An hour of playing and writing up as I go.
Trugnak begins with nothing but a knife, a mattock, and a supply. She ventures into the overgrown forest for the first time where a hideous goblin was waiting in ambush. She’s heard the tales of what happens if you don’t kill this thing; so, she closes the distance to strike. Its arrow flies just past her before her knife aims lucky and true, gutting the little freak in a single blow, leaving Trugnak unscathed. She finds nothing on the goblin’s body, but she does crack open its skull to eat a fistful of brains—lest she fall victim to the curse.
As the moves farther into the forest, a stranger lurks about, eyeing her curiously. The stranger beckons her to peruse their wares, but Trugnak has nothing to offer. Next, she crosses the path of a poacher. She manages to sprint out of sight, diving into some bushes for a moment before continuing on. Alas, she steps right into the trap the hunter had lain. Luckily, the shoddy thing barely clamps down—she’s bleeding, sure, but she’s able to pull the thing right off and get away before a poacher can come finish her off.
Ah, she sees a familiar path through the trees. It’d be a hopeful sign, but she’s already feeling exhausted. As she moves deeper into the forest, she crosses paths with a lantern-headed freak. Taking no risks, she runs from it, and she just barely manages to outpace it. Before her, the familiar path continues. She ignores the shrine at the side of the path, and she can feel chills running down her spine. No matter. Yet, as she continues deeper into the forest, despair is crawling through her. Regretfully, she pauses to eat the only rations she brought with her. After resting, she feels even better, and she takes a look around, and she finds a few things worth taking with her. For a moment, it’s quiet.
Trugnak continues on. She encounters the poacher again. This time, she fights. She rushes in, closing the gap, but she’s hit by one of the poacher’s arrows. She sidesteps another arrow as she brings her knife across the poacher’s neck, nearly killing him. With another stab to his guts, he’s defeated. Trugnak takes the poacher’s bow and the few arrows he had left on him, and then she moves just a bit away to patch up her wounds. Another poacher—it must’ve been one of his buddies—tries to sneak up on her. Unfortunately for him, Trugnak is good with a bow. Her movements are deft and strong, and she fills her foe with arrows, downing him in mere moments. She adds another bow and some more arrows to her growing collection.
This time, when she crosses the stranger with their wares, she stops. The stranger accepts the second bow for just a few silver coins, but it was more than she had to begin with. A little richer, she moves on, but she’s quickly confused. Is she moving in circles? Are there more than one of these strange strangers? Didn’t she just see them? She shakes her head and moves on. There’s the path again. But there’s the stranger again. Are they following her?
Following the path, Trugnak is deep in the forest now. She sets off another hunter’s trap—it digs into her leg. She rips the thing off and throws it to the trees before hurrying along. It seemed to be the things she couldn’t kill and couldn’t see that were the most dangerous to her. She’d have to test that theory! Before her stood an angry elk. Perhaps, before it, she stood. The beast towered over her, and her idea was left untested as she backed away slowly before fleeing.
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