We left off with Rust being saved by the arrival of a group led by Naris of the Raang clan, who calls out to her in his native tongue. I roll intelligence to see whether or not Rust would know this tongue. She only has one chance at this. If she doesn't succeed, she does not know their language. I roll against her Intelligence of 12: 5.

"Are you on the hunt? You seem to have bitten off more than you could chew," the large man calls. Even at this distance, Rust can see both his physique and the scar that runs over one eye.

"I was simply caught unaware. What are the Raang doing so far south? This is Enten territory."

"It was Enten territory. It is no longer, and has not been for some time. From what clan do you hail?"

Rust's answer is important here. If she claims that she's enten, or even worse, an exile, Naris will look at her suspiciously. If she lies, she might be in a more favorable position, assuming that she can speak the language and knows the customs. I consult my oracle on the matter, 'Will she lie?' with no being the likely answer, due to her Stubborn trait: No, but. She lies, but there's a catch...
"I'm of the Thaloc, the water people to the west. I search in hopes to find the Enten. Where are they?"

Naris accepts the lie on its face, but one of the others do not. The but to the last oracle will be that someone among the group, which mostly comprises mercenaries, will be Thaloc. I'll note this down for later.

"You are years too late, woman. The Enten have not walked freely on these grasslands in some time. If you would like, travel with us for a few days. We can bind up those wounds and tell you what happened to the Enten. I am Naris, follower of the Great Lion," Naris says.

"Rust." The sword on her back seems to laugh at her furrowed brow.

According to Whitehack rules, Rust will not regain any hitpoints until the band sets camp in the evening. I'll say that it's probably around noon, meaning that there's about 2 watches, or 4 hour periods, until evening. I'll roll for a random encounter on each watch, and a 1 on a d6 will trigger one. I roll for the first: 4. The watch goes on without a hitch as the large band travels north across the grasslands. I'll roll once more: 3. Perhaps the other inhabitants of the grasslands are wary of approaching such a big party. I should also roll a toughness check for Rust, as she will regain an extra hit point on success: 16, unfortunately a failure.

Gathered around a fire, Naris tells the sorrowful tale of the Enten.

" You would have been correct a few years ago. These plains used to be full of the Enten, with which you know my tribe never saw eye to eye with. Until they were gone over night. By the time any of the other tribes knew, the Enten had been attacked and captured by an evil never spoken of before."

"Who?" Rust asks.

"Kaothir of the 9 tongues. The enten were either killed or taken as slaves to her. She is a powerful sorcerer, though she has not done much since destroying the Enten. The remaining 8 clans of the grasslands have deliberated on what is to be done, but our elders fear that we shall face a similar fate. Cowards, they are."

This is a lot to take in for Rust. Someone else had stolen her revenge, taken the very thing she swore on her mother's name to do. Should she abandon her quest and return to the Lands to the South?

"Where is this Kaothir?" Rust asks, and is met by Naris' hearty laugh.

"She is no rhino, woman. I can see the bloodlust in your eyes, like a lion's gaze.
If you must know, she is in the mountains even further north than my own people, in a large black tower of her own creation. You would die before you even reached her tower, as those mountains are even more treacherous that her." He rubs his scar as he utters this last part.

The conversation dies down and is replaced by the merriment of drinkers. Rust stays quiet and alert. I'll give her a Charisma check to determine whether or not she notices a pair of eyes that stay on her throughout the night. I roll against her charisma of 13: 5.

The night dies down as all but one or two remain on guard. Rust is given her own tent, which she places slightly away from the rest of the camp. It will give her more privacy for what is to come. A figure approaches her tent, quietly. It slips into the tent, knife shining in the moonlight as it is drawn.

"Drop the knife," Rust says, sword already drawn and pointing towards the tent opening. The figure stops in its tracks, and though it is dark Rust can get a good look at it - her.

The figure speaks. But can Rust speak this language? Let's make our check against her intelligence of 12: 1.

"You look like no Thaloc I have ever seen before," the woman says in Thaloc. "And I believe that I know my own people well."

luckily, Rust can understand the language of the tribe whom she pretends to be part of. Will she continue the lie, or come clean? I consult the oracle: no.

"No, I am not one of your kin. You know the risks of being tribeless. I'm sorry for the insult." Rust moves to lower her sword, hoping that her opposite does the same. I'll roll a charisma check to see if her apology lands: a 3.

The woman sheathes her dagger, though there is still iron in her voice. "You are an exile, then? What was your crime? What was your tribe?"

Rust knows that she has to lie. There are few options to choose form, as exile is an extreme punishment. All are better than being demon-touched, though. She'll roll another charisma check, but this time she will have disadvantage due to her condition. I roll: 3 and 4. I wish I rolled this well in my normal games.

"Murder."

This was a pretty fun hour and a half-ish session. It seems that I don’t get a lot done per session, but playing in the way I do keeps me engaged throughout. I’ve tried “just” playing as if I was just simulating characters without any writing involved, but that typically doesn’t hold my interest very well.

I’ve made some changes to the format since last session. I’ve added different callouts now, color coded, for prep, play, and character notes. I’ll keep most of them minimized by default, to prevent them from breaking up the flow of the post.

Lastly, this new Thalocian needs to be rolled up. She spawned from the ‘but’ of the oracle roll when deciding whether or not Rust would lie. I’ll prep some minor details now, and then decide what I want to do with them next session. See you next time!