ESCAPING THE PAMESANI GAMES

This is a forum game that I am running over at the Armchair General website.

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EPISODE I – FREE AT LAST

It has been almost 3 weeks since you were all herded together onto the slaver’s ship and set sail to the west. Although kept below decks at all times some of the others were able to get a glimpse of the surroundings and gauge the direction and distance you had come since that fateful day. The consensus seemed to be that after about 6 days at sea the ship turned south and headed inland down a fairly large river, following it for another 8 days or so. At the rivers end you were all unloaded like cattle at what appeared to be a fairly well established trading post. As for who may lay claim to this camp it was impossible to tell as no banners, flags or other symbols were evident.

After a brief nights rest you were loaded into cages on the backs of oxen draw wagons, about 10 to a cage and the caravan headed off to the south into a very dark and foreboding forest.

Over the next 4 days the caravan slowly worked its way south through the dense forest. Although your guards were many and heavily armed (and all on foot), you could tell from their actions they were extremely nervous and jumped at the slightest sound coming from the forest around them. During the day no one ventured far from the trail with the exception of a few scouts but as darkness fell it seemed as no one dared to enter the woods for even more than a few feet. During stops, the guards slept in shifts along the trail and to avoid alerting anyone to their presence no campfires were lit. Any equipment that might rattle or clang was padded to lessen the sound. Prisoners were forbidden to speak but many managed to pass messages in hushed, barely audible voices. When they were heard they were quickly prodded by the base of a long spear. Repeat offenders often found themselves being jabbed by the pointed end and they quickly learned to stay quiet.

On the morning of the 5th day as the caravan is getting ready to move out and the scouts are arranging their gear to take up their patrols the oxen began getting extremely nervous. Their handlers try to keep them under control but things are going downhill fast and anxiety building. This was not a good place for defending against any threats lurking nearby.

Suddenly as if from out of the thin air itself gangs of half-naked barbarians swarm the trail and desperate close in fighting erupts between them and the guards.

You and the rest of the prisoners quickly find these barbarians have no intention of freeing you as they quickly dispatch all those held in each wagon as they manage to reach it. Slowly they are making their way to your wagon. Fearing nothing to lose, the driver urges the wagon up into the woods as fast as the scared animals will go. Finally, after going about 200 feet into the thick woods and bouncing off of trees the wagon can no longer handle the stress and begins to come apart. At some point, the cage you are riding in falls free, coming to rest on its side, the once locked door wrenched open by the impact.

You think to yourself “free at last” but as you struggle to regain your feet and your wits, you hear the sound of approaching feet coming through the bushes.

What to do now?

Tags: Play by Post