Mar 17, 2025 5:46 pm
Astrid, likewise, puts her heels into her mount.
And the other horses follow after.
Suddenly, Ulfarr's mount balks at something unseen within the shadows.
Ulfarr thinks it may be a viper--but at night? and so early in the spring?--and at first he is cautious, looking over his horse's neck and into the gloom that is sporadically lit by lightning flashes before him and to the west.
The first taste of rain has begun to plunk onto the rocks around Ulfarr. And he notices with sinking heart that the trail has brought them into an arm of the Barrow Lands, and before Ulfarr--if what he sees before him is fact--is a desecrated barrow, the earth of it flung far and wide so that it naught but a mild hump before him. And is that...?
The lightning flashes and, on a sudden gust of wind, specks of rain spatter Ulfarr's face like spittle. He thinks he sees pale gleams among the spoiled earth. They could be clean rocks, but Ulfarr is certain they are bones, bones of the dead.
Astrid and the other horses have gathered around Ulfarr and likewise motionless. It is as if the horses are caught in a terrifying spell. Their withers shake. They snort restively.
And all around them, just beyond the edge of night sight, are sudden sounds. Clatters. Clanks.
The pale materials Ulfarr sighted earlier begin to move, assemble together.
Something very thin but vaguely humanoid begins to rise to a standing position a few paces before Ulfarr.
Thunder crashes to the south, finally catching up to the earlier lightning flash. But now a second bolt streaks across the sky, and beneath its illuminating arc Ulfarr sees clearly before him the body of a skeleton, and it holds what appears to be an ancient, bronze-bladed spear.
of the surrounding bog lands. Occasional mounds of earth,
elongated and low, dot the terrain. You suspect this the edge
of the Barrow Lands and dread what foul specters must lurk
beneath the thin veneer of earth that covers them. You only
hope that your passing has not disturbed any of them. Your
hope is short-lived, however, as in the dim moonlight ahead,
directly upon the path you follow, stand the remains of
what must have once been one of the mounds. Someone has
recently dug down into the very center of it, leaving a large
crater surrounded by piles of freshly turned earth. More than
one glint of bone can be seen in this churned furrow.EDIT: The encounter distance is supposed to be in the TENS of yards, so twenty yards away, not two.
And the other horses follow after.
Suddenly, Ulfarr's mount balks at something unseen within the shadows.
Ulfarr thinks it may be a viper--but at night? and so early in the spring?--and at first he is cautious, looking over his horse's neck and into the gloom that is sporadically lit by lightning flashes before him and to the west.
The first taste of rain has begun to plunk onto the rocks around Ulfarr. And he notices with sinking heart that the trail has brought them into an arm of the Barrow Lands, and before Ulfarr--if what he sees before him is fact--is a desecrated barrow, the earth of it flung far and wide so that it naught but a mild hump before him. And is that...?
The lightning flashes and, on a sudden gust of wind, specks of rain spatter Ulfarr's face like spittle. He thinks he sees pale gleams among the spoiled earth. They could be clean rocks, but Ulfarr is certain they are bones, bones of the dead.
Astrid and the other horses have gathered around Ulfarr and likewise motionless. It is as if the horses are caught in a terrifying spell. Their withers shake. They snort restively.
And all around them, just beyond the edge of night sight, are sudden sounds. Clatters. Clanks.
The pale materials Ulfarr sighted earlier begin to move, assemble together.
Something very thin but vaguely humanoid begins to rise to a standing position a few paces before Ulfarr.
Thunder crashes to the south, finally catching up to the earlier lightning flash. But now a second bolt streaks across the sky, and beneath its illuminating arc Ulfarr sees clearly before him the body of a skeleton, and it holds what appears to be an ancient, bronze-bladed spear.
OOC:
For comparison, box text:Quote:
The land is drier here, and the ground higher than thatof the surrounding bog lands. Occasional mounds of earth,
elongated and low, dot the terrain. You suspect this the edge
of the Barrow Lands and dread what foul specters must lurk
beneath the thin veneer of earth that covers them. You only
hope that your passing has not disturbed any of them. Your
hope is short-lived, however, as in the dim moonlight ahead,
directly upon the path you follow, stand the remains of
what must have once been one of the mounds. Someone has
recently dug down into the very center of it, leaving a large
crater surrounded by piles of freshly turned earth. More than
one glint of bone can be seen in this churned furrow.
Rolls
Riding - (1d20)
(2) = 2
Encounter Distance (in yards) - (1d6)
(2) = 2
