Frog Scout
The hulking minotaur is slow. He carries treasure. If I trip him, the crate will shatter and the prize will be mine to drag back to the tribe.
Frog Scout
Cornered bull. Drop the heavy box. Give it to us, and we let you keep your horns.
Harold Blackhoof
They want the eggs, but they do not know what lies inside the hold. I am not letting them cross this threshold.
Harold Blackhoof
You picked the wrong door to knock on, little hunter.
Harold Blackhoof lunges forward, not away, slamming his armored shoulder into the iron gate to swing it wide, creating a narrow funnel that denies the scouts a wide approach.
Harold Blackhoof
With the gate half open, I can force them into the mud and keep the eggs behind my back.
+ Scene Quest Added
Defeat the frog scouts
“I lock the gate behind and yell for the hold to respond”
SUCCESS (Great Strength, rolled +2)
Harold Blackhoof
The weight of the gate is nothing compared to the weight of failure. I have to secure this passage before the scouts swarm the inner yard.
Harold Blackhoof
Get inside, everyone! Bar the inner doors and sound the alarm!
With a grunt of exertion that rattles the stone frame, Harold Blackhoof wrenches the massive iron gate back into place.
He slides the rusted deadbolt home, the metal groaning as it seats perfectly, locking the jungle out of the Brass Shield.
Frog Scout
The gate is locked! He thinks wood and iron will stop the swamp, but our kin are already scaling the walls.
Harold Blackhoof
They are climbing the outer towers. I can hear the scratching of claws against the masonry above me. How many of them are really out there?
“I head for the center tower of the hold”
FAILURE (Good Athletics, rolled -2)
Harold Blackhoof
The center tower will give me the high ground, a clear shot to pick off those climbing the walls before they reach the battlements.
Harold Blackhoof lunges toward the central spiral stair, but the torrential rain turns the courtyard into a slide of slick mud and loose shale.
Harold Blackhoof
Not now, you cursed ground.
His massive hooves lose purchase, his legs buckling as he slams hard into the stone plinth at the base of the tower. The air is knocked from his lungs.
Frog Scout
Look at the giant stumble. He falls like an injured beast. Strike now, brothers, while he is prone in the mire.
Harold Blackhoof
My ribs ache, and the mud is thick in my nostrils. I am wide open to the scouts raining down from the ramparts. Do I scramble for my pistol and fire blind, or throw my weight into a desperate roll toward the inner hold?
“I press harded to the hold”
SUCCESS (Superb Agility, rolled +2)
Harold Blackhoof
Stumble, recover, or die. The mud will not claim me today.
Harold Blackhoof ignores the protest of his bruised ribs, channeling his immense strength into a singular, explosive heave against the muck.
Harold Blackhoof
Not today, you vermin.
With the grace of a mountain predator, he pivots on his heels, turning his slip into a powerful, sliding momentum that carries him toward the inner sanctum door.
Frog Scout
He moves! Cut him down before he breaches the inner iron! Throw your spears!
A flurry of barbed iron whistles through the rain, biting into the stone and wood just inches from Harold Blackhoof's shoulder as he slams his back against the heavy door, breath ragged and pistol drawn.
“I fire my pistol at the lead frog-man and then enter the hold locking the door”
SUCCESS (Great Ranged Combat, rolled +2)
Harold Blackhoof
The iron sights align through the downpour. My hands are steady, despite the ache in my chest.
Frog Scout
The big cow falters! Take his head!
Harold Blackhoof squeezes the trigger. The thunder of the black powder charge erupts, cutting through the torrential rain with a flash of orange fire.
The lead frog scout is thrown backward, the heavy lead ball finding its mark with surgical precision before the creature can even raise its spear.
Harold Blackhoof
Stay back, or join him in the dirt.
Harold Blackhoof slips inside the sanctum, the heavy timber groaning as he throws his weight against it, sliding the iron bolt home just as a wave of frog-folk spears thud against the wood.
Quest Complete
Defeat the frog scouts
Attribute Upgrade: Agility Superb→Legendary