Thursday, July 19, 2012

Bujilli: Episode 34

Previously...
Bujilli re-worked some of his spells, and with the help of his Counsel, he came up with a way to remove the worms from Sharisse. Knowing that would never be enough in itself, Bujilli then modified Sharisse on a very deep level, using things he'd learned in the course of casting Tsannic as well as other spells to make her biology anathema to the parasites. He took away not only her need for the worms, but her ability to ever host the things ever again. Sharisse was pure poison to the worms now, which made her completely free of their influence. But doing this took a lot out of Bujilli. He only barely was able to kick Sharisse out into the street to get on with building a new life for herself when...
Bang!

Blackness. The overpoweringly sweet stench of decomposition assaulted his nostrils like a whirlwind of tiny toxic knives coated in gritty sugar.

Bujilli shifted position. It was hard to move. Why was his left arm stiff? Ow! It was sore, too. He was bound, tied-down...no...wounded...bandaged. Everything shifted again. His heels were dragging through garbage and across cobblestones. Backwards.

He was being carried. Dragged. Really.

He tried to open his eyes. It didn't do any good. Darkness surrounded him. He could feel sorcery in the dark--this was a deliberate thing. Whomever was dragging him around was trying to obscure the trail, or at least get where they were going unobtrusively.

His lips were parched. Dry. Bujilli lay back on the make-shift travois and took stock of his personal situation. He did not remember getting wounded. the last thing he could recall was slumping down next to the big table in Unfred's kitchen and Leeja coming over to stand close to him. Too close. Then nothing.

His tulwar had been left hooked to his belt. The well-worn old handle felt comforting in his hand. What kind of a fool leaves a prisoner armed, even if they are bandaged and unconscious? Idiots.

Bang!

Something struck the travois just above Bujilli's head.

They were being shot at by whomever was following them. either their attackers could see through the Darkness or they were firing blindly, hoping to hit something, anything that might prove vital or at least damaging. Sloppy. It was the kind of thing that people raised to fire-arms were wont to do. They grew lazy. It was almost as if they thought that the loud noise and smoke were all it took to kill things, not accuracy, not skill. True enough, even a peasant scared out of their wits could fire a gonne and have a chance to hit, kill or maim an opponent, no matter how little skill or what minimal training they might have had...but still...it bothered him. He had been raised to use a bow. To practice for hours every day until he could reliably put food on the table. Or defend himself. But that was an after-thought, a consequence that his uncle just ignored, like he tended to ignore a lot of other things.

Bang!

Bujilli stirred himself into action. His muscles ached. He was still exhausted from his intense spell-working upon Sharisse. He wouldn't be able to make even a faint glimmer of a spark for a wile. His reserves were tapped. But he had his tulwar. He wished he had brought along his bow, but it was back in his rooms. He didn't think that he'd need his bow. Apparently he had been wrong.

He lay back down on the travois. Even if he had the bow, he wasn't strong enough to string it, let alone draw it back and hope to hit anything. His hands were shaky. He was still really, really tired.

He almost fell back to sleep.

Bang!

The travois jostled, jumped, turned and lurched as whomever was dragging it along entered a narrow alley-way. Filthy water splashed. Small things scampered and scurried away from them, possibly rats, maybe mice, hopefully nothing worse. Somewhere overhead rough shutters slammed into place. If anything it got darker. Colder. They say that Winter tended to linger in the Low Streets.

They turned another corner. Again, only this time they nearly over-turned. Bujilli almost slid off the thing as the travois-puller over compensated.

SNAP!

Bujilli tumbled across reeking masses of unidentifiable garbage until a rough wall unkindly stopped him abruptly.

He forced himself to get to his feet. It was difficult. He had to use the wall and almost climbed up it in order to get vertical again. This was going to be a very short fight.

The wrecked travois clattered to the other side of the alley. It was still too close. Much too close. This was a tight spot.

"This way." Unfred grabbed Bujilli by the arm and fairly dragged him further down the alley...


What should Bujilli do now?

Who is following him and...Unfred?

Why are they shooting?

Should Bujilli attempt to make a break for it?

Or should he go along with Unfred?

Where is Leeja?
We're going to need a few good dice rolls for what's coming next...

...and as always...

You Decide!


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Series Indexes
One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Six


About Bujilli (What is This?) | Who is Bujilli? | How to Play

Bujilli's Spells | Little Brown Journals | Loot Tally | House Rules

Episode Guides
Series One (Episodes 1-19)
Series Two (Episode 20-36)
Series Three (Episodes 37-49)
Series Four (Episodes 50-68)
Series Five (Episodes 69-99)
Series Six(Episodes 100-ongoing)

Labyrinth Lord   |   Advanced Edition Companion

11 comments:

  1. I think Bujilli should at least tenatively go with Unfred until he can get a better handle of what's going on--but he's got to stay aware and if he sees an oppurtunity to gain greater safety than what Unfred's providing, or if Unfred seems to be blundering into greater danger, Bujilli's got to look at for himself!

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  2. Being what seems to be off-campus and quite frankly not the best part of any town makes me really nervous. Moving into a Winter region in Wermspittle ("They say that Winter tended to linger in the Low Streets." above), based on what Bujilli's heard so far, cannot be a good thing.

    Does Counsel record / remember events when Bujilli's unconscious? What can it do to fill in the gaps for Bujilli? Where's Leeja? What happened to her? Who bandaged his wound? What route has Unfred been taking? Who are his pursuers (at least prior to the Darkness spell)?

    Bujilli should not go any farther without some answers, either from Counsel or from Unfred.

    I rolled 5d20s and got 20, 17, 14, 16, 11.

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  3. Bujilli should definitely stick with Unfred, at least for now. If Unfred wanted him dead, he would already be dead. He doesn't know where he is or what happened to him, and should take any tales of that time with a grain of salt. Right now, he needs some help until he can get somewhere safe, and hopefully Hedrard or Gnosiomandus, if he knows anything, may intervene. Counsel may help as well, but Bujilli has to buy some time. It seems everyone wants to know the new guy in town, or want him dead. Since Unfred apparently in the latter category, he's the best bet at the moment.

    Have to disagree with Entirely Too Perky on one count - it may not be the right time to get answers while the hot lead (or whatever) is flying.

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  4. Bujilli should get away from the guns as soon as possible. Ffinding a door that is unlocked or easily broken into, and ducking nto a building for more cover seems like the best idea to me right now. I also agree that querying the Counsel about what just happened (not just where is Leeja but also what does IT know about who is shooting and why) is in order as soon as Bujilli gets to cover.

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  5. @Rob L--You're right, I wasn't as clear as I should have been. :) Bujilli should not stop at this instant with all of the bullets flying. Unfred having taken him off-campus concerns me is all. If he has good intentions he could have taken Bujilli to Hedrard since he knows she vouches for Bujilli. Taking Bujilli away potentially risks her displeasure as well, depending on the circumstances.

    @John Till--I like the "third option" you've suggested. If there's a way for him to go that throws his pursuers and Unfred that might be best.

    Can Bujilli query Counsel without stopping, since it's an internal dialogue?

    I rolled 3 more d20s and got 10, 20, 11.

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  6. Okay, a few observations/clarifications based on comments so far:

    1) Unfred has a definite destination in mind.
    2) Unfred is Not Bujilli's Friend. this is abundantly clear even without Counsel getting involved. Whatever Unfred is intending for Bujilli, it is Not In his best interests.
    3) They are indeed off-campus and this is not a nice part of town by any stretch of the imagination.
    4) counsel can be interacted with, but like the TV gameshow Jeopardy, until there is a definite question, there is no definite answer.
    5) Yes, Bujilli can hold an internal dialogue with his Counsel and yes he can attempt to do so without stopping. Of course this will mean he is splitting his attention a bit and he might miss something, based upon a roll or two of the handy-dandy D20s.
    6) There is only one unlocked door located farther down the alley. It is Unfred's destination.

    Hope that helps. Oh, and there are clearly at least two shooters coming up from behind, one of whom is firing from the roof-tops, the other one is at street-level.

    There are a few writhing strands of white hairs wrapped tightly around the fingers of Bujilli's left hand.

    Unfred is wounded. Sweating profusely. Wide-eyed. He reeks of corruption and there is a glistening greasiness to his skin that Bujilli recognizes from Lemuel back around Episode 22, onward. Unfred is in a bad way. Really Bad.

    Bujilli knows without a doubt that his life is in dire peril.

    The sign above the unlocked door?
    A Butcher Shop.

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  7. If he has an opening, he might jump Unfred and turn the tables on him. If not, he should just make his escape.

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  8. It would seem that Bujilli's kindness so far has been mistaken for weakness.
    First, Does Bujilli have anything like a healing potion/pep pills on him? He should take it/them.

    If feeling alert enough - Can Bujilli still cast the horrible digestion spell without losing consciousness? Perhaps a demonstration of the horribleness he is capable of would be worthwhile. If not, plying his sword skill might be in order - on Unfred's unaware back. If possible getting behind Unfred and letting him soak up fire might be a good tactical move.

    Of course a simple escape would do the trick if Bujilli is barely awake, plus Unfred has a bullet and white powder in him, which should limit his ability.
    Escape and seeing if the shooters follow him or Unfred is a start. If Unfred follows Bujilli can assert his manly character with his Tulwar and/or some revolting spell.

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  9. @Trey: All the doors but one are locked. (see previous comments). The opposite direction leads to the shooters. One is above on the rooftops. One is on foot in the street. Tactically, it is a tight spot. Unfred is wobbly. Feverish. Saturated with a White Powder derivative. He is unsteady, erratic. But he can be talked to, he might be goaded into revealing something. The amulet that Hedrard gave to Bujilli in Episode 26 is still working. Oh, and the writhing white hairs? There is no doubt that they came from Leeja...and they are quite lively.

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  10. @Gibbering Mouther: Maybe, maybe not. Bujilli still does not know what exactly happened and the one thing that is becoming quite clear is that Unfred is not only hostile and dragging him through an alley with bad intent, there was definitely some sort of ambush involved.

    Bujilli's Immunological Protocol/Regeneration is in effect and he is healing quickly. Such healing will require that he get rest and a good amount of food to rebuild/replace lost blood, etc. His condition is stable, indeed he woke-up far sooner than expected and his increasing resistance to the aerosol poison used against him by Unfred seems to have been a desperate gamble for nothing--Unfred has managed to toxify himself, and only managed to knock-out Bujilli for a very short while. Long enough to get this far, but not all the way into the shop.

    Yes, this stinks of a set-up. Unfred was arranging this while Bujilli & Leeja were first attacked and his door was locked. He means no good. He is well past any attempt at deception now. He's well past the point of no-return as well.

    Bujilli's spell-casting is still hazed-out and drained to a minimum by the serious spell-hacking he did to clear Sharisse of her parasitical masters in Episode 33. If pushed, Bujilli can burn hit points to cast spells, but that's a dangerous gambit. But hey, it's already pretty unsafe right now, so maybe that's exactly the right choice to make.

    Casting Zymurgic Disgestion is possible (it will cost 1d4 hp/level of spell, plus a Save vs spells to not take double damage), and is a very inspired choice--say the word, roll the save and let me know the results and Unfred is effectively eliminated from this situation (reduced to something amorphous and gross, and possibly he might return again another day, but he'd be out of the picture for the immediate future).

    Jabbing Unfred with the tulwar might do some damage, but the big guy is morphing into a gooey, off-white mess very similar to what happened with Lemuel from around Episode 23 onward, due to the cumulative effects of Hard Candy. It might not be so good to get that close to what is quickly becoming a Loathsome Mass.

    Getting behind Unfred and using his bulky form for cover is easy to accomplish. The big guy is running out of time and as ong as Bujilli stays out of his reach, Unfred makes a thoroughly effective bullet-catching mechanism.

    It might just be possible to use Unfred as a distraction, as well as a bullet-catcher, in order for Bujilli to attempt an escape. The choices are fairly simple--Go Up by climbing the wall (fairly easy); Go Out the end of the alley (very dangerous); Go Forward into the Butcher Shop and force a fight 9Unknown, but assumed Really Bad); Go Left/Right and attempt to force a locked door (again Unknown)--there's no time to try and pick any locks this time out. Again, there *might* be a spell worth the hit point cost to end this, possibly. But as with all such things, it is how these things get used that matters most--how can Bujilli best use his resources to get out of this mess?

    One other observation; Bujilli was raised in a harsh environment and taught to never stay the prey; always find a way to become the hunter. In that regard, perhaps his uncle did him something of a favor. Perhaps.

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  11. I like the idea of Bujilli going up (climbing the wall) to get away from Unfred and potentially get out of the Darkness spell. Bujilli may not be the shooters' target, they may be trying to hit Unfred to stop him from taking Bujilli.

    Specific query for Counsel: Show Bujilli the safest and quickest route (in Bujilli's current physical condition) for him to climb up and away from all currently known sources of danger / attack.

    If all the way up isn't good an "up and over" to get behind Unfred and use him as a shield would probably work.

    I used the Dice Roller on the page above to roll 5d20s and got 20, 20, 16, 15, 12.

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