The road gets worse with every mile. In the distance you notice a figure coming your way. At a hundred paces you see it is a hunter.
Do you
- Ask the hunter for directions?
- Ask him about any dangers ahead?
- Just say hello as you pass each other?
“You are on the road from Varnhome to Daspota — and a lonesome road it is. Hardly anyone uses it these days.”
“Oh yes. You should avoid Daspota. The place is completely inhabited by pirates. They’re such a danger that the Hetman himself is thinking of leading an expedition there to clean the place up. The best you can expect there is to be beaten up, robbed of all your possessions and kicked out. It’s a horrid place!”
Wild Cattle
It seems to be the trail of wild cattle, leading from the watering hole into the open forest. You follow the trail for a good three hours, often battling your way through the thick undergrowth, until you reach a clearing where a proud bull is grazing.
The auroch seems to have caught your scent. It is pawing the ground nervously and shifting position. Suddenly it is gone — disappearing between the trees.
Do you
The bull keeps grazing peacefully without paying much attention to the surrounding forest. Who shall try to get into position for a killing shot?
[NAME] sneaks closer, stands up and fires two arrows in rapid succession at the surprised animal…
What a shot! With a final roar, the bull jumps and crashes to the ground as if hit by lightning. [NAME] certainly deserves praise for that: this animal will feed you all for days.
One of the arrows hits the aurochs! With a loud roar it turns and flees into the forest.
Do you
Firun is frowning upon [NAME] today: both arrows miss their target. The surprised bull turns to flee.
Do you
- Pursue the animal?
- Turn back and continue your journey?
The trail of the aurochs is impossible to miss, but even so the animal seems to have vanished into thin air. After two hours you break off the search and walk back to the road.
Bridge
You reach a small stream. Its bed forms a deep cut through the landscape. Where you had expected to find a small bridge there is only debris now. I guess the rains up in the stony oak forest were so hard that the floods ripped the bridge apart. The stream is still white and full of rapids. It won’t be easy to cross, let alone swim.
Do you
- Look for an easier place to cross?
- Improvise a bridge?
After a detour of at least six miles you find a spot where you can jump across the stream without danger, and about two hours later you are back on the road from Tjoila to Breida.
Good thought. Pity you haven’t the tools for it.
Your construction does not look particularly trustworthy, but I guess it’ll do the job. Who dares to cross this “bridge” first?
With some thick tree limbs, two long ropes and a lot of effort you manage to erect something vaguely resembling a bridge and cross over to the far bank.
[NAME] takes an early bath when one of the improvised boards gives way. It is touch and go for a while, but you finally save [NAME] from drowning! You decide to secure anyone crossing the bridge with ropes from now on. You finally manage to cross safely and can continue on your way.
Large animals at Roval
[NAME] asks you to stop. Supposedly there are some large animal tracks on the other side of the Roval, but no one other than [NAME] can see them.
Do you
- Ignore it and march on?
- Investigate?
You’ll have to swim across the river to do that.
Do you
- Swim across fully encumbered?
- Build a small raft for your equipment first?
- Decide to forget about it after all?
[NAME] has safely reached the other side.
[NAME] can barely stay above water. Coughing and gasping, [NAME] pulls up on dry land on the other side.
After everyone has managed to cross the river, you find that there are indeed tracks of some large wild cattle visible in the wet mud. And that’s not all: there is a path going east into the woods.
Do you
- Follow the path?
- Or swim right back?
Boy, you must be filthy to need so many baths!
The path continues on the other side of the Roval.
Do you
You all reach the other side of the river. A path runs along the water here.
Do you go
- North?
- South?
You all manage to cross the water. A path runs east from here.
Corpse
Only a few steps beside the path you see a human body lying in the bushes — or rather, the sad remains of a body.
Do you
- Examine the body closer?
- Leave the vultures their due?
Apparently, this unfortunate wandering man became the victim of predators. Not an uncommon occurrence in this area.
Looking through his packs, you find:
There is nothing left to take here besides some decaying bones!
Overgrown Path
[NAME] has noticed an overgrown path running west into the forest.
Do you
- Explore it?
- Keep marching?
Just a few paces onward the path becomes easily negotiable. Only rarely do you need to hack at the undergrowth with your weapons.
Do you
- Continue along the path?
- Return to the Kravik-Skelellen road?
Here two paths meet.
Do you go
- West?
- North?
- East?
Wild Pigs
After your rest, you notice animal tracks right next to your campsite. They seem to have been made by a troop of wild pigs.
Do you
- Track them?
- Gather your things and leave?
The trail leads away from the river towards some woody hills. It is impossible to miss: the animals have dug out turnips along the way or grazed on some tasty bush every now and then. After about one hour you see a dell in the forest where a boar is frolicking with a sow and some piglets.
As you approach, the animals leave their cover and disappear into the forest with a lot of noise.
Do you
You can approach unnoticed. Who will sneak closer to kill one or more of the pigs?
Carefully, [NAME] edges closer, stands up and fires two arrows in quick succession at the unsuspecting wild pigs…
Good going! The boar rears up and collapses in agony, kicking and screaming. The sow and piglets flee in panic.
One of the piglets is hit by an arrow and falls dead to the ground. The other pigs flee into the forest.
Do you
Firun is not with [NAME] today: both arrows miss their target. The panicked animals runs away.
Do you
- Pursue the pigs?
- Turn back and travel on?
The animals left a distinctive trail, but despite your best efforts, you cannot catch them. After two hours you finally give up and return to the coastal road.
[Of the Bodir | Of the Hjaldorval]
Orcish Lands Skull
Here the road ends. You have reached the orcish lands, a wild and uncharted area beyond all civilization.
To make sure you understand this, the orcs have set a border sign: a skull stares at you through empty sockets…
A large fen opens up before you and has swallowed up the road completely. The ground is treacherous and you occasionally find yourself wading in the brackish waters of the Bodir up to your hips. After half an hour you can no longer tell in what direction you are marching.
You finally reach the edge of the fen. You are quite far from the banks of the Bodir, but after an hour of straight marching, you can see a few old milestones sticking out of the ground.
You are back on the Bodir road.
Brackish Flood
The vegetation gets steadily denser, but you are almost certain you’re moving parallel to the bank.
At least until you come face to face with the brackish flood of the river when (standing in water up to your chest) you are finally forced to admit your mistake. You try your level best to reverse course, and in the end manage to clamber back onto solid ground totally exhausted and soaked to the bone.