the time being.22Listen roll: “Was worth it,” she mumbles under her breath. “You smiled and laughed.”
“Yeah, same here,” Berra says. “But lots of thin layers is good, if you can’t get furs. You had gloves before. Did you put your gloves on? You can clench up your fingers inside them but you should wear all you can.”
From having little to say of her own, Berra has tipped over into speech that rushes forth, with hardly any pauses.
“Gloves?” Varanis looks confused. “I had gloves…” Her gloves are on the ground, next to a rock. It looks as though they were dropped when she was fumbling with clothing. “Right. There. Ok.” Getting the gloves on is a bit of an ordeal, but she manages.
Berra nods. “Kay. Let’s go.” She walks Varanis a little way around the big pond, and then says, “We should go by the love-Temple. Warm bath.”
“Oh… good idea! Then Mellia can’t yell.”
“No, but you might.” Berra speeds up a little. “Keep your limbs moving. Dance while you walk if you like. Just don’t stop.”
“I d-d-don’t yell, Berra. S’und-dignified. My gran always t-t-told me t-t-to be quiet. S-s-scares people more, you know.” Varanis stutters. “T-t-talk less. Walk more.”
“S’good. You’re shivering now. I think you stopped before.” Berra bounces onward. “We should probably start you off with a colder bath and pour hot water in or you are going to test shouting and not shouting pretty hard. I mean, I don’ like hot water but what you think you can take you actually probably can’t right now.” She hurries on, and so do her words.
Varanis follows, keeping pace despite stumbling here and there. She doesn’t talk much, but Berra catches bits of muttering here and there. “Vinga. ‘M stupid sometimes.” “Was beautiful.” “She laughed.”
Berra asks, when they are close to the Ulerian temple, “Does this place have a warm steam room? Not hot, but warm?” She did not stop off at her own Temple. Perhaps she forgot.
Varanis shrugs. “I like h-h-hot. Never go for warm. C-c-cold, then hot. S’fun that way.”
“This is to heal someone who’s too cold.” Berra looks Varanis up and down. “Heating up too fast gives you blains.” A Heortling word for blisters.
“We’ll f-f-find out, I s’pose.” Varanis shrugs beneath her cloak. “Someone c-c-can rub me d-d-down too.” She tries for a cheeky smile, but it’s not much more than a weak grin.
“Uhuh…” Berra steers Varanis towards the entrance to the baths, and explains the problem to one of the attendants within the sacred precinct. There is some gesticulating. And plenty of shivering.
- 1Insight: There’s concern there, that is not being spoken. Enthusiasm is definitely the prevailing emotion though.
- 2Do me a climb roll?
- 3Crit. I’ll take that roll!
- 4V: I want to know if I think Berra is well enough and skilled enough for this. First Aid and Climb? B:The climb from before will do – she’d be at her limit. And an Insight (Human): She knows, and doesn’t care.
- 5B: I think that CON rolls will be needed as well as Climb rolls. Hah! 04 on CON. Berra is so Sartarite this is just a walk in the park!
- 6Oh, I got a 9. V is going to suck it up, I guess.
- 7V: Sounds like Dex too! B: Yeah, if you want to overtake, then DEXx5, followed by another Climb. V: Normal passes on both
- 8And three more Climb passes to get to a place where we can stop. Two more passes and a special.
- 9V: Three rolls again, you figure? B: Yeah. V: Pass, Crit, Pass
- 10Insight (Human): Berra wants a fight, and not with a person. She looks like she will take on the cliff if she has to, and she also looks like she cannot suggest stopping. V: But, does she also look like she needs to stop? B: No, not yet.
- 11Insight: Before, there was excitement tempered with at least some degree of caution, but something has shifted in her, perhaps with the song. Also, I rolled 1 on Air.
- 12B: Pass, pass, special, and I rolled CON again as well. Berra is fine. V: Oh dear… special, pass, special, then the CON… Fumble.
- 13Having failed First Aid I think Berra is not noticing the problem.
- 14V: INT*5 and/or Insight? B: 8 for the INT, 58 for the Insight. Special and Pass, given we know each other. V: Ok, so INT says that if Varanis’ connection to Vinga is strong, she should be fine for the flight. It’s possible she’s used magic when you weren’t around that drained her, of course, but you aren’t aware of it. Insight… something is a bit off, but Varanis herself might not recognize it.
- 15B: Insight at half its usual score: The word Berra did not add to ‘you and me’ was ‘together’. V: Wow, yes. That would have been a special again if the score weren’t halved…
- 16Varanis passes casting Flight.
- 17V: Also, just to be clear in case you have ideas, that was just enough for you. She still has to cast it again. B: nodnod V: And it seems Vinga wants her alive.
- 18V: I have decided, because I can, that while the spell is in effect, the hypothermia is held at bay. Not gone, but not affecting her for a bit. Reasonable? B: I think it could seem that way, without setting a precedent. As there is likely Rune magic for being immune to cold, it’s something I would not let a different god do. But you might be in a lucid phase.
- 19Edited after V’s player says: Um… you are working off the assumption that she’s coming down…. Flying! She doesn’t get to do this often, as it’s a big use of magic and she gets 15 minutes of pure, frozen joy. There must be points higher to get to… if you look at the map of Boldhome, roughly which direction are we in, do you figure?
- 20I had the sudden realization that Valind is Orlanth’s nephew and therefore Vinga’s nephew/cousin, depending on religious perspectives. And Berra is Varanis’ cousin of sorts. And well… she has ice for brains. Varanis, not Berra.
- 21Given how much clothing she has already dropped on the unsuspecting citizens of Boldhome, that is a bold move. Ok, no fumble on DEX. In fact, it’s an 8, so even with substantial penalties, she’d pass.
- 22Listen roll: “Was worth it,” she mumbles under her breath. “You smiled and laughed.”
