[pnpgm] Update # 26 – Varo

[Bessie Hadley]

Varo awakens suddenly & half-sits up. Had she heard something? A grunt? She turned & opened her tent flap & saw Mournath near the fire, on watch. But he seemed – like he was suddenly alert?

Varo feels alarmed for some reason. She sends a brief, heartfelt prayer for protection (“Mother Ernalda, be with us all now!) and casts the spell Detect Enemy.

The results of the spell determine her next actions. She will raise the alarm if there are enemies close, shouting the direction(s) in which the enemy lies/approaches. She will repeat the directions at least three times before she stops shouting.

While yelling, she starts pulling on her leather armor, still within the tent, with no light,  as she quickly throws the chest piece & its shoulder attachments on first, then the leg coverings & boots & begins to half-buckle all it in place, never rising above her knees & listening acutely for further sounds outside. She remembers the closest large tree is about ten feet away SW of her tent. She will head that way for cover, unless the spell says trouble lies that direction. 

If there’s time, she grabs the belt with her rapier & puts it on, throws her quiver over her shoulder, & leaves the tent, stringing her self-bow when she reaches cover. 

If the enemy is too close, she will just grab her shield & rapier for battle, once she’s donned her armor & half-buckled it in place. (Tightening it fully takes a few extra moments, which she will use if she has them.) She will head towards that tree, or towards other shelter from arrows if she cannot reach it safely. She will move away from the attackers’ coming direction to gain a bit of extra time, or if they are too close, just duck behind her tent & wait in the shadows until she can attack. If there's time to string her bow, she will prepare it & use it first, then rapier for melee.

(Glad Scott is willing to go on. I, too, get tired, but I enjoy this so much, it helps keep me young.)

Bess L. Hadley