The Trees
The day wears on…
Soon after setting out, we encounter a vast salt flat — some altitudinous lake, long-dried to a gleaming, desiccated white. Dragging our feet, we set out across the limitless salt-mirror sea.
The sun blinds us from above and below, cutting our vision raw. Sick of the endless white, we are thankful when we see a lightning-struck maple rising from the salt ahead. Its crooked, blackened body is riddled with carvings. We examine them, wondering at the tree’s provenance, when suddenly—
A voice fills our thoughts. No, not a voice — a need. It is the tree, seizing our minds. It begs to be touched, to be moulded by our hands.
Helpless, we do the tree’s bidding.
The Challenge
The Tree commands you to carve your message into its bark.
The Reader will play the role of carving the tree.
Shuffling the deck, the Reader draws a random card. Keeping the card secret, the Reader memorises its name and spelling. For the purposes of this example, let’s say the Reader drew ‘The Waters’.
Standing behind the traveller to their left, the Reader uses a single finger to trace the name of the Waters — letter by letter — into the traveller’s back. The ‘THE’ is not included; the first letter in this example would be ‘W’. The traveller must not speak while the carving is taking place.
When the Reader is finished, the traveller attempts to guess the name of the card once. The Reader reveals whether the guess is correct or incorrect.
If the guess is correct, the game ends.
If the guess is incorrect, that traveller is eliminated. The Reader repeats the entire process for the next traveller to the left, drawing a new Elder Card from the deck.
The game ends if a traveller correctly guesses the name of the Reader’s card, or if every traveller has had a turn.
Success. If a traveller correctly guesses the Elder Card’s name before the Reader gets all the way around the circle, that traveller wins the Challenge.
Failure. If all travellers are eliminated then the Challenge is failed.
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————If the Challenge is passed, the traveller who guessed correctly receives the Blessing of the Elder Card that was guessed. The Reader receives the Bargain of the Trees.
If the Challenge is failed, the party suffers the Curse of the Trees. Take the Trees’ card and place it in a designated area on the table so everyone can see it. If this is the party's third Curse, click here.
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As the tree releases us from its glamour, we crumple in pain. The runes that we carved into the tree’s bark have appeared on our own flesh, slashed into our own backs.
Casting the jagged rocks from our hands, we flee.
Re-form the deck before continuing.