CA 3: Clawford

<Nick|GM> https://pastebin.com/sn26tMA4
<Nick|GM> <Claw|Bastien> "Look like that's the initiation.  I'd say that staying here until he comes back certainly count as dangerous." He grabs the bag and opens it to see what's inside. What Marce left could tell them a bit more about what was expected of them, like how long they would have to wait... He doesn't know what would be worse, seeing food in there, or not seeing food in there. ||
<Nick|GM> <Nick|GM> The bag has food in it, thankfully. It's similar fare to their lunch.
<Nick|GM> <Nick|GM> There's also a gallon of water and blankets, thankfully. It's a heavy bag for its size.
<Nick|GM> <Nick|GM> "So, what now?" Cecelia asks. She looks like she's a hair away from panicking. ||
* Teller (uid168329@charlton.irccloud.com) has joined
* ChanServ gives channel operator status to Teller
* Clawford is now known as Claw|Bastien
<Claw|Bastien> ...
<Claw|Bastien> Bastien feels a little numb, they were really going to have to wait all night. This was... almost unbelievable."We make ourselves comfortable I guess because it looks like we'll be waiting for a while." Despite his legs' protest he stands up again and walks around the clearing, taking in the limits of the area they could stay in. Food, water, blankets for warmth... how cold would the night be? He has no idea on how to make a fire if
<Claw|Bastien> their blankets aren't enough... ||
<Nick|GM> The clearing is quite large, maybe 80 meters in diameter. It's almost unnaturally round, with the transition from dense forest to no trees at all taking place within a few steps. The ground here is thankfully fairly flat, with a few large boulders sticking up from the ground in the clearing. They're in a saddle, with two directions being uphill and the other two being downhill. The sun is high in the sky, and while its warmth is quite
<Nick|GM> sufficient to warm them for now, Bastien suspects that the night will not be so forgiving. It should be bearable with just the blankets, but in no way comfortable.
<Nick|GM> Cecelia takes one of the blankets and lays it on a grassy patch of ground. She then lies down on it without saying a word.
<Nick|GM> Delia looks around. "Can we start a fire? I don't know if we can get enough wood without technically leaving the clearing, even." ||
<Claw|Bastien> "I'm not sure but... Do you have matches? Because personally, I don't know how to start a fire without one..." He looks around for dead wood anyway, it gave him something to do and despite the possible harsh conditions ahead he worried that they would get bored soon enough if they didn't find something to do... ||
<Nick|GM> "No, why would I have matches? I had no idea we were coming out here," she says.
<Nick|GM> "I don't know how either, I guess," she admits. "Cecelia?"
<Nick|GM> "No," Cecelia says. "I don't know."
<Nick|GM> Bastien looks around for any suitable firewood just in case. There are some scattered sticks, but nothing substantial. ||
<Claw|Bastien> ...
<Claw|Bastien> Bastien shrug. "We all have our quirks, I always have a sewing kit on me but that's hardly useful here." He bends down to pick a few of the sticks. "I don't think there is enough firewood anyway."  It look like until tonight their greatest enemy will be boredom... ||
<Claw|Bastien> ((gotta go eat dinner))
<Nick|GM> ((cool))
<Nick|GM> ...
<Nick|GM> "Fuck," Delia says.
<Nick|GM> Cecelia's head snaps to point at Delia. The curse must have caught her by surprise.
<Nick|GM> ||
* vanderhuge has quit (Quit: Connection closed for inactivity)
<Claw|Bastien> ...
* Thepicheese has quit (Quit: Connection closed for inactivity)
<Claw|Bastien> The curse also takes Bastien by surprise but he's too polite to comment on Delia's slip. Their situation was worrying but so far they were not in any direct danger. They were merely exposed to danger. There was nothing they could do about that though. Sighing he take a blanket and roll it into a pillow, sitting back against the boulder closest to the other two. He's run out of other ideas. They only had the content of the bag, a few
<Claw|Bastien> sticks, some big stones, the grass of the clearing... If boredom was their only problem he could have made some crude dolls. As is thought he was reluctant to sacrifice his blanket for entertainment. He takes the doll in his pocket out and start to examine it, looking for any light repair work, even if he knew he took care enough that his creation didn't suffer from much wear and tear. ||
<Nick|GM> ...
<Nick|GM> There's what looks like the beginning of a loose thread on the neck area, but it's nothing major. As Bastien fiddles with the doll, Delia comes over to him and similarly sits against the rock, sans blanket-pillow.
<Nick|GM> "What's that there?" she asks. ||
<Claw|Bastien> "One of my creations." He answers, showing her the doll so she can get a better look, thankful that a conversation is potentially starting to distract him. "My family is involved in most of the textile and tailoring in Hedsmouth so I got interested in sewing. I like making dolls like this one, you can really decide what they'll become." This one was a small model, with thin limbs and long hair. It was dressed fashionably like a courtier,
<Claw|Bastien> with a small rapier made of wood at his side. ||
<Nick|GM> She runs her fingers through her hair. "That's cool. Do you sell them?" ||
<Claw|Bastien> "Not yet, I'm still getting better. But I will. You like that one?" ||
<Nick|GM> "Yeah," she says. "How long did it take?" ||
<Claw|Bastien> "Mmm..." He did not remember precisely every creation but he could make an informed guess from the finished product. "Not counting the planning and the selection of the fabrics, a few hours to get the main body and the hair right, a few hours for the clothing and accessories... About an afternoon in total, to get all the details done." ||
* soulpelt|sleep is now known as soulpelt|
<Nick|GM> "What did you use for the sword? Did you carve it?" ||
<Claw|Bastien> "Yes, it's wood, I'm not very used to working with it but I took my time and I got it right in the end. I carved a rough shape and then filed down the rest. That was tricky but sometimes I don't have any other choice for an accessory." ||
<Nick|GM> ...
<Nick|GM> She sniffs. "So, what are we going to do now? Wait here? I have to say I'm not a huge fan of that idea." ||
<Claw|Bastien> Bastien put the doll back in his pocket, minor repairs would wait. "Maybe that's the point. Putting us in this situation where anything could happen, to stir our magic powers. And I don't have any other idea. We can't leave, we can't prepare anything for the night... They gave us blankets so we can't get too cold but we don't have any tool to make the place more comfortable. Or defend ourselves for that matter." Unless the point was to
<Claw|Bastien> disobey direct orders but given the threat of expulsion he wasn't inclined to try. ||
<Nick|GM> ...
<Nick|GM> "I'm kind of worried. Are all the other groups doing the same thing?" ||
<Claw|Bastien> "I hope so. If we're the only ones I'll be disappointed. I mean, why would we be the only one subjected to this? " ||
<Nick|GM> "Well, maybe they're doing different dangerous things? There can't be too many weird clearings like this, right?" ||
<Claw|Bastien> "I don't know, maybe this clearing was made speciffically for this. It's almost perfectly round and it's very easy to see the limits... All the guides had backpacks like Marce's too so I think they probably contained the same things, boots for us, lunch, and a bag to stay in the clearing..." Boots. Hadn't given them much thought even though he'd been wearing them for half a day. But they had been given to them too. Maybe he'd missed
<Claw|Bastien> something as he put them on? Some kind of detail to give them a clue? He looks at them more carefully, just in case. ||
<Nick|GM> ((roll a d6))
<Claw|Bastien> $roll 1d6
<[ATM]> Claw|Bastien [6]  = 6
<Nick|GM> Bastien thoroughly inspects the shoes. They're of good construction, decently fashionable, and they definitely match his foot size. The only thing out of the ordinary is the initials on each boot. They've obviously custom to some extent. ||
<Nick|GM> -||
<Nick|GM> "What, you think the boots might be a clue?" Delia asks. ||
<Claw|Bastien> "I'm not eliminating any possibility at this point. Worse case scenario I'll be distracted for a little while as I try to figure out if it's some kind of riddle. They didn't give us much and the boots are one of the things they gave us. It made sense because we had to walk a lot but maybe there was another reason too, otherwise why not just tell us to bring our own?" He thinks about it. "Marce gave us two rules. Don't hurt each other,
<Claw|Bastien> and don't leave. I get that they would be able to tell if we had fought but how can they know if we left at some point? They would have to be watching our every move somehow... Maybe I'm overthinking this." ||
<Nick|GM> "Well, maybe Marce didn't actually go all that far away? Or maybe they won't be able to tell, but I don't exactly want to test it. Imagine getting expelled from Caverswall after being accepted. We'd be disgraced." ||
* Sidezero has quit (Quit: Connection closed for inactivity)
<Claw|Bastien> "Yeah, I'm not confident enough in my theory to test it either." He sighs and leans back against the stone. "Waiting is the safest option by far." ||
<Nick|GM> "Well, I guess it's not like I haven't been bored before," she says, "but it would be nice to be doing something, at least. Do you know any games or anything?" ||