[D5 SMS] Sandworm Watching

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

Bomilcar had asked the local woman that he had worked with a bit if she would be interested in joining him for some observation of the desert. She seemed to know it and he hoped that she would be able to guide him properly. He had not yet had the chance to observe a sandworm in person and felt that he'd hate himself if he missed the chance while he was on planet.

[Ahmina]

She was silent as was her habit...perhaps he only her her when she spoke? Who knew

''Sahid requested me?''

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

He nodded. "Wanted to see sandworm. Interested in joining?" It was very clearly a request, and an honest one. Not an expectation or a demand. Even in his short manner, he could somehow express a gentleness.

[Ahmina]

Ahmina tilted her head, no fully understanding

''Why?'' she frowned ''You must understand that the Harkonnen will not be happy that you summon a worm here Sahid''

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

"Heard they travel through. Not summoning." He says, confused himself. "Wrong?"

[Ahmina]

''The worms travel underground, sahid. They do not make appearances on the surface unless prey is sensed'' she explained ''You can fake a prey's presence to lure one out but that is calling it''

She paused

''If you want to see one...you will need a thopter to put a lure far''

[Kannon]

As per Levenbrech's orders, their Sardaukar shadow was not far behind.

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

He looks to the Sardaukar and the thopter there, and shrugs at her.

[Kannon]

Sardaukar glared back, none too pleased. Hour of Assassins was such a great time to go on a trip into the unknown on a planet that kept killing, no-one ever said.

[Kannon]

A distant electrical discharge from the west ominously reverberated, foretelling an approach of a great storm. It would be at the Pass and in the Erg within mere hours.

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

They were here. He needed to know. "Find shelter, in case storm turns us back." He suggests.

[Kannon]

The rocks of the pass they had flown into were rather diverse; blocks of basalt indicated volcanic activity of the past, but most of it was sculpted by storms. The southern side, where they landed, showed some promise of finding shelter because of piles of slabs of stone from what once might have been a peak in its own right.

Ahmina didn't know the place well; but this looked like it could be one of the hideouts of her kin. Not necessarily a place to live, it was rather exposed, but as a transitory sietch... It made strategic sense, for sure. Thing was, those places had to be perfectly disguised to serve their purpose, and finding entrance was an ordeal, especially in the dark, when no moonlight helped.

[Cave-finding is Discipline 4, +1 for darkness, but can be assisted, and Fremen trait lowers the difficulty.]

[Ahmina]

"The Storm will swallow us if we leave sahid. It might be wise to wait until the Morrow"

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

Bomilcar nods and trusts in the opinion of his guide. "Shelter then."

He assists as he is able.

D5 SMS, Discipline + Faith, TN 14, Reroll because assistance is different: 1#1d20 4

[Ahmina]

(so we are at 5 difficulty and my fremen trait reduces to 4?)

[Kannon]

(so we are at 5 difficulty and my fremen trait reduces to 4?)

[Yes, and Bom needs to reroll his assistance. This can still succeed at a cost.]

[Ahmina]

While Ahmina was used to these conditions, Brom managed to help speed the search of a suitable hideout.

''There'' she said, pointing ''We will hide there''

Finding shelter, Discipline (survival)+ Faith, 1 threat for an upgrade, TN 14 crit 6: 3#1d20 18 2 6
4+1=5 successes, +1 momentum, +1 threat

[Kannon]

Even in the dark, Ahmina could trace the differences in air flow, the subtle hum of windtraps deep within, the traces of plantings in the feces of small animals. If not for those secondary clues, the entrance would have been undetectable, especially that it was just a creak in the rock that looked like a shallow concavity until you pressed yourself in and slid deeper to the right. The stench of bats would lead them.

That solved the issue of the shelter for them, but what about the thopter?

"Whatever you two are up to, I am not going to let you waste another of the Count's thopters. If you really want to stay here for the storm, I am taking the machine back." The Sardaukar said to them; he had no chance to get through the narrow passage without removing his armour.

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

"Lord be with you," Bomilcar stated to the Sardaukar, with a nod to the man, wishing him well. The smell of bats...

"Ahmina," he says. "Old woman Hebe said... become bat in storm."

[Ahmina]

Ahmina raised an eyebrow

''What?''

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

His throat was a bit hoarse and dry. "Old Fremen woman. Tahaddi al-Burhan. Go to where storm comes from. Must turn into bat." He didn't even know what half of he was saying meant. Ahmina would likely recognized the term Tahaddi al-Burhan.

[Ahmina]

Ahmina's expression is unreadable but her silence is palpable

"I see...where did you meet that woman?"

[Kannon]

"Lord be with you," Bomilcar stated to the Sardaukar, with a nod to the man, wishing him well.

"I give you 10 minutes, Thorvald."

[Bomilcar Thorvald]

"Chin Rock. Woman helps miners," he says. "Old Fremen woman, seer of Guild."

[Ahmina]

''If we wait the storm here...it will be more then ten minutes''