The Butcher
The day wears on…
We all know that smell — the sweet and savour of marbled meat, sizzling over hot coals. It drifts across the slick mass of the bog, setting our stomachs rumbling. We cannot resist; we follow it.
The source of smell soon comes into view: a butcher, her knives and saws laid with utmost precision upon a cutting table. To one side, a fire heaped with spitted meat blazes against the marsh. It seems that she is preparing some kind of feast.
“Wotcha,” growls the butcher. Her hand never eases from its work — breaking bones, cutting and quartering. Mindful of our own stomachs, we plead with her; has she any to spare? “No dice. The meat’s fer the king, it is. But I tell yer what. A butcher’s eye is his second best tool. If you can tell me how many poundsa meat I got cooking on that fire, I’ll give yer just a taste.”
The butcher’s eyes twinkle with malice. Eagerly, we begin to size up the fire.
The Challenge
Precision is the secret of good butchery.
Shuffle the deck and place it in the middle of the circle.
The Reader cuts the deck once. Discard the top half.
Clockwise starting with the traveller to the Reader’s left, each traveller may take it in turns to guess the total number value of the cards remaining in the deck. No guesses may be repeated.
When all travellers have made their guess, spread the bottom half of the deck and calculate the total number value of the cards.
The traveller whose guess was numerically closest wins the Challenge. In the event of a tie, the eldest player wins.
HELP FROM AN ITEM
If any traveller carries a KNIFE, they may make two guesses.
Success. If any traveller guessed a value within ten digits of the correct answer, the Challenge is passed.
Failure. If no travellers guessed a number within ten digits of the correct answer, then the Challenge is failed.
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————If the Challenge was passed, the traveller who won with the closest guess earns the Blessing of the Butcher.
If the Challenge was failed, the party suffers the Curse of the Butcher. If this is the party's third Curse, click here.
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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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————Eagerly, we meet the butcher’s challenge, giving our best guesses. She laughs and tosses us a leg from the spit. “Close enough.”
But even as we divide the meat between ourselves, we hesitate. Those claws resemble… human toenails. Revolted, we cast the meat from us — turn to confront the vile woman. But the butcher and her table are gone, the fire mere dust in the mud of the marsh.
Re-form the deck before continuing.