The Next Game Master Pt. 03

She led him over to the halfling standing around. Raven looked down at him, "You get mounts yet."

He looked at Raven, "I don't ride."

He looked at him, "How do you plan to scout and keep up with a caravan?"

He looked at Raven, "Caravan?"

He smiled, "We have 3 wagons with four-horse teams. Everyone will be on horseback or driving a wagon. Can you scout from a wagon?"

He looked at Raven, "We came in on foot."

He nodded, "I gathered but you going to be a wagon guard or a scout. That is all I need to know."

He looked at Raven and sighed, "Scout. But I do not have a lot of money."

Raven looked at him, "Use your knowledge nature and check over what ponies they have and pick the best one. Get the tack for it and get it saddled. Then tell me how much for all of it and I will give you the money to get you riding."

He walked off to the stable and came back 40 seconds later, "They have 3 and they all look the same to me. He told me it would cost 800 gold pieces. Raven rode over and looked over the ponies, "The white one. Not a great color for a scout but it is the best of the three. The other two have injuries."

He pointed out the injuries to try and teach this brick. He walked over to the stable master, "Here is the 800 for that white pony and tack he asked for." He took the money without a word. Raven looked at him, "You might want to see to the injuries on the other two."

He glared as Raven road out. Brandi was mounted up and looked at the other two. "First lifers?"

They nodded. He looked at them, "All right first thing, Black, brown, green, and grey. Those are the colors you should wear if you are wearing clothing over the mithril chainmail. If you have not blacked out the mithril chain then wear it under said colored clothes. Yellow and red are giant kill me signs to a good sniper.

As you will be in front or behind the group looking for anything approaching us as we move along you will need to be fast. Which means you should grab a riding horse instead of a heavy warhorse.

They are faster. Light-war-horses will do as well if you plan on riding into combat. Never a heavy war-horse unless you have full-plate. You are free to do as you wish but I am giving you the best advice I can. You need gold for clothing?"

They both shook their heads and one of them asked, "They say you are on your first life. How are you such an expert?"

He looked at him, "Because I come from the world where the rules are created and it is game-like cards or dice and not your life. I have played that game for over 12 years with every rule set imaginable. I have been in the woods hunting, camping, and riding. I have the practical experience and I have gaming experience. That was before I was brought rather blindly to this universe. I destroyed the bitch and her world that did it to me.

It took me 20 years but I did it. Where I am from less than 12 hours passed for those 20 years. Every world runs at a different speed and some run faster. As to the game. I am really fucking good at it where I was from.

They have seen that and that is why I am Myssara Champion in this world. I am labeled a Gaming Grandmaster by those in power. My job is to advise you on the best course of action when asked. Provide guidance that can be accepted or rejected. I am telling you what works best to keep you alive. You can take it or leave it."

He nodded, "I am headed to the store. I will get some clothes."

The other guy nodded, "I will switch out horses."

Brandi looked at Raven, "Nice job. I laughed when I saw those shirts. They would not listen to me."

He rode over to the guys riding horses, "Brandi had more lives in this world than all of the other rangers combined. She gave you the same advice on the clothing?" He nodded.

He looked at him, "Marshal gets back you may be working for her. I train leaders. I do not lead parties or squads. I advise them all. If all of the leaders die then yeah I will work to get you through it if I can. Else back to the last inn while we wait for others to arrive."

He nodded and worked on his horse. Raven rode off with Brandi. He looked at her, "You can only help those who want to be helped."

He started humming a tune in his head to Myssara, Pink Floyds Another Brick in the Wall.

"We don't need no education,

We don't need no thought control.

No dark sarcasm in the classroom

Teachers leave them kids alone

Hey! Teachers! Leave them, kids, alone!

All in all, it's just another brick in the wall.

One down.

"All in all it's just another brick in the wall."

Two down.

"All in all it's just another brick in the wall."

Three down. Identifying all of the bricks you have given me. This is easy and entertaining."

He heard Myssara groan and Mother chuckle.

After 30 minutes Trisa was mounted upon her pony and all of the wagons were lined up when Marshal came back with the supplies. He looked at Ersa, "Clean up Flar."

She looked at him puzzled. He motioned her forward and she stopped the dwarf and then came back, "What has he been walking in?"

He looked at her, "The filth of every chamber pot from the keep down into the lower section of the city. He only had to slip once to get covered head to toe on in crap. Considering he is wearing full plate, I am guessing on those cobblestones he fell more than once. We rode horses out through it. I flew back. The stench is overwhelming."

She nodded, "Horrid, putrid, disgusting, and foul are a few others. Man, he stunk. Why did you have me do it?"

He looked at her, "So you would understand what I rode through and my disgust with cities like these. There is probably a gate on the other side of the city for those with the right paperwork so they do not have to go through the lower district."

He rode over to Marshal, "Took long enough."

Marshal nodded, "They would not let him take one wagon into the city."

He sighed, "Did you get the maps?"

He nodded, "I got maps. None of it is good."

Marshal pulled it out, "This fork to the south is covered in troops. This middle road gets narrower but he said it passable and the further up is an uphill stretch and four days longer. They all wind back to this town here. There are inns on either side of the town depending on which way we go.

Most of the rangers, clerics, and myself agree that the undead is the best target to start with. But that means getting to the inn on the far side of this city. The city is on both sides of a river and the only narrow section for 50 miles in each direction. They have strict requirements and fees to pass through and use their bridge. Including disarming all not humans."

Raven looked at him, "Narrow but passable for wagons or horses?"

Marshal looked at Raven, "He did not elaborate."

Raven looked back, "Next time get details. That is not the route to take anyway. You see this string of black lines on either side of the road?" Marshal nodded. "Those are elevation lines. When they are really close like that it means mountain on one side and ravine on the other.

No room for error. If a giant starts raining boulders down, we are done for. The war sounds like fun again does it not? That was sarcasm. That leaves us with a steep path that is 4 days longer. "Again, By horse or wagon?"

He sighed, "I do not know."

He looked at him, "Go to the general store, speak with any caravan drivers, the store owner and get more details on these two routes. Something tells me the path through the war was the preferred path. Find someone that has been that way. We are going to have a late start as it is but we need to be informed. Undead it is agreed upon then?"

He nodded, "They are all the way out here. There is another town here with an inn."

Raven asked, "Have you figured out how you are dividing up this group?"

Marshal shook his head, "Trisa wants them broken up into four squads but I think that is too small."

Raven looked at him, "Take Trisa's advice. Assassin attack, how many men could you direct? We had the party split, five and three. She is right. One squad should be your scouts. Two in front and two in back. The halfling will always have to be riding front guard, he is short and so is his pony. Send Trisa and the rest of us ahead. Take my son his two caster ladies, the cleric from Trisa's group, and Gardner with you gives you 6. How many do we have?" He looked over the list. "Twenty-three."

He smiled, "That leaves sixteen under Trisa's command until you catch up with answers."

Marshal nodded, "Alright."

He looked at Trisa, "Find out from Shanna about their halfling 'scout' and if he is any good. So far I am not impressed."

She nodded and headed off to talk to Shanna. Raven found Flar, "Get your drunken butt in the wagon. You are welcome for the clean-up. Next time come and get me. With the papers I have, from the Duke and the Elven Queen, I should have been able to get one wagon through."

He nodded, "Did not think about that. Will try and remember."

Trisa came back over and looked at Raven, "Complete fuck-up. The first, to die in the 40 runs he did with them. Party got ambushed a lot so he cannot see shit. He looked at her, "Tell Marshal and see what he wants to do. His call. I am taking the other human Ranger with me and we will start scouting and hunting."

She looked at Raven, "Take Brandi as well we can leave the halfling with Marshal."

He nodded, "You are in charge."

She rolled her eyes and he found Brandi, "You are with me, Brandi." He looked at the other ranger, "Name."

He looked at Raven, "Splitter."

He nodded, "You are with me as well we are going hunting and scouting."

He called out his Raven. He headed out with the two of them, "Raven scout road."

The bird took off and Brandi looked at Raven, "Animal companion?"

He shook his head, "One of the things I requested for blowing up the world. An innate ability to summon my Raven. I will have it in every life."

They were out about an hour when they slowed the pace. Splitter looked at Raven, "I want to go on foot into the woods farther."

He looked at him, "Which side?"

Splitter asked, "Left side, why?"

Raven looked at him, "Because you will get little to nothing going that way."

He looked at Raven, "Why?

He looked at Brandi, "Do you know?"

She looked at Raven, "No I do not see anything."

He looked dead ahead, "The wind is hitting from the right and slightly behind us." He looked down the direction they were headed. "You will be upwind of any game that way. They will smell you before you see them.

Hunting would be on the right but I can tell you right now there is nothing big that way either. At least near the rode. The raven would have reported it back."

Splitter looked at Raven and stopped, "I am going to check anyway."

He turned and tied off his horse. Raven shook his head, "Second rookie mistake."

Brandi looked at Raven, "What?"

He looked at her, "He tied off his horse reign under a small rock or log but never tie off out here. Go tell that suggestion to him. He rode ahead not five minutes up and his Rave came back over. "Twelve deer right side."

Raven rode forward and stopped the horses. She sighed, " He said he did not want to have to chase it down."

He found a log placed it over the reigns of both horses and they snuck forward another 100 yards.

They found the deer and they moved slowly and grazed on some wild berries. He looked at her and pointed toward the road and she headed that way while he moved further in. He lined up his shot, focused, and nailed the buck through the lungs and heart. They scatter and she fired. He fired off a snapdragon.

He drove the deer away and toward the road. He sent the next one straight out and up and drove them back toward him. Her activity from the road had them turn toward Raven but away from the road He launched his next arrow and caught one in the shoulder.

He directed the next snapdragon to turn them. He popped the one he hit before and dropped it. They came back across and he caught the third deer. This one through the lungs and heart. They shot off across the road. He got back to the road, "How many?"

She looked at Raven, "Two."

He smiled, "Three including the buck."

She laughed at him. They heard screaming from back up the road. They got their horses and headed back and saw one dead horse and a large bear. They turned the horse and stopped and circled into the woods.

Brandi was right behind him. He got a side angle on the bear. They fired back to back and kept firing and the bear charged toward them after eight arrows went into it and he shot it with a scorching ray to the face it stopped. It halted the charge and then it fell over dead with half of its head fried off.

He looked at her, "See if you can find our missing ranger, I will go back and pull the deer to the road as I have 3 deeper in the woods."

She nodded and they split up. He grabbed the deer furthest out and drug them out one by one. Until all five were at the side of the road.

He rode back, grabbed her horse and rode to the dead bear. She was not back yet. He dragged the deer to the dead bear. She stood on the side of the road alone. She looked at Raven, "I found him. He is pretty mauled up but escaped after trying to charge it with a two-handed sword. It ripped two chunks out of him and sent him flying down the hill he broke several ribs as he slammed into the tree at the bottom of a gully. Alive but hurt."

He sighed, "Take your horse. Tell Brenda we have an idiot ranger down. A dead horse, bear, and 5 dead deer. I will gut them up the road. I am no good to him down there. You know where he is at and you have the horse for a marker. She looked at Raven, "I will go back to him. You go get the healer and a couple of others to help."

He nodded and rode off. He got to the wagons 45 minutes later. He saw them moving slowly, even for a wagon. He called out, "Brenda we have a dumbass ranger down, a dead horse, bear, and 5 deer. We could use your hand as well as a couple of others." Trisa pointed a couple of the fighters toward him and she shouted, "Splitter?"

He nodded. They took off and they stopped at the horse. He pointed, "He is that way. The animals are up this way minus the dead horse. He waved the fighters with him and Brenda went into the woods. He got to the deer. He field strip the bodies. Had the fighters hang each one and then did the same to the bear except he didn't even try and hang that beast. He looked at the fighters, "Guard the catch I will go back and see how things are going with Splitter."

They nodded and one chuckled and he looked at him, "What is so funny?"

He looked at Raven, "He likes to hunt with a two-handed sword. He carries a bow but he likes to be up close and personal."

He rolled his eyes and headed off to the dead horse just as they got him to the road, "Did you find his weapons?"

She nodded, "The bow was 30 feet in against a tree. His sword was halfway between him and his landing site. He looked at her, "Give me his sword."

He took his sword and looked at him, "You got a dagger?"

He nodded. He looked at him, "Good you got a bow and dagger. Let us see if you can fucking learn how to use a bow. Take the tack off that horse and field strip it.

He looked at Raven, "What?"

He looked at him, "Do you know the proper way to clean an animal?"

He looked at Raven, "The women prep the kills."

He looked at him, "NOT anymore. GUT it or I will GUT you!"

For added emphasis, he nocked an arrow and point it at him. He looked at Raven, "You are not going to shoot me."

Brenda turns and sighed, "Oh shit."

He sunk it into the top of his left foot. He had another arrow ready when he looks up at Raven screaming. He caught his breath and glared, "We are in the same party!"

He looked at him, "We are barely in the same world! I am recommending they send you back to the inn on foot to catch another party. I am also asking Myssara to strip you of being a ranger. You are a dirt clod in the head, will not listen to shit, fighter.

Not a ranger. Not a scout. Barely human. He flipped Raven the bird. Raven put the next arrow threw his hand. He screamed. Brandi was up and on her horse, "I am getting Trisa for this."

He looked at Brenda, "Get back on your horse and go with her. You can tend to his wounds when Trisa approves the use of the resource. Else he can sit there and bleed to death for all I care."

He looked at him, "Get to gutting. That was your catch today. You think you are getting another horse you are sadly mistaken. You just became a wagon guard."

He rode back to the fighters and looked into the woods. He stopped and waved them to him. They came riding up. He pulled out his hand ax. "That tree with the eight diverting trunks. I need you to cut 4 of them and drag them to the road. Strip off the branches as this is where we will be making camp tonight. Thanks to one idiot fighter who thinks he is a ranger."

He thought, "Well love that brick is confirmed. I have two horrible rangers that I know of so far."

She laughed, "If this were second edition rules, I would have made him a fallen ranger a long time ago. There is no fallen ranger in pathfinder."

He sighed and thought, "I know that. But what fucked up prestige class has he chosen?"

She laughed, "He didn't he took an arch type. Dragon hunter."

He heard giggling. He laughed and thought, "Send him the images of our combat of the forest dragon. I am pretty sure I have helped kill more dragons this life than he has."

She laughed, "That was what I was giggling about. I sent them to him and also told him he is fucking with the wrong person when he fucks with Raven my Champion."

He heard her continuing to laugh. He went riding back and he was still sitting there and stared at the ground.

He rode up. "You get the message from Myssara?" He looked at Raven and nodded.

He shook his head, "Archetype dragon hunter. At least that explains why you are so sword focused. Have you ever killed anything hunting? Not attacked but you actually get close enough to kill it with a two-handed sword?"

He shrugged, "A couple of rabbits and a snake."

Raven chuckled, "How much rabbit was left to eat after splitting the poor little bunny in half?"

He smiled, "Not much."

He asked him, "You even use a bow or is it just for show?"

He nodded, "I use it but rarely. Usually to draw something so I can cleave it. I heard the panicked horse and came running back to see my horse getting mauled."

He nodded, "You made it defenseless by tying it off as you did. It wanted to bolt instead it got slaughtered. Exactly what we warned you about. If you had gone the way I said you would have found the bear first."

Trisa rode up and looked at Splitter with two arrows in him and she looked at Raven, "I am surprised he is still alive."

He looked at her, "I rode off and had a conversation with Myssara after putting the fighters to work cutting up mesquite in order to smoke the shit storm of meat we have now. All of the meat to be eaten is up the road. We will have to make camp."

She looked at Raven, "Already?"

He waved her on and she looked at Brenda, "Heal him up."

He looked back, "Lirana, this ranger thinks gutting and cleaning the food is 'woman's work'. Do you wish to teach him how wrong he is and get him to clean, gut, and skin that horse. We need the hide."

He tossed her his sword, "His preferred weapon for hunting."

She chuckled. He had Trisa following him. She saw all the deer, "That is a lot of deer."