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BANJORIE
Roll - 1 / Body - 8 = 9
CRITICAL FAILURE: "How much more can she take?"

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Despite her strength, ferocity, and anger, Banjorie was but a babe, weary from her prison break, and being overtaken by an army of squirrels. She collapsed onto her side as they dropped her on the flat rock, not even moving to lift her head as a large creature approached. A wolf.

It wasn't until she began to spoke that Banjorie felt a new energy, a flush that flooded her system with a mix of rage and survival. Her name? Even she was unsure, though she knew what the human had called her, what her mother had called her before they were separated.

This wolf did not need to know that. No one had said her name since the crash. A growl made the fur along her back stick up as she leapt to her feet, swiping at the face of the wolf. It was horribly unsuccessful, and she was rewarded a vicious swipe that flung her young body across the rock. Landing heavily, she scrambled to her feet, making a break for it in the only direction available --- Uphill.

Charlemagne
Round One: Success
Round Two: Success
Option & Roll: Mind [8] + [13] + 3 [Previous Round Bonus]
Difficulty: 16
Result: 24 [Success]

Make a dash for it! Bob and weave for the love of leaf!

The squirrels lead the way out into the bright sun and Charlemagne rejoiced. Finally free in the open air, he wasn’t taking anymore chances. He didn’t care what it was creeping about near him, he had wings and he was going to use them! Taking to the air he sighed as he saw the wolf devouring the squirrels below, happy that is was them instead of him, but his relief was short lived as he looked down and saw massive teeth being bared beneath him. Not sure what the creature was, or how high it might be able to jump, he stuck to flying amongst the trees along the cliffs edge, hiding himself from both beasts.

Sage
Round One: Success
Round Two: Failure
Option & Roll: Mind [5] + [1]
Difficulty: 14
Result: 6 [Critical Failure]

You notice a wicked branch of thorns laid not far from reach... maybe if you could introduce those to her paw and make a run for it.

Just when she thought she was out, they pulled her back in! Or so it seemed as she saw the looming shadow. “What!?” Sage grumbled, trying to jump away from the wolf. The beast grabbed her and lifted her by her tail, swinging her like a pendulum. But Sage was smart enough to not buy into the taunting, keeping her mouth closed and ignoring the beast. As she was swung, she spotted a spiky branch of thorns. Looked like as good a chance as any, so as she swung past it again, she grabbed ahold of it and swung it at the wolfs arm. It barely hit her, but surprised her enough to drop Sage. With a few seconds headstart now on her side, she scrambled away up the hill.

[lol, sorry about the opening line, been watching The Godfather Trilogy today]

Dagney
Round One: Critical Failure
Round Two: Critical Failure
Option & Roll: Body [7] + [9]
Difficulty: 14
Result: 16 [Finally! Success!]

Climb up that muddy wall using root and claw and tooth. When they open that woven hatch they're going to get a whole lot more than they bargained for....

That was it, that was it! He’d had it with being laughed at, had it with being thrown around like branches of a willow in a storm. As he sat there stewing in the pit, he began to figure out a way to get out and stay out! He stayed back against the wall, hiding from anyone who might look down. He heard them chanting, growing ever closer to the pit. He balled his paws into fists and readied for the possibility of the hatch being lifted. As soon as he heard it rustle and creak, he started up the wall, digging his paws in and picking up speed. No sooner had it been completely lifted, Dagney emerged and gave it all he had, bum rushing the crowd of squirrels as they chanted. He was free, free!

Skark
Round 1: Failure
Round 2: Success

Round 3
Taking mind choice #1.
- You notice an acorn nut filled with oils in the corner... hmmm, fire. (Mind) (dif: 14)
Bonus! Free/Take the creature with you.(+2 dif)

Mind 7 + 11 roll = 18 > 16 difficulty = Success! Yay!

Prompt response pending :3
~~~~~~~

Skark was disgusted in several ways when he reached what he'd THOUGHT was a sun-lit doorway. It was, in fact, not a doorway to the outside, but a room that was lit by a massive fire. It was huge, and the scene that met the shrike's eyes inspired a second wave of revulsion. There they were, a whole slew of them, hopping and dancing around a big bonfire like the little savages they were. The whole situation was still hugely perplexing to the shrike, who was used to knowing how most things worked in the world. What were they doing down here? Why were they roasting something that would have tasted fine raw? And who the hell was Ferrah, come to think of it? Their filthy squirrel leader, no doubt.

Skark sneered as he crept in through the back door, seeing that they were far too absorbed in their dark little ritual to notice much else. He had to do something, and when he spied the door across the room, he knew where he needed to go. The hallway behind him only lead back to cells. He took a moment to survey the scene, and study the room. No use acting impulsively and getting trapped again, that was for sure. Fire, squirrels...and suddenly it dawned on the shrike that the creature tied over the fire was not a squirrel or a mouse or anything like that. Why, it was another bird, one much smaller than he was, with plain brown feathers. Hardly a meal that would feed everyone in the room. He couldn't care less of her, but her shrill, panicked cries were grating on his still-aching head. He needed to find a way to distract these cretins so he could get to that side door.

Seeing something to his left, he crept over to investigate. There were three acorns leaned against the back well. One of them was uncapped, revealing an odd, almost-smelly liquid substance within its hollowed out core. He realized immediately that it was some kind of oil. Squirrels, smart enough to use oil? The surprises kept on coming. But so did his horrible ideas. A nasty little sneer crept across his face, and his devilish eyes shone. He picked up one of the closed acorn containers, shook it first to be sure it was full of the same liquid, and was rewarded with the soft slush of the oil inside. This ought to be fun. Sitting back on one foot, he used the other to lob the acorn across the room, over the many furry little heads, and directly into their bonfire.

It took a moment to get a result, but the miniature explosion that followed was magnificent. There was the thunk of the acorn, which remained capped shut for a split second, followed by a great crack-WHOOSH as the thing exploded in the heat of the fire. The fire billowed out, nearly swallowing up the first row of squirrels, whose fur revealed itself to be very flammable indeed. The room instantly descended into much different tone of frantic dancing as the burning squirrels shrieked and flopped about, managing to catch others on fire. Skark wasted no time. He jumped into the fray on his way to the door, pecking viciously the faces of anyone in his way. When he was halfway through, he just happened to see the little tied bird, who had somehow managed to avoid the little explosion he had created. Her spit had fallen away from the fire, probably knocked down by one of the burnt squirrels. Perhaps, he thought, it would not be so bad to drag her along. It wouldn't take but two seconds to shred her bonds.

Skark did just that, with only the thought of having a useful tool at his disposal as his motivation. He hopped upon the ropes, and severed them with his beak, freeing the caught bird. She fell over in shock, and he rousted her with several light pecks to the side. "Come, hurry. Ve must hurry." he snapped. She obliged, wiggling to her feet and fluffing out her feathers. "M'scared. Who're you? Do you know the way out?" she asked, chirping softly. He swatted her with one wing, and hopped quickly onwards, to where the door was. "Shush. Come." he commanded simply. The little sparrow followed on unsteady feet, but she seemed to recover the more she moved about.

Skark lead the way down the hall, making a sharp turn as he suddenly picked up a familiar sound. Could that be...? Was it...yes, yes it was! He could see faint rays of light, but even better, he could heard the sound of running water. One more hallway, and there they were, at the mouth of the horrid burrow. The shrike could not help but suck in a deep breath of fresh air and take a moment to enjoy the sights and sounds of the freedom he'd worked so hard for. The sparrow simply sat back, seeming happy for a rest.

- You notice a acorn nut filled with oils in the corner... hmmm, fire. (Mind) (dif: 14)
+2: Rescue the critter
(Dif:16)

[Hold for Mikal Mind: 7+6=13 ... Fail~]


Mikal made it only a few more steps before he saw the flames. Another step and he could see more ruthless little dirt rats, all of them hollering and leaping about, painted in terrible ways and raising their paws to the flames as though trying to call down some great Being from the skies above. Well, they don’t ever need to know I’m here, Mikal thought callously, crouching a bit and sticking out his tongue. Creeper’s gonna creep along right under their noses - oh, Tree forbid they should get a whiff…

But the smell of charcoal and crackling wood was overpowering, and the tint of oil in the air was unmistakable; and Mikal was hidden under a layer of mud, anyways, which dampened his natural odors quite nicely. Perhaps mud wasn’t such a bad thing, if it would work to his advantage… he looked no different from the dirt and quagmire of the earth, and hadn’t even counted on that bit. Needless to say, he was pleased as a peach. Without the least bit of grumbling he dropped to his belly and assumed the most ‘sneaky’ pose he could think of, chin to the earth, tail flat out behind him; and, though he looked ridiculous, he nearly did get out to the freedom beyond the burrow.

But then… then, he looked over his shoulder. He actually looked, too, not just a bit of a glance, at the huddled thing the squirrels seemed so rampant about; and, just like that, his cheeriness flew the coop. They had a little squirrel - one of their own kind! - tied down like god-fodder, weeping and crying out for mercy it seemed (he was a bit far away and had mud clinging to the inside of his ears still), just as beaten as he had been - and probably serving the same purpose he would have served if they had managed to keep him captive. He hadn’t been quite so attentive to what his guards had been spouting on about, and still had no relative clue as to what was happening, but he was smart enough to know that squirrel would probably expire before the day was over.

And so the guilty bug set itself comfortably in the folds of his brain. He didn’t want to take on a bunch of voodoo beasties! And he certainly didn’t want to be tied down and slaughtered for some higher being - which he refused to believe in, despite the amount of fuss the squirrels were making. But… well… there must’ve been some way to free a fellow prisoner. Mikal thought and thought it over, hidden away amongst rocks and pebbles, scanning the area for some sort of clue…

He crept closer, hiding himself amongst a pile of acorns and wrinkling his nose at the awful smell of pure oil. Maybe he could… no, he had run himself dry, there was no chance in chasing these beasties off like he had their underground comrades. So he should ook for some sort of weapon, a club or something, maybe a slingshot if they had one lying around… but if he was looking for dropped weapons, then he might as well take up the big guns and find something akin to a knife. They had those somewhere, surely.

Nothing jumped out at him; the pit was clear of any obscure and useful object, and wrinkling his nose, Mikal grumped. Well, how was he supposed to save this creature if he had nothing to fling about? He could kick and bite, but there were scores of enemies to deal with, and he was only one skunk. Blasted acorns, if they were only empty he could toss them at some heads! Why were they filled with foul-smelling oil, anyways? It wasn’t a seasoning or anything.

… Oil…

It ws embarrassing how long it took for him to put two and two together. But when he finally realized the immense burning capabilities of oil, and gave thought to the burning and melting of evil flesh…

Once the idea clicked, Mikal knew what to do. Out went one acorn, then another, and soon he had the whole stack flying through the air, howling out a warcry as the oil exploded into the fires; “YOU LET THAT LITTLE BEASTIE GO!” he demanded, stomping forward with great armloads of oil-laden acorns. “ELSE FEAR THE WRATH OF THE SKUNK, YOU HEATHENS! TASTE THIS!”

And fire did erupt volcanically, everywhere; the problem was, several drops had fallen between him and said fire. Fire has a habit of moving very swiftly toward the one who released it, and true to its nature, Mikal was soon stomping out little flames as they tried to eat at his toes. Though his attacks had hit a few squirrels, there were so many more left unscathed and more than capable of putting out flames with stores of water; he had set fire to the hive, and now that the flames were probving to be ineffective, he found himself quickly subdued.

And beaten again, too, down to a fuzzy pulp and once again dragged through the mud to an undisclosed location that, really, he had no mind to care for. Had he freed the little squirrel? In all actuality he had probably fried the poor beast, but then he refused to think that way.

So he was no good at saving lives. Lessen learned.

René is going to try and smarm the pants off of it. 19+9=28=ROARING SUCCESS.

As René made his escape from the squirrels' underground lair, he couldn't help but notice that once again he was in mortal peril. Today was not his day. A huge black cat was chasing him, one like he'd never seen before. Terrified, he sprinted away until he could feel his lungs screaming in protest. He came to a halt, panting. He couldn't outrun this thing. The other cat was much bigger than he was- it looked positively feral- and he was tired. He could only think of one thing that could possibly save him now, and it was a long shot. As the creature caught up to him and swung, he neatly caught its paws in his and turned on the charm. He couldn't tell if it was male or female, but for this, he didn't care. "Look," he said, draping a paw over its shoulders and grabbing its drooly chin. "Why am I running from you? I know why you're chasing me, my love.'

It looked confused.

Good.

"Now, see here, darling. We can't continue to keep this up. I know how you feel about me, but oh, we can't be together. We simply can't. You must allow me to leave unharmed, my sweeting, if you truly love me. You simply must!"

He could tell that his schtick was working, though not in the typical way. The predatory gleam in the creature's eyes had been replaced by befuddlement. He doubted that it had a mate, or any idea of what love actually was.

He leaned in, as if to kiss the creature...

And promptly ran away! "All in the thrill of the chase, my dear!" he called as he fled to higher ground.

{Khrest; Success, Success; 3rd round.

-Make a dash for it! Bob and weave for the love of leaf!
Mind: 4+7 ....Failure!

You don't quite make it to your destination as a quick, dark furred beast pounces you in your retreat. It swipes you aside like a toy and pins you under a heavy paw.}

Finally! Out of the nutty death pit! haha, what a pun!. Breathing in deeply, and exhaling loudly, the feline felt fully rejuvenated and refueled. That place had been such a drag! He felt so stifled, and constricted in there. What was up with those whacko squirrels anyway? Talking about eating.. Some Ferrah chick.. Yeesh. There were some crazy folks out there. And he'd had more than enough of dealing with psycho's.
But he was out of terrible prison, and off to go back home! Heck, he was naked, and hadn't any of his instruments that were strapped to him, but he'd just have to get them all back another time. All he wanted to do right now is get home, have a nice warm meal, and lay out in the sun. His fur did hold a sort of musky cologne to it now, but... he'd have to wait for a bath, unfortunately.

Well the terrain wasn't very pleasant, but it was better than what he was stuck in before. Stepping along the sturdy presented rocks, Khrest made his way further and further from that dreaded joint, humming lightly to himself. With an occasional flip of his overgrown bangs, a bright grin on his lips, all seemed like smooth sailing from here! what would his little gang of fello bards think when he told them all of this?! Most likely think he's made it up... but hey! Now he'd have another story to at least add to his collection for when he was on the road. And it'd be great material for future songs!
Indeed, Khrest O`Carroll found something good out of this disturbing experience. But as he continued, his fur would begin to prickle along his spine, as chills would shoot down his body... something was.... nearby... He could taste it, smell it, feel it. But he couldn't see it.. that's what was most unnerving of all. Olive eyes sliding around, checking all corners as he slipped through the more foliated area, paws clenched and relaxed uneasily. It just seemed he couldn't catch a break! What creep was stalking him now? One of those darn squirrels again. Smirking to himself, the cat gave a flick of his tail and lowered onto all fours. No matter, he'd just out run those pea-brains. With that, he darted into the woods, weaving and bobbing about with great agility. He wasn't the strongest, but he had learned how to make up for it. And it sure as heck came in handy.

Even though he was growing further away from the feeding grounds, that looming character still remained on his heels. Gritting his teeth, brows furrowing, he'd turn his head to glance over his shoulder from time to time. Who the heck was following him?! And keeping up with all his tricky maneuvering?! It seemed impossible he could be tracked at this rate, and speed. Groaning to himself, head turning back around, he gave it a light shake. The faster he got out of here, the bet-...
Eyes peeling as wide as possible, the feline let out a startled yell, his paws tripping over themselves, causing him to tumble and roll as the momentum continued onwards, eventually making him stop in a heap of cream. Grunting, body sore and battered now, back planted to the ground, Khrest slowly peeked his eyes open. But the light didn't reach him... and a heavy, disgustingly rancid hot air kept panting along his face. There it was..... the creature that had been stalking him all the way in his escape. A large canine had pinned him down, snout pressed dangerously close to the much smaller feline's face, making the cats ears pin back, and paws grip the earth below him. He'd met his doom... there seemed no way out of this....
Gulping, with quite a struggle as his throat was very dry now, Khrest bit his lip as he prayed to... who ever would listen, to give him the chance to flee.
He thought of all the beautiful ladies he hadn't yet tried to swoon, all the song's he hadn't played and mastered. There was so much he still had to do!
Oh please! Be merciful! What have I done to deserve this?!