GURPS Banestorm PBBB narrative thread

games
62

@nimelennar @Daaksyde @Mitchell @William_Holz @daneel

GM SCENE

The carriage races towards Ranar, aiming to pass close by him. As it does so, Nicolas leans from the left-hand door, arms outstretched to catch the sprinting Dwarf. The Hazi guards are close behind; a couple of them are within a dozen yards, while pretty much every guardsmen within sight (and there are a lot of them) comes running as well.

[PLAYER CUE: assuming that Ranar is going to accept Nicolas’ attempt at a pickup, I’ll be needing two dice rolls (3d6, see the other thread for an example of how to use the dice roller). Ranar needs a DX check to avoid going under the wheels of the carriage; Nicolas needs a ST check to avoid dislocating his shoulders as he snatches up around 320lbs of armoured dwarf at high speed. Hawk and Jibrīl: just hanging on, or doing something? The closest of the guards is within range of a thrown knife or spear if you want to; wait a second longer, and you might even get to take a passing melee swipe at one]

63

Blue Hawk

Hawk catches hold of the carriage, and, with a grunt of effort, pulls himself up. He takes a moment to catch his breath, as he had been running pretty hard there.

As he starts to recover, the shaman sees that they are getting nearer to Ranar and the guards, but keeps hold of his spear. At this point, his vow to not harm the innocent is not in conflict with his vow to protect Lord Arron. The guards are just doing their jobs, and have not harmed them or prevented their escape.

If the guard do attack them and try to prevent them from leaving… Well, at that point he’ll have to re-evaluate his choices.

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64

Jibrīl Al-Las’as

Jibrīl, on the back of the carriage, watches, and waits. He will intervene to protect Ranar or other members of the party, but as yet, nobody has been attacked, and, well, no sense in drawing more attention to yourself than necessary. He’s keeping a close eye on those guards, though.

65

@nimelennar @Daaksyde @Mitchell @William_Holz @daneel

GM SCENE

As the carriage and Ranar’s paths intersect, Nicolas leans out far to the left and snatches the running dwarf by the arms.

The impact of the high-speed catch almost drags Nicolas from the carriage, and forces a sharp grunt from him in the process. Although his arms are still in place, the left one is no longer entirely functional; some severely strained tendons at the very least.

However, Nicolas’ sacrifice was not in vain; Ranar is swung up to the side of the carriage, where he precariously clings while he tries to catch his breath.

The guardsmen who were pursuing Ranar fling themselves to the side, barely avoiding being run down by the thundering carriage. The bulk of the Hazi guardsmen are approaching from the palace to the northwest, while troops from the Grand Mosque begin to fill Lorian Street to the northeast.

With hooves and wheels striking sparks from the cobbles, Aronn swings the team hard towards the southeast, almost overturning the carriage in the process. Whipping the horses back up to speed, Aronn whoops with glee as the carriage races across Safiya square towards Al-Imaan street and the southeastern exit from the square.

The sudden change of direction momentarily confuses the pursuit, allowing you to gain a few seconds’ breathing room.

[PLAYER CUE (if you want to do anything): Nicolas is lying on the floor of the carriage, clutching his shoulder in pain; Morton stands beside him. Hawk and Jibrīl hold onto the rear of the carriage, spear and janbiya in hand, while Ranar precariously clings to the side, just behind the door. The carriage is currently racing across the square at full speed, heading southeast]

66

Ranar Bolijyr

For a moment there, Ranar had stumbled, almost lost his balance, and could’ve sworn he was about to smash head-first into the side of the carriage or worse, the wheel. That could’ve been disastrous. But he’d made it. His instinct was to try to get inside the carriage, but with it bouncing and swerving so, it was probably better just to hang on tight for the moment.

Pulse pounding, gasping for breath, he called out “De Courcy, brother, you saved me! Are you ok?”

Sparing a glance at the guards, he was relieved to have avoided a fight.

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67

@nimelennar @Daaksyde @Mitchell @William_Holz @daneel

GM SCENE

The racing carriage makes it across Safiya Square onto Al-Imaan Street heading southeast. There are no guards close enough to be an immediate threat, but there is a general hue and cry going up. Simply outrunning the guardsmen does not appear to be a long term solution.

As you enter Al-Imaan Street, Aronn reduces the horse’s pace to a moderate trot and calls for Ranar. Taking the opportunity while the carriage is relatively stable, Ranar scrambles to the driver’s bench, briefly checking on the pained (but not seriously injured) Nicolas as he goes.

Although the reduction in pace allows for much safer driving, it also permits the crowd of pursuing guardsmen to begin closing the distance once more. Shouted Arabic commands to halt and surrender come from many voices. Some of the guards are carrying crossbows, although none have yet been fired at you (probably due to a concern for hitting bystanders rather than any desire to make a “gentle” arrest).

Once Ranar reaches the driver’s platform, Aronn grins and hands over the reins as he looks back towards your pursuers.

“Here, take over for me…by the Eternal, there are a lot of them, aren’t there?”

“This just won’t do; time for plan B. Meet me back at the inn as soon as you can.”

With that, Aronn mutters something indistinct and vanishes. You feel the carriage suspension shift slightly, much as it would if someone had just leapt off the driver’s bench.

[PLAYER CUE: well?]

68

Blue Hawk

Hawk winces as he hears the grunt of pain from de Courcy as the Aralaise-man hauls the mine-man and all of the metal that he is wearing into the carriage. He’ll have to call upon the spirits to heal that injury, but it’s still better to not take care of that quite yet. It will further infuriate the guards, and for the moment, it looks like the guards are reacting more to the dramatic nature of their exit more than anything that they blame them for. And besides, there’s no harm in waiting, as the seem to be making their getaway quite handily…

Over the sound of clattering hooves, the shaman hears the raised voices of the guardsmen and realizes that he and the band of mercenaries are not, in fact, making their getaway. Hawk doesn’t have a very good sense of navigation within a city, but he thinks they’re still quite a distance away from the bridge, even if they take a more direct route than the one that brought them here. The guardsmen, on the other hand, are getting far too close. This might well become a fight, and they are currently down a warrior.

Well, that, at least, he can do something about, and the carriage is slowing, so he can actually do it. When the carriage slows, Hawk takes the opportunity to climb into the carriage and examine de Courcy. From the looks of it, the limb is damaged but not crippled, which is good, because the spirit-chant to restore function to a limb takes a moon to work fully, but a simple healing is nearly instant.

Kneeling beside de Courcy, he tells the Aralaise-man, “Think of someone lost, one who has laid kind hand on you in past. I will call their spirit to heal you.”

At about that point, Lord Arron vanishes, and Hawk represses the urge to mutter something scatological. Instead, he mutters a few words in his own language, translating to “Oh, one who has used the touch of their body to heal this man’s wounded spirit, now use the touch of your spirit to heal his wounded body.” He could say the same thing much more pleasingly to the spirits using his drum, but that is lying back at the inn, waiting for him.

[Pay 3 points from Power Stone to cast 8-HP Major Healing on deCourcy]

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69

Ranar Bolijyr

Ranar takes the reins and focuses on the road ahead. He starts to ask Aronn about plan B, but the old(?) elf has vanished before he can speak. Grumbling quietly about “flighty elves”, he looks around and takes stock of the situation.

His mind races, considering “‘Meet me back at the inn’, he says. That means getting across a bridge with a lot of guards. Our only chance is to do that before word of the commotion reaches the bridge. Of course, galloping full-tilt up to the bridge would alert the guards even if we got there first. But it’s not in sight yet.”

For the moment, Ranar urges the horses to speed up, but he’s none too certain that will be enough. If only we had some way to disguise ourselves and blend in.

70

Nicolas de Courcy

de Courcy, flat on his back in the carriage, clutches should and spits a quick stream of Aralaise curses through gritted teeth.

Suddenly the Northman is looming over him asking de Courcy to recall someone kind and gone.

His he immediately thinks of his grandmother, Sabine de Courcy, setting his wrist after he fell from a market place rooftop in Sauvons.

His friend Henri had dared de Courcy to grab a merchants banner.

‘I was such a dumb kid, good thing I’m so much smarter now’ he thinks. Despite the pain his lip twitches into a smile and he chuckles to himself.

Hawk mutters something de Courcy can’t understand, he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder. A soft, almost inaudible voice, whispers in his ear.
“You still do some stupid things, boy. But then if you were smart, you wouldn’t be a de Courcy. Better to regret something than do nothing eh?”

His arm tingling but functioning without pain, he stands and thanks Blue Hawk. Then leans out the side of the carriage to speak to Arron only to find him gone.
“Ce bâtard,” he mutters.
“Ranar, forget the bridge, it’ll be to heavily guarded. And they’ll be expecting it. Head to the narrowest part of the river, we’ll swim across, they won’t expect that,”

He ducks back into the carriage and looks at Morton and Blue Hawk, and quietly says to them.

“I hope one of you two can call on something to help with that… the guards won’t expect it because only mad bastards would try it.”

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71

Jibrīl Al-Las’as

Jibrīl climbs into the carriage, having had enough of hanging onto the back.

“Well, this is certainly exciting, no? I guess we are earning our coin”.

“And this carriage and all of you fellows are so very distinctive here in West Tredroy. Morton, is there perhap something you could do about that, if the opportunity were to arise?”

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72

Ranar Bolijyr

Ranar tilts his head and starts to answer de Courcy, but he’s too late, de Courcy’s already back in the carriage. Imagining trying to swim with his armor on, imagining leaving the horses behind… No way that would go well. “Do ye think I’m a f-fish? Do ye think this carriage is pulled by - by seahorses?” he shouts, shaking his head.

73

Nicolas de Courcy

De Courcy turns to the hooded rogue,

“It’ll certainly be a story,” he says with a grin before sticking his head back out of the carriage.

“Don’t worry, we have a mage, apparently. God provides, eh?”

Looking back into the compartment, he quietly asks the shaman and the odd fur clad elf,

“Magic could get us across, yes?”

He’d seen mages do some miraculous things, and as the Wazifi guards closed the noose de Courcy was certain they’d need a miracle to get out of this without blood.

“Everything’ll work out,” he yells back to Ranar. “Probably.”

74

Blue Hawk

Hawk listens to de Courcy’s idea and nods.

“Swimming good idea. Could keep Ranar alive under water, but that heavy, he’d have to walk. Don’t know if water-breath would last whole way.”

He thinks for a moment, and says:. “Better idea. De Courcy, you and I swim. Then this carriage become ‘not one they’re looking for.’”

Hawk indicated Ranar. “You are slave of Wazifi Lord,” pointing at Jibril. “We hide your armor; you are bad slave and do not speak Arabic.”

Hawk then indicated the crazy tree-man. "You are wife of Wazifi Lord. You clothe self so you are hidden. You are modest and do not speak until your husband says to. Husband will not say to speak.

“They look for five infidels and one Muslim to cross, not Muslim husband, wife, with infidel driver.”

Hawk looks at Morton. “Can you hide self in Muslim woman covering, hide armor with spell too?”

75

Jibrīl Al-Las’as

This is bold plan. I like bold plan. But - look behind us; pursuers. Many. How to get off without being spotted?

If we enter a tunnel, or lose pursuers, great. But then strange mage can disguise carriage as elephant and us as troupe of circus clowns.

Perhaps we just ride as fast as possible for bridge. If Hazi try to stop us crossing, we poke them with sharp bits of metal until they let us cross. Employer did not say he wanted carriage back. But it seems likely, no? I guess good condition would also be preferred? Perhaps not with spears and arrows stuck in it?

Perhaps we pick spot to make a stand? Close to river? Ranar rides on with carriage, crosses alone, others hold up pursuers, then swim across, or find other way?

76

Blue Hawk

A thought suddenly struck Hawk.

“Wait. We have done nothing wrong; we were hired to protect Lord Arron.”

Hawk gestured at the empty seat. “Our job is done. Lord Arron is safely home. Why can we not surrender, tell them that we are guards acting under Lord Arron’s orders?”

The shaman looked around. “I am not familiar with customs of this place. How likely do you think they will let us go if we surrender?”

77

Jibrīl Al-Las’as

Unsure that throwing ourselves on tender mercies of Hazi authorities will result in happy result.

More likely, torture, plus taking fall for whatever Arron did. And what did Arron do?

Time grows short, pursuers get closer. Can we speed up carriage?

78

@nimelennar @Daaksyde @Mitchell @William_George @daneel

GM SCENE/Morton

Looking back at a few of the Hazi guards beginning to raise and aim their crossbows, Ranar again whips the horses up to pace. The carriage thunders along the cobbles, but the long straight of Al-Imaan Street keeps it relatively stable for now.

Within the carriage Morton grins and raises his hands. Mouse-sized images of the party in a variety of bizarre and fanciful costumes rapidly flicker into existence and settle all around the carriage interior.

“Never fear, gentlemen (or ladies, if you prefer); just choose your fashion and I’ll have you dressed in a jiffy. Perhaps something like this?”

A brief flash of light and smoke fills the cabin, to reveal Morton transformed into a bizarre amalgam of every member of the party, wearing a parody of local women’s dress, striking a faux-seductive pose. The exaggeratedly grotesque elf-shaman-swashbuckler-bandit-dwarf drag queen blows a kiss to Jibrīl, grinning widely.

[PLAYER CUE: Morton can easily disguise all of you, and maintain the enchantment indefinitely. He can also disguise the carriage if necessary. However, if you turn the carriage into a pumpkin during a pursuit, people will notice (although Morton could do individual disguises inside the carriage without being seen). So: y’all need to come up with a plan, and tell me what it is. There are about five of 'em floating around upthread.

If you’re disguising, each of you need to tell me what as. If you’re getting out of view, you’ll also need to tell me how you’re doing that. There are approaching cross-streets and alleys that could provide a brief moment of privacy, or Morton could create a wide variety of distractions; a monster-sized illusion is not beyond his powers, either to distract the guards or obscure the carriage. Given the local culture, an obviously-supernatural illusion would be very attention-grabbing]

79

Nicolas de Courcy

“I like Hawk’s plan. It’s gloomy enough that with some seperation between us and the guards we can disappear and rich Wazifi and his household appears.”

“We take a cross street, once we’ve space, me and Hawk get out. The rest of you circle around in disguise and make your way to the bridge.”

80

Blue Hawk

Hawk nodded after de Courcy had finished speaking.

“Should work. But guards are close. Will need distraction to make sure guards not see carriage with bad people become carriage with good people.”

Hawk muses for a second, and then his face breaks out in a wide grin.

“Hazis do not like magic because they think it brings demons. I think false-sight of bringing a demon would be excellent distraction.”

81

Jibrīl Al-Las’as

Need no disguise here. However, much as I would like to get out of this carriage, I will play part of Wazifi carriage owner (no stretch, I am Wazifi who has owned carriages - but we should avoid Governor’s Bridge - ). But Ranar needs to be less…distinctive.

If Morton can create a distraction, and disguise Ranar, I think de Courcy and Blue Hawk should be able to make their own way back. Perhaps via North Tredroy?