By Sir Tao Ya Kang (James Murphy)
My memories have been different over the last year or three. Sometimes I must use magic to retain what I think I did, sometimes not even that works. But I get these flashes of memory, things that I did? Places I went? I am not sure, they feel like memories, but why have I forgotten them?
We are in the dark, but five parallel
lines glow pale white in the dark along the ground. My bow is in my hand. The
bag of arrows at my side, I know them by feel, I know which will destroy armor,
which will kill with just a scratch. I have marked them each with my light
spell. Sometimes it’s difficult to recover them in the dark. I don’t use them
often in the dark, but the danger seems to be all around us.
The front-line moves, I would not
want to be them. All the armor, the gear the long weapons, that is not how a
hunter fights. Making all that noise, just makes yourself a target. We quickly
find a barrier with some kind of puzzle. I am not good at them, so I fade back
a bit, always better not to be a target up front.
I hope to make some money on this
quest, the crops have not been good for several years, and the rent and taxes
are due. It feels like the farm, this land, this country is cursed. I don’t
remember if we were hired for this, or just stumbled into doing something. Either
or both are possible; but I must find a way to get paid.
We are moving along the lines, a
lone note that sounds like it comes from the mouth of hell, full of brass and
sound. While I could hear it easily. It sounds likes it comes from far away.
Suddenly non-human shapes in black
start to attack us. Without being able to recover arrows I pull my katana, it does
not have the reach of the fighters in the front, but it would do. Sometimes I
can land a lucky shot. I make sure its sharp whipping the blade with my cloth.
We are trapped within the lines, but
the shapes are not. They attack us all up and down the lines from both sides.
The fighters can’t be everywhere several of the party go down before we even
knew what was happening. I gravitated mostly to the middle, but my left side
had a fighter, so I moved a bit to the right. This put me directly on one of
the lines. At first, I thought I was hiding as the shapes stopped attacking me.
But soon others noted that they were not attacked if they were on the same
line. Soon everyone was standing on the same line. Once everyone was either
dead or on that line the shapes disappeared.
With
some break from combat, I hoped that someone in the front was working on the puzzle.
while we were waiting a few of the pluckier adventures experiment with what
happens when they leave the line. Fortunately the shapes do not re-appear. We
breath a sigh of relief. After someone in the front solves it the barrier goes
down we start pushing forward again.
The
lines continue into the darkness, some in the front move forward and find
another barrier, another puzzle. once again from the darkness a single solitary
note, a little closer this time. Even with how the first note triggered the
shapes to attack we were surprised when they materialized out of the darkness. I
quickly went to the same line, and once again they did not attack me. We have
got this we just need to stay on this line. Once again someone solves the
puzzle the barrier goes down. We move on.
Now we
are all on that line, we are ready, a note sounds, a little closer? But? its,
different? The shapes appear and start attacking us. That line is no longer our
protection. we dodge back and forth, and I find that I am not attacked if I am
on second line from the left this time. but while I was figuring this out there
took a blow to the back. Fortunately, my cloak protected me.
In the next
section, the same line was safe again. This might be the pattern; Two to the
right, then two to the left. But the next section it was not the safe place. With
a flurry of activity everybody tried different things, it was quickly figured
out that those in the space all the way to the left were not getting attacked. Once
we knew which lane to be in the shapes disappeared.
Now we
had it, and we did several rounds of; solve the puzzle, enter the new area,
spread out, wait for the note, find the line of safety. Sometimes it’s the gaps
between, sometimes it’s the lines. As we understand the secret, we get better.
They make sure that each line and space is covered by someone who can take the
hit. I am volunteered due to my magical cloak. I don’t like this; this is a job
for hero’s, not a hunter trying to make some money.
We
finally get to what can only be the final puzzle, it’s a board with 5 lines, we
also find these round dots that look like they fit either on the lines or in
the spaces between. Someone finally gets the idea of matching up the different
segments that we went through in order.
“The first note was a G, two from
the right, and again the same.”
“Then we went two to the left so
that would be a D.”
I am
glad someone knows something about how music is written. I can play my tin
whistle, and if I hear a song, I might be able to recreate it, but have no idea
of why they keep talking about face, and why kids deserve fudge.
Once the
puzzle is solved, we enter a large area. In the center is a large person with
lots of armor. They also have the weirdest weapon in their hands. It reflects
goldish in the dim light. Finally! maybe some treasure! But as the party
approaches, they quickly drop the goldish thing and pull out a real weapon and
shield. The goldish thing is on some kind of tether so it does not fall far. They
yell something about only the song of the stars can defeat them and start
attacking.
Once
they pulled the shield, I felt like I lost an opportunity, I should have just
shot them while they were unprepared. I have done it before, I will do it
again. The front-line surges forward and beats the thing down. I quickly move
in to try to search the goldish thing from them. Disappointment, its not gold,
but some kind of brass musical instrument. I should have known. While the
creature is down, I notice a large sack on its back, but I do not have the
opportunity to examine it as I noticed they were counting, and it looked like their
wounds and armor were healing.
“A one,
and a two, and a three and a four.”
They
repeated this a few times and get back up. While many of the braver people
started to attack them to no effect, they reached into the bag and pulled out a
bigger version of the musical instrument. And with a mighty breath sounded a
long note. This close the sounds was almost overwhelming. The dark shapes were
back, they attacked from all directions. As we were working on pushing them back,
we still could not affect the big guy.
Once the
shapes had all been silenced, the big guy once again they yelled something
about only small twinkling stars could defeat him and started attacking us
again. It seamed a harder fight this time. But once again he was brought down
by shear numbers.
“And a
one, and a two, and a three, and a four.”
While I
was able to search the first instrument off the bad guy, the second could not
be released from his person. And when he got up and blew the deep note again,
the shapes were again back for blood. Each time it seemed like he was harder to
take down, but stayed down a little longer each time.
“And a
one, and a two, and a three, and a four.”
Finally,
someone had the thought of playing the song that had been created with the
lines and dots. Unfortunately, no one knew how this instrument worked. Someone
remembered me and my tin whistle and told me to play the song.
I did
not play well, this instrument had more buttons and valves then I knew what to
do with. But I managed it, it was a simple song. Da da de de, ta ta, da and it
continued for a bit more.
It finally died its last. The music had scored the killing blow. It all faded, the shapes, the guy, the instruments. No treasure. I would have to find other ways of making some money.
5 parallel ropes along the ground leading from point a to
point b
Out of sight of the party for now, a person plays a long
note on a saxophone. The players must be on the line/space of the note being
played. NPCs will attack anyone not on the note. They will call no effect to
anyone who is on the proper note. Hits/armor to be determined day of.
Get 1000 feet of the cheapest white rope we can find divided
into 10 100 foot sections. Every 100 feet have a puzzle while the NPCs move
the ropes from the last section to the next section. Make the puzzles be clues to the song,
Twinkle Twinkle little star, the sax player is playing one note at a time. 14
sections are needed to get through the first 4 bars of the song.
The final puzzle will be blank music score that the party
must put notes on, repeat the sequence that was played.
The sax player will be the final boss. Lots of armor, sword and board. Will start the encounter with the tenor sax in their hands. Will drop it (tether it so it does not drop to the ground) Once the NPCis down they will start counting. “and a 1 and a 2 and a 3 and a 4. When they get up they will blow a single note on the sax and the NPCs will start attacking the party again. Once the tenor sax is searched off of them, they will have a base sax in a bag on there back. This sax will not be able to be searched off of them, and they will use that to sound the note that wakes up the NPCs. each time they will take a little longer to get up, but have another point of armor. So more rest but harder to take down. They will keep getting up until the song is played on the saxophone while they are down. It does not have to be good, just recognizable. Someone in the party has to try to play the tenor sax. Probably need Pat to be the NPC here, though it might be a little funnier if he was playing but transformed.
