The Wind
The day wears on…
Today, the Thicket is filled with small voices; the cries of birds, foxes and more echo between the trees. Teeming life surrounds us, predator and prey alike. After all, we are not the only denizens of the Wood just trying to survive.
Suddenly, the chirps and chitters fall silent. For a brief moment, all is perfectly still. Then a tremendous gust of wind barrels between the crowded trunks. Its terrible force knocks the very breath from us.
The Challenge
The Wind compels you to blow against its gale. But who can win this contest of exhalations?
Set a stopwatch.
Count to three as a group, inhaling as you do.
On the count of zero, start the stopwatch. All travellers begin to exhale slowly through their mouths, making a faint sound with their lips to show that they are exhaling.
Whoever continues to exhale longest before tapping out wins.
When the final traveller stops, stop the stopwatch.
HELP FROM AN ITEM
If any traveller carries a FLUTE, they may begin to exhale five seconds later than everyone else.
Success. If the winning traveller exhales for longer than twenty seconds, the Challenge is passed.
Failure. If the winning traveller exhales for less than twenty seconds, the party fails to match the Wind, and the Challenge is failed.
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————If the Challenge is passed, the traveller who exhaled the longest receives the Blessing of the Wind.
If the Challenge is failed, all travellers suffer the Curse of the Wind. Place the Wind’s card in a designated area reserved for Curses. If this is the party's third Curse, click here.
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Blessings and Bargains symbolise the support of a spirit of the Elder Wood. Both offer protection against death for the traveller who wins them.
Blessings: When a spirit is pleased, it might grant its special protection to a particular traveller. Spirits who have bestowed a member of the party with their Blessing travel invisibly with them and will help to protect them when they reach the Heart of the Wood.
Travellers who win a Blessing should place the Blessing behind their Character Card so that the spirit's name and number are still visible.
Bargains: Sometimes, instead of granting its Blessing to a traveller, a spirit might instead offer a conditional protection called a Bargain. Bargains symbolise a trade between spirit and traveller; the spirit protects the traveller, but its influence affects the traveller's behaviour. The traveller must obey the Bargain rules written on the spirit's card so long as they possess the Bargain. In return, the spirit will convert its Bargain to a Blessing in the Heart of the Wood, thus helping the traveller survive.
Travellers who win a Bargain should place the Bargain card face-up to one side of their Character Card, so that they can read the card's Bargain rules.
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When a spirit is displeased by the party, it will lay its Curse upon them. Curses have dire consequences. The more Curses a party gathers, the more lives will be claimed in the Heart of the Wood. Furthermore, if a party incurs three Curses, the Wood's spirits will reject them and they will be forced to flee for their lives, ending the game.
When you incur a Curse, place it in a designated area of the table so that all travellers are aware of it.
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————As suddenly as it began, the bluster ceases. Sound returns to the trees around us. The wind has blown on.