<strong>DM's housekeeping</strong><br/><br/>Crispin<br/>Iolanna<br/>Dathnor<br/>Demidicus<br/>Vasodel<br/>Raya<br/>Sislas<br/>Grom<br/>Giles<br/>Talia<br/>Shijin<br/><br/>(Let me know if you posted but aren't on this list.)<br/><br/><hr/><br/>After everyone clambered in or on one of the two stagecoaches, Pachski sent the two skeletal horses pulling the carriage into a steady canter with a flick of the reins, Samual following soon behind. They left Lunescross by way of the road at the back end of town that clawed its way up the mountain slopes in twists and hairpins. Travelling at a speed no living horse could sustain, before long the path was swallowed up in the Forest of Shadows. For a few minutes the golden rays of the morning sun filtered through the canopy, but the road continued rising into a cold wet fog that ate up the sunlight and only grew thicker with every foot of elevation gained.<strong>"I hope you enjoyed that,"</strong>the old man cackled,<strong>"that's the last of the sun you'll see until you come back down!"</strong><br/><br/>Samual called out from the rear stagecoach,<strong>"Steel your hearts, for the only light ahead is the light that we carry in our hearts.</strong>He raised his voice into song to keep their spirits high:<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body">Source (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilN1fylw3zY)<br/><br/>Fear not this night.<br/>You will not go astray.<br/>Though shadows fall,<br/>Still the stars find their way.<br/><br/>Awaken from a quiet sleep<br/>Hear the whispering of the wind.<br/>Awaken as the silence grows<br/>In the solitude of the night.<br/><br/>Darkness spreads throughout the land<br/>And your weary eyes open silently.<br/>Sunsets have forsaken all<br/>The most far off horizons.<br/><br/>Nightmares come when shadows grow.<br/>Eyes close and heartbeats slow.<br/><br/>Fear not this night.<br/>You will not go astray.<br/>Though shadows fall,<br/>Still the stars find their way.<br/><br/>Fear not this night.<br/>You will not go astray.<br/>Though shadows fall,<br/>Still the stars find their way.<br/><br/>Who needs the light?<br/>Fear not this night.<br/></div></div><br/><br/>A few uneventful (but perhaps song-filled) hours later the trees and fog suddenly gave way to open space, and the stagecoaches emerged into another world at the shore of a lake. Jagged snow-capped peaks formed a toothy maw yawning skywards towards a black sky dotted with a million silver stars, with patches of inky darkness where they were blocked by nebulous clouds. The city of Urgasburg sat on the far shore, under a blood red moon that hung over the city, silhouetting its tallest towers, beckoning them onwards. And the canvas of the deathly still lake projected a mirror image of the scene above into the water below, hiding its unknowable depths.<br/><br/><strong>"Urgasburg,"</strong>Pachski whispered, slowing down the horses for a brief while so that the passengers could take in the view. Then the road turned away from the lake, back into the darkness under the Forest of Shadows, and he urged the horses back to their original pace.<br/><br/>Of course their journey wouldn't be so easy. Further on, Pachski suddenly swerved around a pothole in the road that was almost invisible in the darkness, but Samual following behind could not see the obstruction through the vehicle ahead and did not have enough space to react. He turned as hard as he could but it was not enough, and the right side of the stagecoach dipped down into the hole with a nasty jolt. There was a loud CRACK as something broke, while the skeletal horses continued to mindlessly move ahead and snapped free of their reins as they cantered straight ahead into the forest.<br/><br/>Fortunately nobody was hurt, but their progress had come to a halt, and the precious hours of the Silver Truce were slipping away. A quick survey of the damage showed that both the front and rear right wheels had slipped off their respective axles.<strong>"Godsdamn!"</strong>Pachski cursed,<strong>"of all the times..."</strong><br/><br/><hr/><br/><strong>Posting deadline:</strong>11:59pm (UTC+8), Saturday (1 Sep 2018)<br/>(Probably Friday if your time zone is in the Americas)<br/><strong>Posting key points:</strong>One stagecoach is functional and one stagecoach is damaged. There are two problems: first, the damaged stagecoach needs to be repaired before it can move again. Second, the skeletal horses of the damaged coach have mindlessly cantered into the forest and obviously the stagecoach can't move until they have been recovered. Once you have come up with your plan of action,<strong>please ensure that I can notice it by putting it in a note to GM at the end of the post.</strong>Finally, I reserve the right to railroad if you haven't come up with your own actions after 1 week.<br/><strong>Posting reward:</strong>First round of reward calculation. If all players have posted on time for two consecutive rounds, they will be awarded 1 hero point each.