The Next Game Master Pt. 01

He looked at Raven, "I do not want to stop to smoke meat. We have half of the last wagon open for it the cook rides back there."

He nodded, "Do you want smoked meat? I never said you had to stop. I can show you how to build portable smokers those we can set up in the back of the wagon. Just pick up a couple of those concave circular shields. The rest I can get out there."

He smiled, "I will get the shields."

Raven looked at him, "I am assuming you have a saw, ax, sledgehammer, and chisel on the wagons already."

He nodded. "That about covers it."

He rode off and he yelled, "Got any more tricks?"

He gave his raven an arrow, "Drop it on the seat of the wagon, squawk at him, pick up the arrow and come back."

He got another 50 feet down the road and he heard them laughing. He held out his hand and the raven dropped the arrow in it. Then he hopped onto his shoulder.

He nocked the arrow and headed out of town at a decent pace for several hundred yards. "Road search pattern."

He slowed to a normal trot until he came back after about ten trips. "Two deer, right side."

He pulled the horse off to the left as the wind was coming toward the left and he would be downwind of them. He snuck up the left-hand side of the road. He saw the deer up on the other side of the road.

They grazed near the edge of the road. A nice buck and a doe. He drew back. Lined up his kill shot and sent it straight into the deer's heart a few seconds later. He started rapid firing at the doe and cripple it. He walked over and put an arrow through its heart. He put a second into the buck's heart before he went back and grabbed the horse.

He pulled the two of them together at the side of the road. He sent his raven back out. He came back, "Two men, two horses. Left side."

He looked at the raven. "Park yourself on a branch near them but close to the road so I can see you."

The raven flew off and landed. He signaled him back. He returned and he had him disappear. He yelled out, "Can I help you, two gentlemen?"

He secured the deer to the horse and mounted back up into the saddle as they came riding out. "You can leave those 2 deer and leave with your life."

He pointed the horse away from them and gave him a kick, "I think I will just kill you 2 and take your horses!" They started toward him. He flipped around and sent an arrow straight into the middle of the first rider.

He drew back and fired a second at his friend and caught him in the shoulder. They turned to run. He fired another into the first and caught him in the center of his back. He fell off. His buddy rode into the woods. He called forth the raven, "Scout road. He headed down the road. He turned the horse around. Toward the downed rider's horse. A bolt caught His shoulder from up on the left.

He acted like he was hurt bad. He fell from the horse. He watched him approach and his raven came back. "One man. Two horses."

Raven told him, "Fly through the woods on the left. Find a spot in a tree behind him. Start saying 'I am here, I am here. I am here you fool.' Then return to me." The raven flew off into the woods. He saw the man turn." He lined up his shot. The bandit stepped back toward the woods and looked around.

Raven got to a knee and drilled him in the neck with an arrow. Higher than he intended but it worked. He stood and put an arrow into each man's ass. He unhooked the deer and rode out.

He roped the two men's dead bodies down with the deer. He rode out and got the other horse and brought the stallions back. He looked at his raven, "Good job fella. Search pattern."

Raven went into the woods and searched around. He found a small hickory tree. Finding no mesquite, he took it down. He dragged it to the side of the road.

He went out and found 8 straight saplings and drug them back to the road. He stripped and search the 2 dead bodies. Found a dozen gold coins, a couple of rings, two light crossbows and a pair of long swords. One of the swords and one of the rings detected as magical. He took those two and put them on his new horse as the wagons approached.

The front guard came up, "You ok?"

He looked at him, "I got 2 dead deer, 2 horses, and 2 dead assholes. Hunting was good. Can you let our cleric know I need a bolt removed from my shoulder?"

The Wagon Master rode forward and looked at the 2 dead men, "I fired those guys for trying to steal from my last job."

Raven looked at him, "Well I fired them again. A pair of arrows each fired into them. They wanted the 2 deer I took down. I told them I would take their lives and their horses instead."

He looked at me, "I count 3 arrows in each."

He nodded, "The last 2 were both in their asses to make sure they were dead and not playing dead."

He laughed and looked at the deer, "You used a few arrows on the one."

He nodded, "They were together. When the first one dropped, I had to rapid-fire at the other one. I crippled her and put one through her heart. Then I came back to the first and put a second arrow through his heart.

I would have gotten more if not for the assholes. I did find a nice hickory tree; to smoke the extra meat with. I got the other material to build smokers. I am claiming these guys gear and horses."

He nodded, "You got them by yourself."

The little dwarf came walking up. Raven dropped to a knee so he could pull the bolt. He did and channeled some healing on him. Raven looked at him, "I will mend my shirt later. You have any extra canvas?"

The guys nodded, "I would prefer not to cut it up."

He smiled. "I am with you on that stance."

He stood with his bow in hand and a quail flew up. He pulled an arrow and popped the quail.

He looked at the raven. "Bring me the quail, no chewing I will give you some."

The raven flew off and brought him the quail. He gutted the quail and put the inners on a rock, "All yours my friend."

The raven flew over and started eating. He walked over and gutted the 2 deer and clean them out.

The guy looked at Raven, "You looking for a full-time job?"

Raven smiled, "I have one, keeping them out of trouble."

He laughed. Marshal walked up and Raven looked at him, "Just the man I was looking for."

He handed him the second horse. "A paladin off a horse is a wasted paladin. It is yours. Give this ring and sword to Ersa and see what the enchantments are on them.

If the ring is a resistance or protection ring tell her to keep it. She has the least armor of any of us. The sword goes to the fighter or you whichever one uses long swords. I would go with the fighter this time if you both do because I gave you the horse. Can you return this other one to the back of the wagon? I have a new horse."

Marshal smiled, "Hunting was good!"

Raven nodded, "When the last wagon pulls up. Then get this loaded. Get Lirana up here. Tell her to grab the saw."

He picked up the two sets of chainmail and leather pants he stripped from those 2.

Lirana got up to the kill site. Raven got her working on the hickory. "Cut them in 3-foot logs for now. We will cut them into 1-foot logs later." As the sixth wagon pulled up, he held up a hand and got him to stop.

He handed the quail to the cook. He smiled, "I will have these guys get the 2 deer in the back they have already been gutted."

He smiled and shook his head, "Just one quail?"

Raven smiled, "I got 2 assholes but we both know they are not good eating."

The cook laughed at him. "I have a small bag for feathers. Only the larger feathers from the bigger birds. I will leave it here as I am not done hunting yet. When you get to the deer keep the skins to the side. We will be using them. Salt them to preserve them."

He handed him another small bag, "Any sinew you pull from the deer put it in the bag. I use it with the feathers to make new arrows."

The cook nodded. "You lived in the woods a lot, didn't you?"

He smiled, "Yes, I have seen many a caravan pass growing up. I notice which ones come through looking good. Also, which ones are missing people and pulling with too few horses."

He climbed into the back of the wagon and untied half the top and roll it and tie it off. He got the long saplings into the wagon with the logs, the deer, and chainmail.

The cook looked at him, "We get firewood when we make camp."

Raven looked at him, "That is green hickory. Good for smoking the extra meat. Trying to find trees like that when the sun is going down is hard and dangerous."

He nodded, "You plan to cut it up for these portable smokers you talked about."

Raven smiled and walked over to Shia. He threw the leather pants to her, "Cut those into 1-2-inch strips. All the way down from the waist to the ankles. Need them for the smokers." She nodded.

He gathered what arrows he could salvage, and took arrowheads from the others. He stuck those into a pouch pocket. He rode by Ersa who has the ring on, "Protection and the sword has slight enchantment for hitting and damage. The fighter is happy by the way. The Paladin loves having his own horse."

He smiled, "Just sharing the wealth and some of that is the experience."

She smiled at him and he went shooting upfront with an arrow nocked and his raven flying search patterns. He took down another qual and a good-sized turkey.

He took them to the cook, "I did not know which of the innards you would want from the turkey. You complained about only one quail so I got you another. Remember the big feathers."

He nodded and then smiled.

He raced back upfront. The Trail Boss Wagon Master held up a hand, "How long will it take you to assemble the smokers of your?"

He sighed, "With a few sets of hands we can be done with them in about 2 hours. We still need to do to some metal work but I did not want them doing that in your wagons, in case they damaged the wagons."

He smiled, "I thank you for that, see if you can find us a decent place to stop. We are a little behind schedule but for bandits and food I do not mind."

He went riding forward and the raven was out scouting for any trouble. It did not come back. He rode back to the caravan and stopped in front of the wagon, "We have some kind of trouble up ahead. Something killed my raven. I can summon him again tomorrow. I would like Lirana to go up the right side in the woods and Shia to join me on the left side. I will tie off my horse to the back of the last wagon. Go slow, very slow."

He nodded, "Good hunting, I will send Jake with your lady friend. He has been drooling over her and he is a sneaky bastard. But a good guy."

Raven smiled, tied off his horse, and grabbed Shia, "We are hunting for trouble. Are you more melee or ranged?"

She looked at Raven, "Melee is best."

She pulls out a pair of daggers. They went sneaking through the woods and he spotted the trouble. He saw 8 guys milling about with assorted crossbows who started lining up as they heard the wagon. He took aim and held the shot. He took very careful aim and shot an arrow straight through one guy's ear and he dropped.

He ducked behind a tree and yelled out, "Got 7 bandits on the left!"

He had bolts fly by and stick into the tree. He came out after counting them. He sent two arrows into the next guy before they could reload the crossbows, "DOWN TO 6."

He heard them rushing forward toward Shia's hiding spot. He drew his bow back. He popped out and fired into the mix missing.

They shoot at him and hit the tree with all but one as he ducked behind the tree. Caught him in the shoulder again. The barbarian and Jake came from across the road and the Paladin came charging in at one. He turned as Shia drops one with her daggers. "Down to 5."

He shot the closest one to her with 2 arrows as he stopped to try and reload. He fell over dead. "Make that 4."

He caught another crossbow bolt this one in the side.

They did not all fire in that last volley. He had a fighter closing and Gardner intercepts him and took him to the ground. He heard 2 others get dropped by the barbarian and Jake. Shia had her daggers in the gut of one and he worked on bringing his sword down on her. Raven popped an arrow into him right through the lungs and he fell over. They were all down.

He called out. "We have 8 of them down. Let us look around for any others. Flar your services are needed. Gardner you want to start pulling these bodies to the road with Marshal, and Lirana." Jake yelled out, "Clear over here. We came across none of them on the other side of the road."

Shia called out, "I found their horses, 8 horses. They have a camp set up over here."

Raven called out, "They were nice enough to set up a camp for us."

He heard the Wagon Master laugh and he rode over to check out the scene he looks at the men's armor. "These guys work for a local baron."

Raven looked at the armor, "Yes, I did not realize we would be this close to that baron. He destroyed the village I grew up in, Bronson."

The Wagon Master looked at Raven, "I know that village. I traveled by on numerous occasions. Why did he destroy it?"

Raven looked at him, "Because my mother taught people how to read, write, and some minor magic. Which he distrusts. She unloaded spell after spell. She took out a dozen of his men before they killed her.

Because the village allowed her to break his law, he burned it down. Some escaped. Some died. He had 100 men do the job."

The Wagon Master looked at Raven, "Now I know how you became so good with a bow. There was a master bow smith there."

Raven nodded, "He helped me make this, I think he tried to fight, along with his son who I saved once. That was why his father helped me to craft this bow. It is also why I know how to build arrows."

Shia called out, "There is a chest back here."

Raven yelled over, "Search it but do not touch it. They like to trap chests. Search the bodies. Strip them naked and see if there is a key for the chest Gardner. Flar walked up, and pulls the bolts and heals Raven up.

Flar grumbled, "How many of these am I going to have to pull from you?"

Raven shrugged, "I had about 20 bolts fired at me and I got hit 3 times today. That was 20 they did not fire at you trying to get to the fight. Nice work guys."

He walked back to the horses. He found two nice war horses in the group. He pulled them out, "Marshal, give you horse to Ersa.

I got two war horses calling yours and Gardner's names. Jake do you ride. He shouted back, "I prefer not to."

He pulled out a pair of nice riding horses. "Lirana and Shia. Here are two that would be good for you. This one is dark the other stands out in white. But they are fast riding horses. Flar do you ride?"

He laughed, "No!"

Raven looked at the Wagon Master, "That is 4 extra horses for you." He smiled, "Always good to have extra horses."

Raven walked back to the chest and detected magic. No magical auras. He looked over the gear and there were 3 swords, one light crossbow, and two sets of chainmail, and one set of leather. He looked back at the chest as they opened it with the key.

It has three magical rings, a magical amulet, one magical slave bracelet, and one magical dagger with a black blade. He laid everything out. He unhooked the one longsword on his side and found the three swords were minor to hit and damage blades. He handed one to the paladin and put one around his waist.

Marshal looked at him oddly. Raven sighed, "I cannot pull that blade here. The baron is hunting for it. It was my father's blade."

He nodded. Raven tossed the leather to Lirana. "These two sets of chainmail have a minor enchantment of protection on them."

A voice rang out in my head, "The ring with the red ruby belonged to your mother."

He picked up the one ring and slide it on, "Ring was taken from my mother."

Shia put a hand on his shoulder. He handed her the slave bracelet and the dark dagger, "The slave bracelet helps with locks and such. The dagger can be used with the hand or thrown. It has a returning property to it. The amulet and two rings were minor protection." He tossed one of the rings to Jake. He smiled. "You should get something for lusting after the barbarian."

The guys laughed. He gave the amulet to the paladin and the other ring to the cleric. He looked at him, "If that armor is better than yours you see if one will fit you."

He smiled and the fighter grabbed the other suit of armor. With the spoils divided. He picked up the chest with has 300 in gold in it and they pulled another 60 off of the bandits. He handed the 60 off the bandits to Jake.

Raven looked at him, "Have a drink or a hundred on us."

He laughed. He looked at Lirana. "Chest to the last wagon. It has our group gold in it."

He took the key and handed it to Marshal. "You might want to consider getting us a wagon when we get to where we are going. Unless we find one. To carry what we find. Also, a place to put our cleric."

He nodded, "Good idea."

Raven went and found Flar, "You need to spend time learning to drive a wagon. If you are not going to ride you are not going to keep up with us. We will be on horseback when we leave the caravan."

He grumbled and nodded. "I need you to get those two shields. About an inch from the outer edge I need 4 holes in each one. About an inch or more in length."

He pointed out the locations on the shields. He looked at Marshal "Here is my hand ax and you are going to dull the hell out of it."

He laid out the chain shirt. "Cut it in half. Straight down the middle. Lirana I need you to cut those logs into one-foot sections. Gardner, I need those logs quartered but save 6 whole ones for now. They have an extra ax on the wagon. Shia and Ersa are with me in the back of the wagon with the leather strips."

He showed them what he wanted with the straight sapling to ensure they got anchored to the tarp support. "Make a pair of pot cooking stand."

He added some additional holes to the halved armor and then took all the pieces and assemble them after putting some small sticks along the outer edge of the fire.

About 8-inches long and an inch thick. He grabbed the sticks 2 at a time and slid them down the armhole and into each of the shields. He got all 8, 4 in each.

He slid in 2 pieces of hickory over those. "We surround it with the canvas he has on three sides leaving a foot gap along the bottom for air to enter." He strung the deer hides over the top. Then he used the extra bedrolls from the bandits on the side toward the cook. "That acted as a curtain."

It was up and functioning. They started smoking one of the deer after it was cut into small pieces. He made baskets out of chain shirts that they cleaned. He hung those off the wagon roof support inside the smoker. He looked at the Wagon Master. "Well, what do you think?"

He nodded, "What about those leather straps drying out from the heat?"

He smiled, "You have at least 2 arcane who can mend them periodically and we have extras. The chain above helps to keep any logs contained. I will take 3 of those one-foot logs tied together centered but not touching the shield under each of 2 smokers. If one strap breaks it will tilt slightly.

If 2 on a side break, we will see it with the shield touching the one-foot logs. That keeps it from spilling out onto the bottom of the wagon. When it is running at capacity it just needs to be checked and fed more fuel to burn and smoke it. But do not get the fires to high. We want to smoke the meat not burn it."

The cook looked at Raven, "I can work with this."

The Wagon Master looked it over. "We will give it a go. I have the cook back here during the trip."

Raven handed him a crossbow and bolts. "In case we are attacked."

He nodded and smiled. He handed the enchanted light crossbow to Ersa along with some bolts, "Keeps you from running up and smacking something with a stick."