I needed a break from Visemar. It seemed strange to add three episodes, when the five episode short season a la Primetime Adventures seemed more appropriate. So, I'm giving Greygor a shot: five episode seasons with possibly five seasons, like a five Act play within five Act plays.
This also let me experiment with Tiny Dungeons, a game whose second edition is now funded on Kickstarter in less than 48 hours. I also appreciate that they're releasing a Braille version as one of their stretch goals.
GREYGOR THE ADVENTURER
Greygor stands as tall as any other person. His imposing build was inherited from his father and developed through years of farming his family’s land accompanied by his father’s military training. He has ash brown hair and his mother’s, so he’s told, livid blue grey eyes.
He wears earth toned trousers with leather greaves and a pauldron with matching bracer over his left arm. Greygor has been called fey-touched more than once, especially since he believes nature will provide the answer. He is proficient with light melee weapons and has mastered the falcata and bow.
Greygor is fey-touched; he is a Beastspeaker and can communicate with animals.
Greygor is a hunter, and has Advantage to hide and move quietly.
Greygor is perceptive and has Advantage when searching or finding things.
06 / 06 HP
GEAR
adventurer’s kit, bow, falcata, martebo sack, shield, (2) wolf pelts
S01E01: The Guardian
He was near the cave when the earth shook. Greygor turned and eyed the trees surrounding him. The forest of Utai, east of the town of Vor’kan, was growing quiet. In the distance, a flock of birds took flight. Then… a column of smoke reached to the sky, and the wind gathered strength, pushing against him.
Greygor took shelter in the cave just as the trees began to bend. The wind howled outside as the earth trembled once more. The opening rumbled as rocks and dirt filtered down from above. Greygor moved further back as the cave's mouth collapsed, trapping the farmer and hunter within.
After a few breaths, the rumbling subsided. Only his breathing filled the chamber. Greygor thought to pull the lantern tucked safely within his bedroll, but the darkness was broken by the faintest azure glow. With a concerned glance at the rocks barring his exit, he fumbled his way to the light.
Fingers of transparent crystal erupted from the rocks tracing a path deeper into the cavern. The blue light emanated from the small patches. Curious, he pried one from its earthy bed, and its light faded back to shadow. He wouldn't be able to take any with him. Still, the dim light was enough to navigate by.
He travelled for several minutes. Without the sun or moons to guide him, he had no true sense of time. Greygor had passed through a few larger caverns, some the size of a couple rooms, but, mostly, it was the singular passage leading deeper into the rocky hill.
As he approached the next in the cavernous sequence, he smelled animals. Faint dog scents mingled with musty dirt. He crept along the passageway and entered as quietly as he could. Not quiet enough, in spite of his skill in hunting. A pair of wolves fixed their gold eyes on him, a faint red gleam behind them from the crystalline light.
One sniffed at the air and emitted a throaty chuckle. “Food,” she said to the other.
“And trapped. Like us,” her mate replied.
Greygor held his hands up, palm forward. “Trapped, like you. Maybe we could find a way out? Together?”
The female snarled and bared her teeth, “Not likely.”
The wolves stood and started to circle Greygor. In response, he pulled his short curved blade from its sheath. There was a hint of a frown before he turned serious. The female seemed to be the leader, so he launched himself at her. His falcata swung as he landed, but the wolf had already moved aside. In retaliation, her jaws gnashed at Greygor, who capably turned it aside with his shield. He rose to his feet and sidestepped as her mate also leapt at him, jaws biting where his ankle had been.
The falcata arced down upon the male’s neck, scoring a solid hit against the back of his skull. It yelped loudly and spun to face Greygor. Greygor’s shield came up, anticipating another strike. The unwounded female jumped at him, but the shield was already waiting. Her strike scratched into the wood of his defenses. While distracted, the other wolf bit into his leg with a vicious snarl. Greygor snarled himself and growled in pain.
The sword came up and flipped into a reverse grip, driving a downward thrust through the back of the wolf’s head. It didn't have the capacity to yelp as the point emerged from its throat. Greygor turned and drove the shield into the female, striking the edge against her muzzle. The death of her mate enraged her, and she flung herself into his sword arm, jaws snapping and biting into him.
Greygor grunted against the pain and lashed out with another shield bash. The wolf let go and turned to face him, blood dying her muzzle red. He lunged forward and caught the wolf with his blade against her neck. Her cry echoed through the cavern as she fell to the ground against her mate.
Greygor sighed and sat against the cavern wall and began to bandage the wounds the wolves had inflicted. Though lightly wounded, he set to the grim task of skinning the wolves and harvesting some of the meat. It was several hours work, but he had no idea how long he would be in this cave.
He got to his feet and continued through the passage. Another cavern soon greeted him, and the passage leaned to his left. The right side had fallen away into a perilous drop. Greygor inched along the trail, pressed closer to the cave wall. He could hear the faint clicks and clacks of tiny stones falling beneath him as they struck the sheer slope.
Almost halfway across, the noises picked up pace. He turned and saw the portion he had walked along collapsing into the pit. The ground beneath his feet rumbled and began to fall away. Greygor turned and leapt, grabbing desperately to the unstable floor. He kicked and crawled as quickly as he could, rising up to his feet and sprinting.
The rumbling stopped as he entered the passage beyond. He turned, breathing heavily, and saw what was left of the trail he had been walking on. A foot’s length was all that remained. The chamber had become an enormous pit. There was no going back.
More meandering, and the tunnel soon forked. Greygor chose to turn left and followed it into a side passage. Ahead, he could hear quiet sobbing. His careful footsteps brought him into another cavern, the soft light illuminating the cold stone walls and a woman leaning against them, knees tucked against her chest. She must have heard his approach, as her sobs stopped and hands frantically searched for a knife.
“Hello?” he called out quietly.
She pulled the knife free and crouched, hesitant. “Who are you?” she asked, pointing the knife toward the cavern’s entrance. There was no other way out.
“Greygor,” he replied. “I was trapped in here when the ground shook. Yourself?”
“Camarit. I was looking at these crystals when I felt the ground shake.” She stood, and Greygor saw long buttermilk blonde hair. Camarit had the knife in her hands and simple travelling clothes: a dirty woolen shift covered by an equally dirty tunic.
He stepped into the dim light and smiled, he hoped, reassuringly. “There must be a way out of here. The main passage has collapsed, but we could try the other direction.”
Her knife lowered a fraction, “We’ll travel together, then,” the knife pointed at the sack on his shoulder, “You look like you're equipped for this.”
Greygor chuckled. “I've brought a few things with me.”
The right hand path led the two into another cavern. This was brightly lit by the crystals embedded in the walls and a crystalline object resting on a finger of stone. Greygor slowed his pace to study what lay on the makeshift pedestal.
“What is it?” he asked, mostly to himself.
“The Burning Heart of Koradan,” Camarit replied.
“The what?” Greygor asked, turning to look at the woman.
Solid black eyes stared back at him from beneath the blonde hair. Her knife already in her hand. “Human. Idiot.”
A dismissive wave beckoned to something behind him. A wolf stepped from the shadows, skin missing and portions of its skeleton peeking from where flesh was gone. The wolf silently launched forward and bit into Greygor’s shin. Caramit seized the opportunity and plunged her dagger between the bracer and pauldron. His hand grasped at his blade and pulled it free with an audible snarl, striking Caramit across her face with his shield. He watched the blood flow from her broken nose and witnessed the bone knit back together.
The wolf continued to pull at Greygor’s shin, tearing into his boot and opening a bloody trail. He shouted against the pain. Caramit giggled and stabbed him in the small of his back. Greygor collapsed under the weight of his wounds.
“Come,” she said to the wolf, walking up to the finger of stone.
Greygor was barely conscious having suffered several wounds and slowly bleeding. He lay still, feigning death, and listened.
“Let’s take the Heart to Lord Shule, shall we?” Caramit cooed at the decrepit wolf as she took the crystal object. “Good puppy.”
Her footsteps echoed as the two departed, leaving Greygor bleeding on the floor...
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