Cast HOT in the tall grass
From Create Your Own Story
You raise the fireball in your palm and fling it forward into the grass, where you see the moving shape. It clearly hits whatever is there, as a terrible, violent scream rises up from the ground, and there is a smell of crackling dry flesh.
You breathe a sigh of relief and dust yourself down. That wasn't so hard! Only then do you notice the side-effect of your spell. The long, parched grass where your fireball landed has caught alight. And the fire is spreading quickly.
You have no choice but to beat a hasty retreat. The fire at your back doubles and trebles in size, becoming a sweeping wave of flame, spreading down the hillside towards the river in one direction and the Wall in the other.
You run until your lungs are fit to burst, up the rise and back down to the path. Luckily, this side of the hill is scree and loose gravel, and the fire cannot follow. You breathe a great sigh of relief and collapse onto the track, soaked in sweat and with the smell of burnt hair in your nostrils.
You have barely started your quest, and you have wasted at least an hour. You must keep moving. Another hour passes and you crest a small hillock, from the top of which you can see the path continuing downwards into a small settlement of huts. This must be Poonani.
From this distance, it's hard to make out much about the town, except that it must be desperately poor. The fields on either side are brown with caked mud, and the few penned animals are thin and wizened like thirsty vines. No wonder the Sightmaster Warriors don't trouble themselves to protect this place – there is nothing here to protect.
It might be better to avoid the town completely. You don't need any trouble so soon into your journey. But the path passes straight through the village, so to avoid it would mean a weary trek cross-country, wasting valuable time.
Do you:
