|
Post by sleepingdragon on Oct 29, 2016 17:21:06 GMT
sd: continuing to scream as her mind still reeled under the psychic backlash of her failed spell, the sorceress Baltethiva moved away from the rocks and began to chant arcane syllables, tongues of flame forming upon her fingertips. Leofric: Leofric glared at the sorceress with his dark eyes and moved his warhorse toward the other two approaching men, with a evil smile on his face Hogar: "She's going to cast a spell, best if we don't stick too close to each other!" Hogar warned the others as they advanced on the witch and her remaining warriors sd: one of the kidnappers raised his halberd and swung it down hard at Beomund. The smith, who had not fought on horseback for some time, almost turned directly into the blow, but at the last moment he was able to interpose the haft of his hammer. sd: the two horses jostled with each other as Beomund heaved back against his hammer and flung his opponent away. The smith's shove knocked the enemy off balance for a split second and that was all he needed. His hammer came thundering down and smashed the man in his already injured chest. There was a great rending crash as the man's bones shattered and he was hurled from the saddle. He was already dead when he hit the ground, the shattered remnants of his ribs jutting out through his broken flesh like a ghastly, broken-toothed grin Edmund: Edmund moved forward a little, his eyes never wavering from the sorceress as wtih deliberate care he drew back the bowstring and finally let the arrow fly. It shot straight to its mark, hitting the undead creature full and hard between the eyes. sd: three of the remaining kidnappers spurred their stolen horses forward and engaged the party Leofric: Leofric launched an attack on another kidnapper facing him. With his Shifting Blade, he managed to barely got through the kidnapper's defence. The Blade strike hit heavily on the enemy's head and it bled profusely. To Leofric's surprise, the man still standiing but clearly unable to make an attempt on Leofric for a little longer. The kidnapper can see the grim grin through the blood soaked face, none of which not from Leofric, sd: edit: no horses moving forward, kidnappers went forward on foot Hogar: Hogar rode in the middle, coming to face against a kidnapper carrying spear and shield and throwing him to the ground with a vicious axe blow to the head which also made him lose his grip on the weapon. sd: Beomund's new foe stabbed up at him with his halberd. The smith swept it aside with his hammer haft, with which he followed through, slamming into the man's face, and at the same time he turned his warhorse sharply, knocking the man off balance. He fell face first to the ground, head ringing and wiping wildly at the snow in his eyes. Edmund: Calling on the power of the Screaming Bow, Edmund rapidly fired again, and again the sorceress was struck hard in the head. This time she fell and lay unmoving on the ground. "Thus evil will perish!" Edmund muttered to himself as his eyes scanned the field of combat for more enemies to target. sd: with the sorceress down and their foes already overwhelmed, it took the party little time to finish them off. Despite the two arrows in her skull, Balethiva appeared to be alive, though her blood was pouring out into the snow and she would all but certainly expire shortly without aid Leofric: Leofric strolled over to Balethiva and eyed her without any pity in his eyes and gestured at the others if any of his peers want to ask her question before performing a gruesome task of ending her undead life. Edmund: "She should be put out of her misery," Edmund said softly, looking down at the bloody mess of the woman's head. sd: Lord Renweard had struggled to his feet, still in his bonds. He looked shaken and he glanced up at the Prophet's Star as he walked towards them. "I...I should be dead," he said. "That one there thrust his halberd straight in my face. Is this some miracle from your God?" Clearly the Lord of the Werling clan had missed Beomund's spell of protection in the confusion. Leofric: Leofric nodded as he dismounted from his warhorse and with his Shifting Blade, ended her undeath, smoothly rather than roughly as he normally dealt out to the neconomancers. Hogar: "Might as well."said Hogar to Edmund taking up his axe again and beheading the sorceress with a single swing of his axe. The head was still rolling along the ground when he turned to face Renweard Leofric: With the dead enemies surrounding them, he strolled over to Lord Renweard and nodded, "I am reassured to find you in good health," He pulled his dagger from his belt and removed the gag and bounds from Lord Renweard, "No, not precisely." He sighed for a moment before explaining, "Beomund." With a twist of his head at Beomund, "Used his skill to protect you from such blows." Leofric explained quietly. Hogar: "Had he not, you would have suffered...far worse than such a shallow cut."said Hogar as he examined the man's wound and further improved its condition so that it now looked like a mere graze sd: Renweard looked uncomprehending for a moment, then understood. "Will you lead me back? I'm rather shaken. I could use one of those men's horses if you could catch one." sd: edit - ignore 'will you lead me back' Leofric: Leofric grimanced as he eyed the wandering farm horses. He try to get one but failed sd: "These people when they were speaking, they follow the dragonspawn! They're going to be attacking, we need to warn people urgently!" sd: Beomund was eventually able to capture one of the horses and led it back for Renweard to mount. "They specifically meant to lead you four away, they know of your reputation," Lord Renweard continued. Leofric: Leofric mounted his warhorse again and nodded, "Well, we will have to live up to our reputation then." He grinned with dangerous intention. Leofric: EDIT: without any true amusement. sd: "Has there been a warning of the attack? My daughter is in danger, and all the other guests as well." Leofric: Leofric nodded as he settled his weapons into a proper array, "Yes, we did get a warning in time and Bexcheap is now on guard thankfully." sd: Renweard nodded in relief. "I may yet die tonight, but at least I'll die fighting with others. Will you be returning with me, or did you have some other task?" Renweard knelt by one of the dead men, cut his bonds on the edge of his spear, and took the weapon and shield for himself. He had probably been a fine warrior in his youth, but age, grief and illness had robbed the Lord of the Werlings of much of his strength, and they doubted he would be the equal of a dragonspawn if one came face to face with him. Leofric: "We do have other matter to attend to such as urgently." He pursed his lips as he eyed to the west. Hogar: "We certainly hope you won't." said Hogar, referring to the prospect of Renweard's death "Though sadly many fine noble men might die soon. As for us, we have more to deal with..." sd: "I'll ride back immediately then. Good luck, and thank you. I don't have much time left but perhaps I'll live to see my grandson born now because of you." Renweard saluted them with his spear and took his horse's reigns. Leofric: = Edmund: "I hope it's a girl and she takes after her mother," Edmund murmured as Renwaeard rode away. Leofric: Leofric saluted Lord Renweard whose life they saved as well and shook his head, "Good lord!" He softly answered Edmund's comment, "Hopefully the child would be more... tactfully." Edmund: "Maybe she'll take after her father," Edmund said with a glint in his eye. "Well we'd better make sure there's a world for he or she to be born into. Let's get going." Leofric: "Time to get in touch with dear Erlene." His eyes narrowed as his Will went forth to get in touch with Erlene Leofric whispers: sd You whisper to Leofric: yep Leofric whispers: Leofric got in touch with Erlene, "We dealt with the group holding Renweard and sent him back. Still holding on?" Leofric: EDIT: "How are you faring?" You whisper to Leofric: "Leofric...the pain, it's horrible, it's like a fire tearing through my innards," Erlene responded. After a short pause she added, "Do you have any idea how badly I need a piss? I've been sitting here for fucking hours. The dragonspawn are almost gone, just a few last scouts scanning the area before they move on." Leofric whispers: Leofric can only reply with a sympathetic tone , "Ouch, at least they haven't found you, good to hear that they are moving away from you. We will be heading toward you, hopefully avoiding the dragonspawns...." Leofric: Leofric relayed the information, "Erlene is still safely hidden although she is finding it uncomfortable." Hogar: "Who'd blame her, being around dragonspawn is hardly pleasant." You whisper to Leofric: "This spell will let you share memories, right? Can I see where you are? I know this area pretty well, I'll be able to get out quite soon and I can suggest somewhere we can meet up." After a pause, Erlene added, "I'm going to try to draw some after me once there's some separation from the main column. There's a sheltered spot I found about two months ago which I'm pretty sure they don't go to often and I've prepared some traps there, if we can draw a score or so of them after us, the five of us should be able to wipe them out with help from the terrain." Leofric: Leofric nodded as he mentally replied Edmund: "Any chance we can get to her?" Edmund asked. Leofric whispers: Leofric nodded mentally, "Yes, it can. Let me show you my memories." Leofric memories of the ride from Bexcheap and the surrounding view from the hillock, enchaned by his darkvision. "Sound like a good plan. Let me relay this to others." Leofric: Leofric relayed the information, "Erlene is thinking on where to meet up and planning to attract a score of dragonspawns after her and wipe them out with helps from traps and the terrian." Leofric: EDIT: at a sheltered spot. Player "Leofric." is not connected. You whisper to Leofric: "Hmm. Ah, that's where that is. Right. Meet me here then." She concentrated for a moment, and Leofric saw a memory of Erlene perhaps three months ago, climbing up a small cliff where there stood a trio of trees, two of which were white-barked and dead, but yet to collapse, while a third was alive and strong, towering over the others. Leofric immediately knew that this was a ride of a little under an hour to the west of where they now waited. "I'll be using electric arrows, if I get in a terrible situation and need you to come rescue me I'll fire two into the sky. They should show up in these conditions." Edmund: Edmund frowned. "A score? I hope it works." Hogar: "With us and her together again, I trust it will."Hogar smiled grimly Leofric: Leofric grimanced, "That was her plan. She shown me her spot which is about a hour away in the west. If she get into a desperate situtation, she will signal us with two arrows." Leofric: EDIT: desperate situtation toward the meeting place. Edmund: "So we'll go straight there?" Edmund suggested. Leofric whispers: Leofric nodded mentally, "Okay, may God be with you. We will go straight to the meeting place." Leofric: "Yes. We should go straight there right away." Leofric replied with the answer. You whisper to Leofric: "See you there." Leofric: "Good luck." Leofric softly ended his spell. Leofric: Leofric started his warhorse in the general direction sd: they rode off, guided by Leofric who suddenly knew the area well from the memory Erlene had shared with him. the outer slopes of the Cambers were relatively gentle, but soon they were into its rockier hills, which were bisected with many gorges and ravines. Erlene had indicated to Leofric a place she had found, which was atop a cliff overlooking a little valley, where there were three white trees. Two had died and were withering, but had yet to collapse, while a third lived still and towered over its dead siblings. In the memory Leofric had seen Erlene had climbed up to it, but that was no option for them on horseback so instead they were able to ride around by a side path. They hid the horses in a nearby copse and waited, shivering in the crisp winter air, shrouded in darkness.
After nearly twenty minutes they began to worry, but then a human hand appeared just near Edmund's foot and a moment later Erlene pulled herself upwards. She was slightly out of breath and her hands had scratches on them, but she was uninjured otherwise. Erlene had much the same equipment as she had done when they worked with her previously - a great longbow and a quiver of arrows, though she had added a second quiver of silver arrows to deal with the undead. She carried a pack and a shortspear, and as ever there was a spade slung over her shoulder, but this one was new. Its haft was fitted with a fine grip of cowhide which would not slip in the wet, the steel of the spade was strong and clearly recently forged, and its bottom edge was thick and reinforced iron to split through stones or heavy mud or snow. She hauled herself up beside them.
"Sorry, they gave me a better chase than I'd expected. There's about thirty of them, we should probably move now. In between here and the place I have ready there are some places we might lose a few of them to make the numbers a bit more manageable." Leofric: Leofric smiled with a sense of relief seeing Erlene surviving the chase, "Good. Glad to see you again. We are ready." Edmund: "It's good to see you Erlene. What do you want us to do?" Edmund asked. Hogar: Hogar too was glad to see Erlene had made it alive "We can take them, as long as you keep helping us."he said sd: "Come with me, there'll be some places where we can leave traps or lead them off on side paths. The main spot I have prepared has quite a few little surprises I've prepared, but that will be for the end. It's a good site, a cliff like this one but much wider, about thirty five feet high, with just one very winding path leading up from the south where we'll lead them from. There's a little hidden path for the horses you can use, you won't want to ride up the main path as I've riddled it with spikes and pits." Erlene patted her new spade with more affection than they'd ever seen her show another human being. Edmund: Edmund smiled. "Your plan sounds excellent." Leofric: Leofric smiled, "Excellent, I am sure they will be in for an unexpected and unpleasant surprise." sd: the party sped off. Most stayed on foot, leading their horses - in this terrain, being mounted was only a little faster, and made the rocky terrain more difficult to traverse in some places. Behind them they heard hoofbeats - Erlene said that there was about a half dozen human riders with the dragonspawn as auxiliaries, and perhaps ten of the dragonspawn themselves with another fifteen or twenty skeletal minions following them.
as they went, Erlene crept down a narrow ravine and they were able to look back to see the pursuers. With a brief moment to prepare, they set to work. Hogar found a branch which could be bent back on a tree overlooking the pathway back up, and Edmund was able to improvise from nearby vines and small branches to hold them in place, attaching these to a tripwire of rope Erlene had cut. Beomund gathered snow and leaves to hide this under, and they rushed on. When their foes came after them, they looked back and saw the branch lash out at a human rider and two skeletons, smashing into them unexpectedly and sending them careening over the edge of the path, crashing to their deaths upon the stones some thirty feet below. sd: they continued up through the ravines and defiles, Erlene guiding them along. Without her expert knowledge of these hills they would have been forced into fatal delays, but she always found the right path to allow them to continue on. As they went, Edmund glanced out and saw, about half a mile distant in the darkness, a very large overhanging boulder which he thought might perhaps be loose. Quickly agreeing a plan, Beomund and Hogar separated from the others and made a dart for the boulder, drawing about a half dozen foes after them while Erlene continued to climb with the others. They considered for a moment simply turning and confronting them, as they had faced worse odds than three to one before, but fearing that more of the enemy would come if they came into melee range they continued to run. As they neared the boulder, Beomund peeled away and began to climb towards it, while Hogar drew the enemy after him. The skeletons among their foes had arrows and fired after him, but they either fell wide, or struck the shield Hogar had slung over his back as protection. Hogar sprinted past the boulder and up a slope on the other side, and as soon as their foes were in range Beomund gave the boulder a shove. It tumbled down towards them, dislodging many smaller stones as it tumbled. Several skeletons were smashed to pieces in the fall, and amidst the spray of pebbles and dust and the darkness Hogar and Beomund clambered straight up the side of the hill and were able to rejoin the others in safety. sd: Erlene and Beomund led them on while the others served as rearguard. When they temporarily reached a flat point Hogar mounted his horse and again rode out to draw some of the foes after him. Erlene had spotted a perilous ledge which was not as solid as it seemed, and Hogar deliberately rode towards it. He wheeled past the ledge, but when several dragonspawn, a skeleton and a uman came near to it he turned and his warhorse plunged fearlessly towards them. The stolen farm animal the human rode reared at this sudden movement, and in the process fell back and stepped onto the uncertain ledge. Beneath the horse's great weight it suddenly collapsed, taking down animal and rider, along with one of the skeletons and a rider. One of the dragonspawn caught the ledge and began to climb up, while several more foes went after Hogar. Then there was a deep thrum as Leofric's crossbow sang. A bolt sprouted between the dragonspawn's eyes and it fell back with a roar of agony, and in the chaos he was able to strike one of the human riders right in the throat and slay him as well. In the tumult Hogar escaped and rejoined the others.
Nearing the ground Erlene had prepared, she gave them hurried instructions so they could cycle about and reach the top of the cliff on horseback, while she drew the enemy after her.
|
|
|
Post by sleepingdragon on Nov 6, 2016 17:02:08 GMT
sd: Nearing the ground Erlene had prepared, she gave them hurried instructions so they could cycle about and reach the top of the cliff on horseback, while she drew the enemy after her. The party rode hard, and soon found themselves atop a very large cliff, leading up to higher hills, and overlooking a large valley dotted with sparse trees and stones. The route Erlene had given them had been hard to follow, and the valley itself was surrounded by cliffs on each side, which was why Erlene had chosen it - the dragonspawn would have little reason to ever investigate the place, as it led nowhere. The Changer woman had clearly been very busy at work. There was but a single path leading up from below, and it was narrow and winding. Here and there Erlene had driven spikes deep into the earth, cleverly concealed, the points painted brown to blend in with the surrounding colours. Between the trees which led to the narrow path she had hidden various traps - two great scything blades between one set of trees, and large wooden boxes filled with heavy stones in two more, all triggered by tripwires buried beneath the snow and almost invisible. She had also dug herself a sniper's nest in a small hollow within the cliff itself, the entrance to which was concealed with brush - they would not have known it was there save for the small hole by a large stone overlooking the valley.
The party had only a brief time to prepare themselves. Soon Erlene, her legs magically enhanced, came streaking forward, with a huge force after her. Four horsemen led the rush, and after her came a large group of skeletons armed with bows, and dragonspawn with picks, balls & chains, or large hammers. Upon their shields and the crests of their helms was their familiar symbol, with the top right hand point of the pentagram painted gold. If the information found in Manehtar's Library could be believed, these dragonspawn followed Gaulamarth, the Dragon Whose Scales are Adamant - though what advantage this knowledge would be they could not be sure. Certainly it was little advantage to Erlene, who was sprinting forward at enormous speed, arrowing towards one of the trees near the base of the cliff. Edmund: Edmund quickly cast several spells on himself and his arrows, never taking his eyes from the speeding woman and the crowded enemies behind her. Leofric: Leofric already casted his spell which bestow extra strength to his party. Instead he focused on the enemies, reloading his crossbow with a crank. Hogar: Hogar cast a spell on himself and Leofric to enchant any projectile they would throw or fire. Small sparks of lightning now danced across the fingertips of the two warriors as they surveyed the approaching enemies. Leofric: Leofric only smiled mysteriously as he eyed little sparks on his fingertips Edmund: Edmund swung the black bow from his shoulder and drew an arrow, his eyes narrowing as he looked for the first target. Beomund: Beomund cast enchantments as well, setting aside a few bolts and arrows that would be useful for piercing through enemy armor. Edmund: Edmund fired the first shot of the attack, aiming for one of the horses and striking it in the leg, The horse staggered to its knees, but the rider was able to roll clear and lay for a moment on the ground. Leofric: Leofric crept out of his cover, showing his head and shooting arm as he aimed his crossbow at another horse and pulled the trigger. The bolt flew true and struck a horse's front leg, crippling it throwing its rider off. But like first rider, it hit the ground with ease Hogar: Hogar followed, firing his own arrow at another horse. The projectile flew true and struck one of the beast's fore legs with great force, sending it sprawling to the ground while the rider managed to nimbly dismount. Beomund: Beomund launched yet another arrow in the party's volley, striking the last of the horses below the neck. As it stumbled the rider leapt off nimbly, landing on his feet. sd: the three fallen riders rose, while the last, landing smoothly on his feet, simply began to run, halberd raised in the air. Now on the ground, however, he had no chance to catch Erlene, who rushed forward at breathtaking speed due to the spell she had cast on herself. Leofric: Leofric lied down taking full advantage of the cover offered by the cliff and slowly cranking his crossbow with new bolt. Edmund: Edmund rapidly fired again, this time at the rider of the horse he had downed, who had just scrambled to his feet. The arrow sank into the man's gut and remained there. Edmund swung the bow away and pulled his flute from his belt. sd: tearing forward and reaching the base of the tree, Erlene flung herself towards the trunk and began to haul herself upwards, bow and spade rattling on her shoulders. With incredible agility she slung herself up, deftly avoiding setting off the trap she had laid and bounding up onto a branch. Hogar: Hogar fired another arrow, this time at the human warrior who had been dismounted by Edmund's shot. Though dealt a serious wound to the chest and with his heart nearl but not quite pierced the the man kept advancing with remarkable determination. Edmund: With cool deliberation, Edmund raised the flute to his lips and began to play, a strain that was both proud and fierce yet controlled, as they also must be against their numerous enemies. Leofric: Leofric aimed at the second rider with his crossbow and fired. Again it flew true and slammed into the chest of the rider. However, despite it injuiry, it doesn't seems to cause that heavy a wound but deeply embedded sd: Erlene clambered up to the top of the tree as their foes continued to chase her. A group of four skeletons and dragonspawn turned to the side slightly, running past a dying tree and down towards a small depression. Unfortunately for them, Erlene had prepared a trap there - as soon as they came forward the ground fell away beneath them. One skeleton managed to leap clear, but the other three fell down into the pit. Erlene had rigged the mechanism as well - metal wires were tied round the dying tree, and as soon as the pit was sprung they were pulled taut. The tree was hauled down and completely covered the pit entrance, trapping the monsters below. sd: at the top of the tree, Erlene balanced for just a moment on the top branch. She nearly swayed, but then she righted herself and threw herself through the air towards the cliff, aiming for the cliff's false front that covered her small cavern. With a great bound she cleared the space, crashing through the brambles and branches without harm thanks to Beomund's spell. She rolled and landed on her feet, sweeping her bow out in a smooth motion as she stood. Leofric: Leofric smiled at the excellent feats Erlene shown in getting to her hidden nest Beomund: Beomund fired a third arrow into one of the dismounted riders, but the man somehow kept moving. Hogar: Hogar took a moment to aim at the halberd-wielding human who had left his companions behind and then fired a powerful shot at one his legs. The arrow tore through most of the knee - it gave way and the man fell down, helpless. sd: the monsters continued to charge forward, coming up to the beginning of the path up the cliff. Unfortunately, in their haste they didn't spot the scythe trap Erlene had strung between the trees - as the dragonspawn burst forward, it swept out in a massive arc, slashing three of the creatures hard, and a skeleton as well. None of them were killed, but two were left with great bleeding gashes. Beomund: Beomund fired an arrow down at one of the fallen dragonspawn, but it flew wide and buried itself in the ground. sd: the dragonspawn began to struggle to their feet. One shouted an order in the draconic tongue, and the skeletons began to draw bows now that they were nearer in range to the party Hogar: Hogar now fired at the one of the rushing dragonspawn who had been left with bleeding wound on his chest. He dealt him another even more grievous, but the monster somehow kept advancing. Hogar: edit: He dealt him another even more grievous, the arrow striking close to where the scythe previously had, and the monster fell. sd: two of the dragonspawn set off another scythe trap - the first was cut heavily, but the second was protected by some kind of spell and was uninjured. Both creatures continued to rush forward. Erlene fired at one of them, but the arrow sliced wide. sd: an arrow sliced up towards Hogar, but sailed far wide Edmund: Having loaded his bow, Edmund peered down the cliff to see two Dragonspawn rushing up the path. Carefully he took aim and fired, hitting one of them in the belly. It dropped to the ground, tumbling over. Leofric: Leofric fired his crossbow at the approaching dragonspawn but to missed. He withdrew and start reloading his crossbow Hogar: Hogar fired at the lone dragonspawn who had begun sprinting up the path, but this this time owing to the spell of protection the creature had on itself only did minor damage. Beomund: Beomund fired at the same dragonspawn, and his arrow pierced deep into the creature's arm. Edmund: Edmund eyed the same Dragonspawn as it dashed up the path. His arrow hit the monster hard in the belly, and it stopped, clutching itself as blood gushed out. sd: the skeletons let loose with a barrage of arrows. Erlene was struck by one, but only lightly wounded, and Edmund and Beomund rolled away from others. sd: Erlene nocked an arrow and fired down at one of the human Dragon Cultists who was now near the base of the path. Her arrow sliced through the air, pounded straight through his back. In a quick motion she had another arrow ready to fire. sd: as she loaded another arrow struck her, but Beomund's spell protected her Beomund is disconnected. Hogar: Hogar fired at a dragonspawn on the path again - this time his arrow struck the creature's belly with greater force, though the monster was still left standing and able to fight sd: the dragonspawn continued to charge. The one at the lead rushed straight into a pit trap, and fell with a great crash. There was a stirring noise within however - the creature was still alive and moving Edmund: Recovering from his roll Edmund fired again, and another Dragonspawn fell with his arrow deep in its guts. Leofric: Leofric fired anotehr bolt but failed to hit his target. Frustrated, he put his crossbow down and reach for his boardsword and shield instead while moving along the rock sd: another wave of arrows came up. Erlene backed away as two sliced past her. A third came straight at Leofric as he stuck his head up, but he was protected by a cantrip he had cast earlier and it failed to pierce into him Leofric: Leofric reached out for his trusty shield. Hogar: Hogar had been moving around the huge boulder he and Leofric had been standing by to get a better view of the attackers as they scaled the path Leofric: Leofric drew his Shifting Blade in one hand. Edmund: Edmund drew another arrow and cooly fired at one of the remaining Dragonspawn running up the path. This time he hit it squarely in the chest and it fell back in a spray of blood. sd: the dragonspawn continued to rush up the pathway, with the one who had fallen down the pit climbing back up, shield covering him Hogar: Having circled the rock Hogar fired at one of the humans with tremendous force, the enchanted arrow tearing a huge hole in his belly which somehow the man survived though he collapsed down the path in a heap. The warrior quickly readied another arrow... Edmund is disconnected. Hogar: and fired at the remaining human, though this time his arrow flew wide and buried itself in the rocky surface of the path rather than his target's body. sd: Beo fired at the same target, with much greater success - his shaft sliced through the back of the man's knee, sending him toppling to the ground. The dragonspawn, seeing it was badly outnumbered, barked an order and held its shield up protectively Edmund has connected. sd: the dragonspawn's order signalled a retreat - there came one last hail of arrows which failed to penetrate, and then the skeletons began to retreat. The dragonspawn was shot down as it fled and they managed to kill a few skeletons as well, but they were not easy to destroy with arrows and most were able to escape. They had nonetheless destroyed over half of the thirty creatures which had been sent after Erlene, without any serious damage to themselves. "We should kill the ones stuck in the pit," she said. "We need to cut the heads off all the enemies, or else they might get reanimated. Some of those humans are alive, I don't know if it's worth trying to interrogate them." Leofric: Leofric came over and nodded, "Good idea and I don't think we will get any useful information out of them considering they seems to be fanatics." Edmund: "It seems wrong to not try," Edmund said thoughtfully. "If nothing else it would be helpful to know what moves humans to work for the Dragonspawn." Hogar: Hogar had been pierced in the arm by an arrow from the skeleton's last volley and pulling it out caused some more damage, but the wound was still not serious enough to worry about. After he had dealt with this he addressed Erlene and others "We couldn't have handled such a large force without you, Erlene. As for interrogating them, we might as well try though I expect them to merely spout nonsense about being part of the Chosen and glad to die for their dragon master." sd: "As long as we don't take too long about it. There's still an army heading towards Bexcheap."
|
|
|
Post by sleepingdragon on Nov 12, 2016 18:10:57 GMT
sd: two of the human horsemen had survived, along with the skeletons which had fled on command. They had little time to waste, so Hogar was able to bind their wounds and bring them round quickly. Erlene, being of little use speaking to anyone, picked up a spare halberd from one of the fallen riders and went to hack the heads off the dead, so the dragonspawn could not raise them to fight again. By the time she had completed this grim duty, the first of the prisoners had come back round to consciousness. Edmund: Edmund moved to stand in front of the prisoner. "What happened here? Why are you fighting for the Dragonspawn?" sd: the man looked up at Edmund. "We've always fought for the Chosen," he said. His accent was similar to those they had heard in the Lost-Lands, though not exactly identical. "We always will." Edmund: "Are you from somewhere near the Lost Lands?" Edmund asked. sd: "No, we're the ones who are found, not lost," the man replied with some heat. "I was born in these hills. My parents came south with the Most High years ago at the command of the Nameless One. When we've won these lands her worth will be proved beyond all doubt, even to the Chosen." Edmund: "We know of the Nameless One, but who is the Most High?" Edmund asked. sd: "The Most High is our priestess and our queen. She is the one who brought low the lands you've stolen, the lands we will take back below these hills." Edmund: "You mean she caused this land to be cursed and become the Plague Fields?" Edmund enquired, frowning in thought. sd: "Of course she didn't, that was another, to spite her. She meant to conquer this land, not curse it. She is the cunning one who set them at war with one another to prepare the way for the Chosen." Edmund: Edmund nodded in understanding at this. "Do you know the name of the Most High?" sd: "Eanfleda is her name. All the falseborn know her name and curse it in vain." Edmund: Edmund nodded again. "And we know she set weak men against each other and took advantage of them, and her quest for power led to this land suffering under an awful curse. Eanfleda is out for herself, and will lead all of you into nothing but death. Not even your Galazra will be able to prevent that." Beomund: "How does she expect victory now?" added Beomund. "We are aware of her plans, and stronger than we have been for many decades." sd: "The Most High is out for us all! She will prove that not only the Chosen are worthy servants of the true god! And you are a damn fool if you think you're strong enough. If the Most High were with us today you would be dead already." Beomund: "I imagine she would hope to face us then," replied Beomund. "We are the most worthy foes in the region, and if she can defeat us the resistance will crumble. We wish to face her too, even if you think us overconfident. Is there anything we should know of her movements, so that we can hurry this confrontation?" sd: "Confrontation? The Most High will make you her slaves with a single glance. If you are so worthy you might serve her so well as her general." sd: *as well as her general Edmund: "Is she so short of good servants? Perhaps she has need of a bard too," Edmund said, whisling a few bars from his epic tale The Cleaning of the Plague Fields. Edmund: eedit* Cleansing sd: "She has singers and slaves aplenty, you can join them one day, alive or dead." Beomund: "Well, if you don't plan to help us reach her, I have nothing more to ask," said Beomund, glancing back at their path away. Edmund: "We can't take them with us or leave them here," Edmund muttered quietly to Hogar. "Execution seems the only way." Hogar: Hogar, who previously had been listening to the interrogation silently as he finished treating the wound to his arm nodded and reached for his axe, ready to give their defeated enemies a swift death. Leofric: Leofric nodded as he glanced at the survivors. "Seems to be the only reasonable course of action here." Leofric: he said quietly sd: even as it became clear their deaths were at hand, the men were utterly unperturbed. The one they had spoken to simply put his head down by Edmund's feet. "Do you have the strength to hack a single neck, singer?" Edmund: "My abilities lie elsewhere, and for all that we meet as enemies I would not condemn anyone to a more lingering death than necessary," Edmund said solemnly. "You are still men, not monsters, and are following the ways you have been brought up into, although they are the wrong ways. My comrade here will send you on your way." Leofric: Leofric reached for his Shifting Blade and did the gruesome task along with Hogar. Edmund: Edmund bowed his head and muttered prayers as the men were executed. sd: Erlene watched the executions from the corner of her eye, picking spent arrows from the ground to replace those she had fired. "So the witch means to conquer this area, but didn't come with them," she said. "That seems like poor strategy to me." Edmund: "I expect she is throwing them in first, to see how they fare," Edmund said with a grimace. sd: "Let's make them fare very badly then. We should move quickly. Hopefully they'll waste time and men trying to find us back here instead of continuing on." Beomund: Beomund had begun readying his things as Hogar and Leofric performed the execution. "I doubt she is as confident in her power as her underlings," he said as they prepared to go. Hogar: Having performed the executions silently and without any particular emotion, Hogar spoke about the witch "She might be providing them with some sort of support from a distance, or perhaps she is waiting for for the moment where her presence would do the most damage. I doubt she is a fool or careless." sd: Edmund was able to draw one of the horses of the dead riders towards him, and Erlene mounted up, ready to ride back towards Oswingas and the river which the dragonspawn were advancing along. sd: with Erlene as their guide, they rode as hard as they could to the southeast, dismounting occasionally to navigate difficult terrain and give their horses a rest. In the distance they could see the column of the advancing enemy, which they kept well away from. Fortunately, their raid on their rear had made them skittish, and the end of the dragonspawn column advanced more slowly, with scouts fanning out to protect them from any other attacks, wasting resources that they would doubtlessly have preferred to smash against the defenders of Oswingas.
They continued on. The land below was now clearly under attack, for there were signs of fires here and there, and at times they could see a gleam in the darkness as the Prophet's Star shone down upon a distant spearpoint or unsheathed sword. Erlene, who had been ranging in the Cambers all night already while the party feasted, was beginning to flag as they came to the end of the Hills, but Beomund cast a spell upon her, lifting the fatigue from her limbs, and they pushed down into the plains. Leofric had taken up the lead, seeming almost invigorated by the danger of the night. From the occasional hut they passed, Wulfnoth had already sent out evacuation orders, but they had not reached the whole of the region and there were a few scattered settlers who might be overwhelmed if they were not evacuated quickly to a place of safety. sd: Erlene forded a stream near the ruined fort of Bellingdun and led them to several small hamlets which had been unable to evacuate, cut off on the wrong side of the water. While Beomund built a makeshift bridge, Hogar went amongst those who had been wounded in a brief dragonspawn raid, binding their wounds, and Edmund spoke to them, inspiring them to master their fear and continue on. As Beomund finished, Leofric taught them how to defend themselves from the dragonspawn and their undead servants, explaining what weapons the undead were vulnerable to and how the dragonspawn, with their minimal skill in ranged combat, could be worn down with barrages of arrows. They were able to get them across the river and Erlene found them a route to Bexcheap that would enable them to stay on high ground throughout. With the group of stragglers sent on their way, they rode on, coming up towards the old fortress of Bournburh which the Changers had begun to rebuild, though at present it was little more than a single tower with a small wall. sd: a large group of setters had taken up shelter in Bournburh, but some had needed to flee while they were away from home and the men feared for their wives and children who had been left on the wrong side of the water. Erlene and Edmund sneaked out to retrieve them while the others remained behind. Beomund oversaw work on the fortifications, strengthening the stone of the tower, and ordering for some of the cattle to be butchered so their hides could be soaked and thrown over the wooden walls to protect against flame. Leofric identified a number of areas nearby where the defenders could place fire traps - while the dragonspawn were immune to fire, their undead and human slaves were not. Hogar went among the men, some of whom had been seriously injured. One had taken a poisoned arrow on the underside of his hand, and pus was beginning to spread from the infected wound. With no other way to save his life, Hogar had two men hold him down and place a stick in his mouth while he sawed off the man's smallest fingers - fortunately this was on his left hand, so he might still wield a sword and grip a shield with his remaining fingers if he survived the night. By this time, Erlene had located a hidden route and she and Edmund had been able to sneak through with the women and children, along with a number of individuals who had been stranded in the wake of the attack and had not dared to try to reach Bournburh on their own. While about half the dragonspawn column was now behind them, many still remained ahead. The Bournburh defenders had spoken of seeing a great winged shape pass overhead about an hour before the party arrived, and so, knowing that Leof was still somewhere ahead of them, they rode out again, cleaving to the south side of the Belas. sd: as they went, they began to see more dragonspawn tracks, and before long they had a large group of their foes on their tail. coming up with an idea, Leofric and Erlene set out in separate directions, the scribe riding hard and drawing the dragonspawn after him while Erlene crept away, firing arrows from hiding and then retreating again with speed. While they drew the enemy after them, the others searched for an appropriate spot in the river. Hogar pulled up stones and heavy logs, and Beomund searched for the right place to put them in the water. Soon, with Edmund's help, they had formed a makeshift dam, and not a moment too soon for Erlene and Leofric had returned to them. They rode hard across the water with the enemy on their tail, arrows whistling wildly in the dark sky. Edmund alone did not ride, waiting the enemy had begun to cross the water to speed after the others. For once, he had his sabre in his hand rather than his bow. Though he could not hew necks, the bard still had the might to slice through the long vines he had stretched across and were holding some of the heavier stones in the makeshift dam in place. When he sliced through the third, the whole structure fell apart, and suddenly the waters came rushing out towards dragonspawn. The waters smashed into them and they fell, submerged beneath the fury of the Belas. Only a few undead, which could not be drowned, survived the trap, and by the time they had pulled themselves from the water the party were far away. sd: they continued on, passing several large buildings which had been turned into jury-rigged fortifications, surrounded by hastily built rings of wooden spikes. Edmund instructed them to light additional fires and hang any unused shields upon the walls where the enemy could see them to give off misleading impressions of their numbers, while Beomund and Hogar rode out to guide any locals into the safety of the fortresses. In the distance behind them they could see fires rising near Bournburh. The men they spoke to made clear that Elder Wulfnoth had been sending riders out to harass the dragonspawn as they went by, but it sounded as if Bexcheap was now under attack - only a probing strike, but enough to make Wulfnoth wary.
Erlene took a few moments to rest while Beomund and Hogar were away, but this did not last long. Only a minute or two after the two warriors returned, there also came another rider in the livery of Middlemere, who informed them that the banner of Ealdorman Felgild, a grim skill with a great gouge between its eyes, had been spied about five miles to the southeast of here, pursued by many enemies. The outriders of the fortresses were already too busy engaging the enemy to be spared, but the party at least could go. sd: *grim skull! Leofric: Leofric's eyes were grim as he heard the news regarding the fate of the Ealdorman Felgild and looked at his friends and nodded, "Glad that we manage to do some good work on these monsters. Hopefully, we can help out Eladorman!" Leofric: He looked ready for another long ride. Beomund: "If Felgild falls, the damage will be grave. We must do what we can," added Beomund. Edmund: Edmund nodded. "We're ready." Hogar: "We cannot afford to fail now."said Hogar grimly "But after all we have done I trust we will not. Onward!" Edmund: "God is with us," Edmund said quietly. "We do his work." sd: forcing their weary bodies to press on, they mounted up again and rode out. It was now well past midnight, but the sky was clear and the radiance of the Star shone down upon them, a heavenly torch to guide their way. After a mile they glimpsed the Ealdorman's party in the dark, Hogar's sharp eyes discerning the sign upon his banner. A group of enemies outnumbering them at least three to one was hot on their trail, though occasionally some would be dragged away as outriders would strike out and then peel away in the night. They were perhaps a mile from the Ealdorman when Leofric glanced up towards the Star in time to see a great shadow throw itself across the sky, dark wings unfolding and blotting out the Star. A great cry rent the air and then the wyvern arrowed towards the Ealdorman's banner. Edmund: Edmund stared upwards for a moment then he set to casting spells of protection and enhancement on himself. Leofric: Leofric bowed his head for a moment and once he gave himself protection, he weaved a spell to grant extra strength and an ability to reflect magic. "If you manage to resist the spell casted at you, the spell will reflected back to the caster, giving it a rude surprise." Hogar: Hogar stared at the wyvern in awe for, almost as if he had seen a true dragon, but soon he regained his composure and, having cast a spell to enchant his projectiles, reached for his bow... sd: they tore after the wyvern, casting spells as they went to prepare for the battle that was sure to come. Here and again they could see the Ealdorman's skull banner - unable to outrun his foes, and particularly not the wyvern that streaked towards them, they went towards the tallest hill they could find. They saw several of the Ealdorman's Thegns overwhelmed by their enemies, and the Ealdorman's horse was shot out from under him by a skeleton but he was dragged on and he and his dismounted men were able to crest the tall hill. The area around them was strewn with high boulders and loose stones, and many treacherous patches of ice glittered darkly in the starlight. As the party came on, they saw huge figures among the enemy, the great cyclopes of the Cambers. wielding huge clubs. A lifetime ago they had slain such a one to allow Hogar to join the Bloodied Eyes, but it had been one alone, while here were three, and a half dozen dragonspawn along with several human riders and skeletal followers. A woman also hung towards the rear of the enemy, her fingers sparking with arcane energy. The Ealdorman and two of his followers took up position by a great boulder, while the remainder of his men blocked the main way through. Edmund: "That sorceress needs taking out quickly," Edmund said as he looked on the mass of the enemy with apparent calm masking his disquiet. Hogar: "So does the wyvern! Especially if Leof's on it."said Hogar eyeing the flying beast as he prepared one of the arrows Beomund had enchanted Edmund: As they drew nearer Edmund pulled the flute from his belt and began to play a strong and martial tune, designed to put heart into their allies. Leofric: Leofric moved forward with his Shifting Blade in his right hand and the shield in another, his face grim sd: the song rang out in the night, enhanced by the magic flute. As its notes died Ealdorman Felgild gave a defiant shout as several dragonspawn closed in upon him. Then there came a cry and the wyvern suddenly appeared in the sky, just to the east of where the party stood, behind a large boulder but easily visible in the sky. Atop the great winged beast was a man all in black. Since Leofric, Hogar and Edmund had seen him at Stencumb several years before, not knowing his true identity, the man seemed to have aged by decades. His skin was drawn tight across his face, giving him half the appearance of the skull on the banner of the father he had forsaken. Reinforced mail glittered upon him, and his eyes were pitiless. A mighty blade in the style of the Forerunners was in his hand, and even away from the fray they could see that his grip upon it was that of an unvanquished swordsman, peerless blademaster of his generation. Their hearts fell even to look at him, but he had no eyes for them. He pointed his blade and drove his winged steed directly towards his sire. sd: the sorceress, spotting Leof's arrival, cast a quick spell which they recognised, and the traitorous son's blade gleamed with arcane sharpness in the dark sd: Felgild was pressed by a dragonspawn and parried its blow. The Ealdorman's hair had begun to go grey but there was still strength in his arms. His last encounter with his son had left him a terrible scar that ran from his eyebrow all the way down, barely missing his right eye, and finally ending beneath his nostrils. Edmund: Edmund's bow swung with the flying shape as it swooped overhead, loosing an arrow sparking with its own miniature lightning. The shot hit the creature in the hindquarters causing it to give a great scream, in harsh harmony with the wild war shriek of the black bow. Beomund: Beomund let loose his own arrow at the wyvern's rider, leading him as he streaked toward the Ealdorman. The arrow flew true, piercing the mail on Leof's chest and glinting with a spark of electricity. sd: the skeletons let loose with their arrows. Edmund and Beomund, having fired at their general, were the first targets of their ire, and each had to leap wide of the streaking missile Leofric: Leofric frowned for a moment and quickly casted the spell to grant himself the power of flight. sd: Erlene began to rush towards a set of boulders which led up towards the hill. She let off a quick arrow at the sorceress, but the woman ducked down behind her cover and it sailed overhead. sd: the Ealdorman struck out at his enemy, but was repulsed. sd: one of the cyclopes struck down at one of Felgild's Thegns with a great club. The warrior deflected the blow, but the monster's weapon was so huge it still battered through, smashing into the Thegn's scaled armour sd: the besieged Thegn fought hard. One of the horsemen struck down at him, but he raised his shield and smashed the man back, knocking him off balance and unable to press his attack Hogar: Hogar aimed carefully at the wyvern and unleashed his own arrow. Thundering through the air with tremendous power it struck the monster in the head, piercing deep into its scales and making its shrieks of rage even more ferocious. Leofric: Leofric quickly gestured that he is going straight to the Filgild and fly up the cliff instead, sd: Leof spurred his injured mount towards Felgild. They heard the Ealdorman shouting insults towards his son but they could were indistinct amidst the tumult. Erlene and Edmund began to leap up a set of boulders which wound their way up towards the side of the cliff, while the others moved forward more slowly Edmund: Edmund rapidly fired at the Wyvern again, but this time the shot was weaker, although it did strike the already injured head. sd: a group of dragonspawn crashed into the waiting line of Thegns, blows smashing against their upraised shields Leofric: Leofric's eyes narrowed with immense focus and his body lifted slightly and with the help of Erlene's magic and his own Will, he moved much faster than his friends as he skimmed across the ice. Leofric: and snowsa sd: Ealdorman Felgild lashed out with his battleaxe - he failed to penetrate the dragonspawn's flesh, protected by the blessings of their god, but he hooked the axehead around the creature's leg and sent it crashing to the ground sd: the thegns began to strike out at their new attackers - one stabbed his spear into the middle of a cyclops, while another landed a thunderous blow on the head of a dragonspawn. It should have pierced right into the creature's skull, but instead it was only lightly wounded, and to their surprise similar injuries appeared upon the heads of the other dragonspawn on the field. sd: the thegn near to Felgild managed somehow, with tremendous strength, to turn the blow of the cyclops without taking any damage Beomund: Beomund turned his attention to the cyclops near Felgild, firing an arrow that nearly sailed wide. The creature was surprised by the valiant defense of the thegn, however, and moved back at just the wrong moment, Beomund's arrow burying itself beneath its armpit. Edmund: Edmund raced after Erlene, leaping from one rock to another, and as he ran he drew and fired again at the Wyvern. This time the arrow struck deep into its already bloody head. sd: Erlene also leaped up the rocks. Nocking an arrow, she drew on a reserve of strength and fired it hard at the wyvern just as it reared to strike at Ealdorman Felgild. The arrow pierced straight into the monster's eye and sent it reeling back. Leof leaped from the saddle with incredible agility and landed on the rock directly next to his father, seeming no worse for wear as he raised his shield to protect his wounded chest. sd: "Much good your monsters will do for you! Come on you fucking pervert!" they could now hear Ealdorman Felgild's insults as Leof raised his blade. He brought it smashing down, with the force of all his hatred behind it. Though it came darting around Felgild's shield like a striking snake, it failed to pierce through his mail.
"Is that all, faggot?" Felgild continued his taunts, but Leof was not finished. With tremendous speed he brought the sword back around, slashing across Felgild's face, carving a new scar across his cheek bone. "AILWIN!" Leof screamed. Felgild stumbled away, alive but badly hurt. "When you die, bastard, my monsters are going to bring you back and then I can kill you again." Edmund: Edmund shook his head and muttered "So much death and destruction and all because of a family fued." Hogar: "Get Felgild out of the way!" shouted Hogar as he fired an arrow which dug deep into the chest of the closest cyclops. The monstrous behemoth however kept fighting on with vicious rage, and Hogar put aside his bow, preparing to run to join the melee.
|
|
|
Post by sleepingdragon on Nov 19, 2016 14:51:57 GMT
sd: "Much good your monsters will do for you! Come on you fucking pervert!" they could now hear Ealdorman Felgild's insults as Leof raised his blade. He brought it smashing down, with the force of all his hatred behind it. Though it came darting around Felgild's shield like a striking snake, it failed to pierce through his mail.
"Is that all, faggot?" Felgild continued his taunts, but Leof was not finished. With tremendous speed he brought the sword back around, slashing across Felgild's face, carving a new scar across his cheek bone. "AILWIN!" Leof screamed. Felgild stumbled away, alive but badly hurt. "When you die, bastard, my monsters are going to bring you back and then I can kill you again."
elsewhere on the battlefield, the sorceress popped her head up over a rock and cast a spell towards Felgild. They recognised it as an incantation that would force missile weapons to fly towards the Ealdorman, but fortunately he was able to resist the magic sd: the party began to rush towards the melee while the dragonspawn contended with Felgild's men. The skeletons rained arrows into the fray, but these either missed or, in Hogar's case, struck armour they failed to penetrate Leofric: Leofric kept on sprinting, relying on his running rather than his flying. sd: Felgild slashed out at his son with his axe, but Leof turned the blow easily and tried to kick the Ealdorman's legs out from under him. Felgild leaped with surprising agility and landed on his feet in the snow, awaiting Leof's return attack. sd: Leof moved with incredible speed, flowing straight from defence to offence. His sword lashed out, then suddenly dipped down below his father's shield and drove into his leg. Felgild groaned with pain and held his shield out before him, but now his head and his leg were injured and he could not cover both at once. sd: the battle continued apace. One of Leof's horsemen was knocked from his saddle, while another overbore his opponent and drove him down, but landed only a weak blow on his foe's leg. sd: two cyclopes battered down on one of Felgild's thegns, who bravely stood and took their blows. The huge clubs battered past his shield, but he managed to stand firmly against them and his armour and shield absorbed most of the giants' wrath Hogar: Hogar sprinted beside Beomund with enchanted speed, intent on reaching the melee as soon as possible sd: Erlene and Edmund leaped from the largest of the rocks they had been bounding up, clearing the ledge and landing on the tall hill where the battle was raging Leofric: Leofric rushed toward the rocky cliff along with Hogar and Beomund. However unlike his peers, his intention is to just fly up the cliff and attack the enemies from behind Leofric: brilliant Leofric: He focused his Will and suddenly, his body shot upward, bypassing the need to climb the cliff, keeping his weapon and shield ready sd: Leof hacked down at his father, who was distracted for a moment warding off a dragonspawn blow from behind. Leof cut the Ealdorman's leg out from under him and he toppled in the snow. Though his leg was now useless he kept his shield up protectively. sd: the great cyclopes hammered down on their foes. One thegn, desperately holding off a dragonspawn, a horseman and a cyclops somehow survived their blows, though he was beginning to wither beneath their onslaught. Another, less lucky, took a huge blow to the leg and was flung back like an empty sack on the wind, leg shattered. sd: the third cyclops, deprived of a target, looked towards Edmund and Erlene and gave a cry of anger. sd: the two quickly split up, trying to confuse the huge beast now moving towards them. It seemed to focus on Erlene quickly, as she was now nearer to him. Hogar: Hogar nimbly sprinted around the cliff face and moved towards the melee. With a powerful leap he reached the the same rock Leof was standing, reaching for the Darkling Axe from his belt midflight. Beomund: Beomund leapt up beside Hogar, although he had to clamber on the bumpy surface of the rock and could not immediately retrieve his weapon. sd: the sorceress began to cast a spell. While still running Edmund let loose a shaft that buried itself into her chest. The blood flowed, but she continued to cast her spell Leofric: Leofric came over the cliff and rather than heading toward Leof, he launched an attack on the line of enemeis that sorely pressing on the thengs Beomund: Beomund reached behind him as quickly as he could and retrieved his greathammer, ready to fight Leof beside his companion Hogar. sd: several foes turned towards Leofric, startled by the appearance of a man flying under his own power directly behind them Hogar: edit: reaching for the Darkling Axe from his belt midflight just before he landed on the huge, bloodied corpse of the slain wyvern. Leofric: Arriving on the scene like the Prophet shooting up to slay Ancalagon itself, he with his Shifting Blade lashes out and cut down the dragonspawn, its head bled profusely. He nodded at the brave thegn who managed to stand against it and focused on the enemies. Leofric: with his copper coloured face showing pitiless determination to kill them all. sd: Erlene raised her bow at the oncoming cyclops and let loose an arrow that streaked like a thunderbolt through the air. It buried itself straight into the monster's midsection and sent it crashing to the ground. sd: two of the most deadly warriors in Palania had just landed directly behind him, but Leof's attention was entirely on his fallen father. His sword slashed down past a weakly upraised shield and cut deep into the Ealdorman's head, and his movement stopped, though whether he was dead or not they could not be sure. For a moment they were unsure if he had even seen them, but then Leof's shield was suddenly up between himself and Hogar and Beomund. "So you dealt with my distraction, or ignored it," he said to them. "I hope the latter and you've lost someone you cared about tonight. I've had many horrible days because you had to play at being heroes in Stowecott." Hogar: Hogar sized Leof for a few moments, knowing he was facing an extremely dangerous foe, and then answered with a deadly swing of the Darkling Axe that would easily have beheaded a lesser warrior - but such was not the case with Leof, who easily caught the attack with his shield. Beomund: "You've inflicted greater horrors than you've known on the people of this land," growled Beomund. He lashed out, though his blow was also easily deflected. "Someone must play hero when you consort with monsters because of some family feud." Leofric: Leofric went for the rider on the horse with another attack. His Shifting Blade stabbed the rider's left leg sharply and cut a major artery and threw him off the horse and left him on the ground, bleeding out his lifeblood. Judging the rider to be out of action for a little while or enable the brave thegn to take advantage, he focused on the immense cyclops with a great focus. sd: Leof deflected the blows, then spun on Ealdorman Felgild. "AILWIN!" he cried again
Leof's sword flashed out at his helpless father and came crashing down upon his neck, cleaving straight through and killing Ealdorman Felgild instantly. His head rolled past the dragonspawn and his corpse slumped against the boulder next to the wyvern carcass, blood pumping from his severed neck to water the feet of his ungrateful son. "And you, Gastonlander," he hissed at Beomund. "I don't know you. If someone had the one you loved put to horrible torments, you would try to take some higher road? When I found Ailwin there was so little left of him he begged me for death and I gave it to him. If that was done to the one you loved would you show Virian Mercy?" sd: the sorceress pointed an arm at Edmund, letting fly a bolt of fire. The bard stood calmly as the spell struck him, and rebounded directly off the protective dweomer Leofric had woven. The fiery bolt was thrown straight back at the sorceress and burned her outstretched arm as she cried out with surprise. sd: Edmund fired an arrow towards the sorceress and struck her again in the chest, though she threw herself down into the snow in a vain effort to dodge sd: one of the dragonspawn in the central fray breathed fire over its foes, burning one of the Thegns who stood before it, shield held out protectively sd: another tried the same, aiming at Leofric, but with far less success, for Beomund's spell protected him and it did nothing to the Erseman sd: the skeletons fired another set of arrows, but none found their mark Beomund: Beomund's eyes flashed, and he nearly spoke in anger, but a certain tenderness seemed to pass across his face like a glimpse of the moon behind clouds. "I know what you've suffered, Leof. My wife was taken, and I dream often of what horrors were inflicted on her." He advanced, swinging his hammer and attempting to find a weak point, but the enemy deflected his blow. "If I found the perpetrators, I would do as you just did to Felgild, and no one could speak ill of me for it. But I would not let innocents suffer for my vengeance! I would not become like them! Yield now, as you have your vengeance. Recognize the madness of this dragonspawn alliance, and I promise your judgment will be fair and swift, by the name of Aisha." sd: Erlene fired off an arrow, striking the cyclops near to Leofric in the midsection, knocking it off balance as it raised its club Leofric: Inspired by Ed's music, Leofric bypassed almost outstanding defence offered by the fallen rider and took him out although the rider's extremely weak breathing sound that he is barely holding on. Leofric smiled slightly as he faced a cyclop. He quickly dropped his shield and shifted his grip on his Shifting Blade. It merely grew larger. Leofric: EDIT: capable of dealing with pesky cyclop. Leofric: as he strolled toward to the cyclop. sd: "Alliance? Eanfleda is an enchantress. How many days of the last years do you think I've even controlled my own mind?" Leof looked over Beomund. "I won't yield to you, the Council will execute me or worse. Let me walk free and we can end this, perhaps." sd: as he leaned in, they caught glimpse of an amulet made of some kind of bone beneath Leof's splendid mail. sd: receiving no response, Leof cut out suddenly at Hogar, who turned the blow with the Darkling Axe Hogar: "Even if you speak the truth, we cannot stop and let you go here and now!" replied Hogar as he swung his axe down at one of Leof's legs, tearing a huge bloody gash in it. The warrior however kept fighting, showing focus and dedication far beyond normal men even now that, his father being dead, he no longer had his lust for vengeance to sustain him. Beomund: After Hogar landed his blow, Beomund spoke, slowly circling Leof. "We can't simply let you leave with what's happened, but we still have our aid and protection to offer. If you can help us end this, and show your mind was not your own, I at least would do what I can to keep the council from such undue judgment." He glanced at the amulet below Leof's mail. "Is that some tool of Eanfleda's control?" sd: "You're strong, but I don't need or want your protection, and I don't have any proof I could offer that the Council would believe," said Leof. "And it's not, if she weren't busy I'd still be under her thrall. Do you want to know where she is? I can tell you, if you'll release me." sd: a dragonspawn struck out at Leofric, who bashed it suddenly in the face with the pommel of the Shifting Blade, sending it sprawling to the ground. In the central fray, one thegn took a huge blow from a dragonspawn greathammer that shattered his leg and he fell dead Beomund: "If we let you go now with no reckoning for what was done," said Beomund, "the Council would never stop hunting you. And they would see us as liable for your crimes." He lunged forward with another blow that Leof parried expertly. "But your efforts against Eanfleda's forces might be proof enough that with the weight of our words you could face peaceful exile instead." sd: Leof slashed at Hogar, who turned the blow. "Will you swear to this, Bloodied Eye?" the kinslayer pointed his blade at Hogar. Hogar: Despite the violence of the previous attacks Hogar now seemed to relent, as if willing to back Beomund's offer "We cannot let you go now, but turn against the dragonspawn and tell us about the witch and we will do what we can to ensure the Council is merciful - we are men of honor and thegns of Phalen and have some influence. This I swear!". As he spoke he did not look for openings to attack again but instead reached for his shield, where the bloodied eye symbol of the Brotherhood was indeed painted upon. However he still kept his gaze firmly focused on Leof, wary of any sudden moviments the dangerous man might make. sd: Leof backed away from Hogar and Beomund slowly, sword and shield still raised. sd: Edmund, unable to target the sorceress for the moment, fired instead at one of the cyclopes, striking it right in the eye and sending it crashing to the ground Beomund: Beomund glanced at Hogar, and sensing that his companion was willing to trust Leof for the moment, he rushed toward the nearby cluster of dragonspawn. He swung his mighty hammer, and the unsuspecting creature found its leg exploding instantly from the force. sd: Erlene, eyeing Leof warily, kept her arrow trained, ready to shoot at the sorceress if she popped her head up Leofric: Leofric bypassed pitful defence presented by the Cyclop and put it down with a strong thurst into its' chest and withdrew it in a smooth move, bought it down crashing. He turned his attention on other dragonspawn. sd: Leof strode towards one of his horsemen, stopping to kick his father's body as he went. His sword whirled in the air with impossible speed, striking the thunderstruck man one, twice, and a third straight through the chest. Hogar: Hogar moved away from Leof and towards the other melee, though he did occasionaly turn his head to gaze behind him, obviously worrying the warrior might strike him treacherously. Leofric: Leofric glanced at Leof with element of surprise and glanced at Beomund and Hogar with question. sd: at this, the battle was all but over - the sorceress was able to hurl a fiery bolt, this one potent enough to force Edmund to dodge, before she fell to the bard and Erlene's arrows. The surviving Thegns of Rulburna were in a state of shock at their master's fall and Leof's seeming turn back to their side. The bravest of the Thegns, who had survived three to one odds for the entire battle, was bold enough to step towards Leof when the warrior picked his father's head up by its hair, but the man backed off as Leof fixed him with a molten glare of hatred. Leof cleaned his blade on Felgild's corpse and sheathed it, then sat in the snow with his father's severed head upon his knees.
"If you're concerned this allows her to control me..." Leof took his amulet from around his neck and flung it towards Beomund. "Have it. I took it from a ruin a few weeks ago, and that's where she is now. There's some kind of very powerful source of magic there which she's experimenting with." Beomund: Beomund caught the amulet and gazed down at it, seeing what he could make of it. "Leofric should speak with you, with the fighting done. It may be there is something he can do to protect you from her ongoing influence." sd: "Since I cleared that ruin she's had very little interest in influencing me," Leof said with a shrug. "Otherwise I never could have launched this attack to begin with." Leofric: Leofric glanced at the death surrounded them and once he picked up his shield and settle it back on it usual position. His Shifting Blade went back to it normal size and focused his attention on Leof, frowning with concern, "That doesn't bode well for anyone." Leofric: "experimenting with such a powerful source of magic." Leofric: edit: should anyone sd: "It set my teeth on edge when I was near it, even through her control it was like being drunk just having it near me, when I looked into the chasm I had some kind of strange vision and blacked out for a while," said Leof. Hogar: "There will be much to discuss later."said Hogar to Leof and the others before starting to work on setting the shattered leg of the thegn who had been previously struck by a cyclops and was still alive, though barely. It took some time but through his skill and some quality tools he had bought time ago he was able to improve the man's conditions considerably so that perhaps in a couple of months he would be able to stand, walk and even fight again. Beomund: "We must get there quickly then, and end this," said Beomund grimly. sd: "If you could do something to my leg first that would be appreciated," Leof said to Hogar, indicating where the Darkling Axe had struck him. He was able to grab Beomund's arrow and yank it out - it had only dug in narrowly into his flesh, driving several mail rings into the gouged wound Beomund: Before Hogar approached Leof to work on his injuries, Beomund took a step toward him and looked him in the eye. He gave a solemn nod of understanding, from one man who had lost much to another. Hogar: "I don't often treat wounds I have dealt myself, but this hardly the kind of battle we usually fight and we need you to be in the best shape possible." said Hogar, making an effort to sound as neutral as he could. In a few minutes he was able to pull out the mail rings from the wound and dress it, making it far less severe. Leofric: Leofric shook his head at Beomund's question, "Not much I can do at the moment considering how little time we have." He sighed wistfully. "Could you please explain the strange vision?" He was still frowning with concern. sd: "I...felt as if I were outside of myself, floating somewhere impossibly vast. I felt as if I could do anything, I think I tried to find Ailwin but failed. A lot of it I don't fully recall, I was still under her control but...one thing I certainly remember, which I felt and saw, at least as much as I could without it blinding me. It was like some kind of cord, thick and shining brighter than all the stars put together."
|
|
|
Post by sleepingdragon on Nov 26, 2016 15:43:05 GMT
sd: "I...felt as if I were outside of myself, floating somewhere impossibly vast. I felt as if I could do anything, I think I tried to find Ailwin but failed. A lot of it I don't fully recall, I was still under her control but...one thing I certainly remember, which I felt and saw, at least as much as I could without it blinding me. It was like some kind of cord, thick and shining brighter than all the stars put together," said Leof. Beomund: Beomund looked grim. "A place of power indeed..." Leofric: Leofric nodded, with equal grimness as Beomund, "And it is unlikely to be good for everyone else if that witch gained access to it." Leofric: EDIT: "if that witch have full access to that power." Hogar: "We are not going to let that happen if we can. Eanfleda may be powerful, but she will not be the first powerful sorceress we have faced."said Hogar sd: "She'll be the most powerful," said Leof. "Don't let her speak to you, or you might find yourselves under a spell."
though so far the party had been able to speak to Leof unhindered, by now the surviving Thegns had gathered to find their master dead, and the looks on their faces were grim. "That man should be killed," said the boldest of them, the one who had faced down a cyclops and two other foes. "He's a kinslayer and a traitor." Beomund: Beomund stepped between the crowd and Leof, though he raised his hands in a peacable gesture. "We understand your feelings, men. You showed great bravery in defending from this assault. We do not ask that you forget everything that was happened, only that you wait until the Council can make proper judgment, hearing all the facts. We still face a grave threat, a sorceress with the power to bend minds to her will, and the Council must consider how much of Leof's actions were of his own volition. More importantly, he has knowledge that will be important for us to end the threat of the sorceress and the dragonspawn, and keep our homes and families safe. The hasty pursuit of justice could extend this conflict at grave cost. But you have seen our strength in battle, and know that if Leof chooses to turn on us and evade a proper reckoning for what has occurred, our retaliation will be swift." sd: Edmund spoke to support Beomund, and soon the Thegns were persuaded to put their desire for vengeance aside, though they demanded that Leof at least should return the Ealdorman's head to his body. The kinslayer looked angry for a moment and raised his arm as if to cast Felgild's head over the cliff, but deciding this would make things worse, he rolled it back towards his father's body instead. "Watch that one in particular," Leof said, pointing out one of the Thegns. "His father was one of my father's guards, when I went to confront my father after I found Ailwin, he was one of the ones who got in my way." Beomund: Beomund glanced at the man and gave Leof a nod. "We'll do what we can to keep things peaceful. Now we need to make plans for Eanfleda. Can you tell us anything about how best to approach?" sd: "If we can get somewhere safe and I can get a promise of safety from someone with more authority than you I can draw you a map. Not that I distrust you, I know your reputation, but I imagine you're going to be heading into the Hills and once you're away some of these people might decide to disregard your promises," said Leof. "I'll tell you this much - the ruin we found is in a deep series of gorges near the middle of the Cambers. There's three ways you can go, though one would be a very bad idea. If you head straight upriver from Wapanstede you'll end up in her domain. If you approach from the north instead you'll end up in the territory of dragonspawn clans who don't like Eanfleda very much and won't follow her - if they catch you you might even be able to persuade them to let you go and deal with her. If you approach from the south you'll be going through pretty barren, difficult terrain - empty land, but dangerous." Leofric: Leofric nodded, his eyes looking interesting, "I see. Understandable. So what was the main dragonspawn army was to do? We would need to deal with these forces first." He asked politely to the general of the army. Hogar: "I dread the thought of having to persuade dragonspawn."said Hogar "As for approaching through barren land...we have survived the Plague Fields, so I am not worried about that." sd: "Principally they were under instructions to keep as many of your forces pinned down around Bexcheap as they could manage, while clearing enough of a path that I could deal with father," said Leof. "I arranged a signal with some of the captains for a retreat, of course you've killed my mount and my sorceress so I now can't actually give the signal." Edmund: "Why are those particular Dragonspawn unfriendly towards Eanfleda?" Edmund asked. Leofric: Leofric eyed the fallen mount and glanced back, "What kind of signal?" He added after Edmund;s question sd: "She follows the wrong god and more importantly, she's a human, little as she likes it. The dragonspawn tend to think that Eanfleda should be following them, not the other way around. Some of the clans she's won over by force or by conversion to Galazra, but others aren't friendly to her," said Leof. "Well the signal was to be that I would fire seven sets of fiery arrows across the sky, and my sorceress would extinguish two of them in flight, the first and fifth, specifically. My captains are under instruction to keep some of their men looking out for this signal at all times." Edmund: "We could manage the fiery arrows perhaps," Edmund said thoughtfully. "Leo, what do you reckon?" sd: "They need to appear in mid-air," Leof added. "Don't have them arcing up from the ground. That signal means 'commit your reserves', which I suspect is not what you want." Leofric: Leofric frowned for a moment, thinking it over, "Well, shooting the arrow from mid air is easy part. I could make someone else fly with the bow and arrow." Hogar: "Perhaps we could work an illusion..."said Hogar "They wouldn't expect one." Leofric: Leofric then eyed Edmund, "What you think? Illusion might be more effective." Edmund: "That might be a lot easier in some ways," Edmund said. "It would cover both the fiery and mid-air appearance, and the extinguishingg." Beomund: "In any case, it sounds like we have the capacity to send this signal," said Beomund. "If we can get the force to retreat, we can then demand safety for Leof until we can return, and go after Eanfleda." Edmund: Edmund went to find a good spot from which to send the illusory arrows flashing accross the sky. He looked down as he passed the dead Wyvern. "It's a magnificent beast - I'm sorry we had to kill it," he said to Leof with a sigh. sd: "I think she made it with the power in the deep gorge," said Leof. "It certainly wasn't down there when I went. Give her enough time and I imagine she'll try to make a dragon, though I'd guess she has another goal in mind first." Leofric: Leofric closed his eyes for a moment and muttered, "Why they always want to create new beings, is there is enough of them in this grey world." Edmund: "Not many dragons Leo, which is just as well," Edmund said with a small smile. "But creating something brings it under one's control I suppose, and that is meat and drink to someone like Eanfleda." Hogar: "That is a very worrying thought."said Hogar, worried "This beast was fearsome enough, but a true dragon, and under Eanflada's control?" Edmund: "What goal is she aiming for first?" Edmund asked Leof. sd: "Eanfleda is very resentful of one thing, which is that she was born a human," said Leof. "She thinks she's done as much for Galazra as any of the dragonspawn, but as I mentioned many of the 'Chosen' refuse to follow her because she doesn't have scales." Beomund: "I wonder if changing that feature of herself is another plan of hers," mused Beomund. sd: "Her first one, I'd guess." Leofric: Leofric considered, "Either way, this is clearly a dangerous person and should be stopped as soon as we can." Edmund: "Is there a way she can change in reality, or only by illusion?" Edmund asked, his face grave. Hogar: "Perhaps rather than create a dragon she wants to turn herself into one." said Hogar Leofric: Leofric nodded at Edmund, "Yes, there has been a case of a mage disguised himself as a dragonspawn under an illusion." Beomund: "I wouldn't presume any limitations, with the power she has access to," said Beomund. Leofric: "in the past" Edmund: "Well, I could probably do that myself, but she would likely want more than just a pretence." Edmund considered. "Maybe you have something Hogar." Hogar: "I suspect the power of such places would allow one to alter or improve what already exists, but not create beings from nothing or summon them from thin air."said Hogar, though he didn't sound too sure of it "That said, whathever Eanflada wants to do we have to decide how to stop her." Edmund: Edmund moved away and started to cast his spell. After several false starts, the arrows started to appear above them, streaking accross the dark sky. sd: "Their orders are to retreat somewhere that's not especially near where Eanfleda is at the moment, as I was doing this without her instruction and I guessed that if I failed I'd be dead, running, or captured," said Leof. "It'll take her longer to hear of what's happened, most of her underlings don't know where she is." Leofric: Leofric smiled slightly, "Let hope it works and we do have slight advantage against her now." sd: it was impossible to tell, from where they stood, whether or not the signal had indeed caused the dragonspawn to retreat. In either case, they would want to reach Bexcheap shortly, as the people they could trust most to honour the promises they'd made to Leof were there, and if the order had not been followed then they would be needed there. Beomund: Beomund set about organizing the men for quick travel, hoping that they could reach Bexcheap with enough time to turn about and catch Eanfleada unprepared. sd: as they rode, it became clear that Leof had told the truth and the signal had indeed worked, for the dragonspawn were engaged in a fighting retreat all along their line of march. Leof snatched up a full helm from a fallen warrior and put it on to conceal his face, lest some scout see him and warn the attacking army that the order to retreat should be ignored. The Thegns kept a close guard around him, though they were hampered with the biers which bore the bodies of their dead, and also one man who would survive due to Hogar's surgical skill, but whose leg had been shattered beyond repair by a cyclops' club.
The sun was just beginning to rise when they finally came to Bexcheap. By this time the dragonspawn had been forced fully onto the retreat and some semblance of order had been restored. The damage to buildings was only light, but there were enough dead that not all the bodies had yet been moved. By the time they reached the feasthall where they had begun their evening what seemed aeons ago, they had passed the bodies of Lord Gleawfrith, the Phalen noble who had so angered Maccus earlier in the evening, pierced through the throat by an arrow, and also Lord Ulger, whose boasted prowess had not been enough to save him. On the steps of the feasthall Annis of the Marning clan was having her cheek stitched back together by one of the Changers, and Atol of Parwick had bloody cloth wound wround his midsection. Synne was next to him, utterly unruffled, having picked up a bow at some point in the night. Her quiver was almost empty. A man in Lord Daedharh's livery saw Felgild's skull emblem and immediately sent one of his fellows away to fetch their master. Leofric: Leofric eyed the deaths with grimness and shook his head, "Could be lot worse." He sighed. Edmund: Edmund looked sadly at the aftermath of the fighting. "We will have to emphasise Leof's help in ending the attack." Hogar: "I was worried we would find far worse coming back here."said Hogar "Still, it is not a pleasant scene."he added agreeing with Edmund's words about having to find a way to justify their actions with leof sd: Synne walked over to them, at which point Leof started laughing. "You missed the battle," she said by way of greeting. She gave Leof a withering look. "Who's this cackling idiot?" she asked. Edmund: Edmund indicated they should speak privately. "Leof," he said shortly. "Please do not shout about it until we have a chance to speak to everyone." sd: Synne looked startled. "If my father had his way I'd have married you," Leof said, still chuckling. "I told him it was an insult for him to try to marry me into to such an impoverished and irrelevant family, but then I think that was his intention."
Synne had a dark look on her face, but astonishingly she resisted the urge to trade insults. Edmund: "Leof has been....under a bad influence. The witch, Eanfleda," Edmund told Synne quietly. "But he is free of her spell, at least for the moment, and was able to get the Dragonspawn to retreat. We need to convince the rest that he is more use to us alive than dead." sd: Synne pulled aside several tired looking men and sent them to fetch Wulfnoth, Garrick, Balnoth, and Lady Guthild. "Lord Daedharh will not be pleased to find I'm alive and my father isn't," said Leof. Edmund: "There is always someone who isn't pleased," Edmund said with a smile. "Leave them to us. You concentrate on not offending anyone else." Hogar: "I think many more people than Daedharh will be not be pleased with your survival." said Hogar matter-of-factly "We might not be able to change their minds but we will do our best to prevent them harming you." Leofric: Leofric muttered, "Beside it is rude to kill someone in our home." sd: "Ailwin used to be one of Daedharh's men. For his sake, I'll try not to kill him," said Leof. As he did, Annis rose, her stitching being done, and picked up her axe, which had a notch in it. She walked over, lifting her hand as if to scratch at the wound and then forcing herself not to, and embraced Edmund. "Well I'm glad you made it through." Hogar: "You must have been very brave."said Hogar congratulating her "We are glad to see you made it." Edmund: Edmund gave her a hug and smiled down at her. "I'm glad you have done the same." Leofric: Leofric glanced around, trying to figure out how many are still okay sd: "They had more armour than I'd thought they would, that one probably would have killed me but Synne came in and stabbed it with her spear, broke it right off in its body," said Annis. She looked as if she might say more but then Lord Daedharh appeared with several of his men. While Edmund was distracted looking away, Annis reached in and nipped at his ear, then pulled away with a wide smile that stretched her stitches slightly.
"Where's the Ealdorman? What's happened?" Daedharh snapped to Felgild's Thegns, ignoring the party as much as he could. Edmund: Edmund stepped forward. "Felgild is dead. When the others arrive we will tell the whole story." sd: Daedharh looked and saw the body. "And Leof, where is he?"
"Lord Daedharh, Lady Guthild and the others are coming, and then this can all be sorted out," Synne interjected. "It's better to not have to go through this several times." sd: Daedharh might have objected, but he knew he was already outnumbered, so he did as Synne suggested and allowed the others to arrive. Lord Garrick came first, his armour covered in dragonspawn gore, and then Balnoth after him. The former Ealdorman had a long cut over his left eye. Wulfnoth arrived with Maccus. The Changer Elder was completely unstained as if he had not been near a battle, and Maccus only had dirt around his legs to indicate he had fought. Lady Guthild was the last to arrive with a large component of guardsmen. Edmund: Edmund quietly asked a servant to bring wine for them all, then stepped forward. "This was not the conclusion to our celebrations we had hoped for, but at least the Dragonspawn have now retreated. We need to tell you all of what has happened, but we do ask that you all give us a chance to speak and explain the situation." He stopped and looked around the room. sd: "You were sent to save the Ealdorman and you failed," Lord Daedharh said hotly. "What happened?" Edmund: Edmund looked at him for a moment "We saved Lord Renweard. Did he not return here?" sd: "He's resting," Synne said. "After what had happened it was best to keep him out of the battle unless it grew utterly desperate." Edmund: Edmund looked relieved. "So, we fought Dragonspawn and their allies three times since leaving Bexcheap. We have killed half a hundred of our enemies. And we came close to saving Felgild. In fact, the outcome of that fight may have given us a great weapon in our struggle against the sorceress Ean fleda and her monstrous allies." Edmund: He indicated Leof. "This is the man who made the Dragonspawn retreat from our walls. Leof, who was slave to the evil witch but is now free of her influence." sd: Leof removed his helm. Immediately, Lord Daedharh shouted in protest, reaching for his sword. "My lords! I demand this evil kinslayer is given over into my custody. His crimes against Rulburna Weapontake can't be forgiven."
"If you want a trial in Rulburna, I'll offer you trial by combat," Leof responded. "Or will you not be so eager to finger that blade then?" Leof smiled. "Let me spare you this much of a trial, because I'm not ashamed of it. I want it proclaimed in every corner of Palania. I killed my father tonight with my own hands, and even your very best fighters couldn't save him. Eanfleda made me her slave for most of the last few years, but my mind is my own now, and I know many things she'd prefer you didn't know. I'll tell you, but only for a price." Edmund: Edmund held up his hand. "Please keep calm. Leof wants to tell us everything. We have already had to deal with two sorceresses - his information will be invaluable in defeating Eanfleda and the monsters. We guarantee his safety here." sd: "Who are you to guarantee anything, foreigner?" Lord Daedharh spat. "The gods hate a kinslayer."
"The gods also hate discourteous guests," said Balnoth. "These people are your hosts, Lord Daedharh. If you wish to avoid the wrath of the gods, then mind your wild tongue."
Lady Guthild held up a hand. "What sort of information are you proposing to provide, Leof? And why should we trust you? If Eanfleda had control of your mind before, she may have it still, and be leading us into some kind of trap. And I would say, Edmund, that you can guarantee Leof's safety under your roof for a time, but it's ultimately for the Council to decide what's to be done with those who lead armies of monsters against Palania, not you. As my husband is not here to speak for the Council, then it falls to me to do so." Edmund: Edmund indicated that Leof had the floor. Edmund: He moved over to Balnoth and spoke quietly. "This is a very difficult situation. Thank you for saying what you did." sd: "What information? For a start, I can tell you exactly where Eanfleda is now. I can tell you other things as well - how many dragonspawn she has under her control, how many villages of humans brought from the Lost-Lands. I can name every dragonspawn tribe in the Cambers, tell you all of their chiefs and their dispositions, and how many warriors they have under their control. I can tell you which ones are likely to unite against you and which can be bought off or distracted. I can draw you maps showing every inch of the Hills in full detail. And if you want to know if I'm under her control, well you have mages here, my lady, and such things can be detected. My price is my life, my lady, and if you want to know why you can trust me, then you can trust in what I am most famous for. My hate." Leof smiled at Lord Daedharh. "If I mislead you then I'll be executed, and that won't do. People like Lord Daedharh and all my father's vile bootlicking torturers need to know that he is dead, that I killed him of my own will, and that the sun still shines on me while he rots in hell. I want the clans of Rulburna to know that their bastard Ealdorman lost and died mewling like an infant at my feet, and let them curse me as a degenerate and kinslayer, in vain, until the end of their days. You have something I want, my lady, the power to make this happen, and that's why you know you can trust me." Edmund: Edmund sighed. "His father died still sceaming insults at him," he muttered to Balnoth."I suspect they were actually much alike, Felgild and his son. But we need him to stay alive and in one piece, and he isn't helping." sd: unexpectedly, Lord Garrick spoke. "Edmund, you should silence this man. Whatever information he has, it's unseemly that he should be allowed to insult Lord Daedharh like this - he fought alongside us against the monsters this man brought down on us." Lord Daedharh nodded and patted Garrick on the shoulder, but the Lord of the Olthorings was not finished. "I don't know what reasons you would have to hate your own sire so bitterly, but perhaps they even seemed like good ones to you. My aunt tells me there can be reasons for such feelings, unnatural though it seems to me." Garrick paused. "All these lands are at threat from the Cambers, Rulburna no less than any other. If Leof has this information, then he should live so he can give it to us. Ealdorman Felgild would have thought his life was worth giving to protect his people." Leof snorted with laughter but Garrick continued. "Let it be said that the Ealdorman died so we could bring peace to these lands. Then he'll be remembered as a hero." Edmund: Edmund stepped up again. "We will find somewhere for Leof, where he can be apart and tell us all the information. The war between him and his father was their tragedy, but this is not the time to fight each other. I think we all need to get cleaned up..." here he looked down at his own blood-stained clothing, "... to eat and to rest. The Dragonspawn threat has not gone away." sd: "Do you believe what this man is saying, Edmund? This could be a trick," said Lady Guthild. Edmund: Edmund nodded. "I do. I think in a way, Leof's obsession with revenge on his father broke the witch's hold over him." sd: "If the witch is so powerful, then she needs to be killed," said Guthild. "And if she's so powerful and has so many minions, then a small group could accomplish it perhaps more easily then an army. That's perhaps our best option. If Leof will tell us where Eanfleda is, we can seek to kill her. If we succeed, then we know he speaks the truth, and if we fail, then he will be executed for his lies. That seems the most fitting way of testing him to me." Beomund: "We had already expected to face her, my lady," said Beomund. "Her threat cannot be allowed to remain. With Leof's information and whatever support can be provided to us, I think we'll have a good chance of success." Leofric: "And should the witch be defeated," Leofric agreed, "then one day, we may be able to safeguard and secure Oswingas once and for all and a final act of vengeance for her role in the blight of this land." Edmund: Edmund nodded in agreement. "We will give Leof a well guarded room here while he tells us all his information." sd: "All the information about where Eanfleda is," Leof corrected. "If Lady Guthild wants to test me, then so be it, but I'll withhold all information not relevant to her test until I actually have a promise that I'll be released, with my body fully intact I may add."
|
|
|
Post by sleepingdragon on Dec 11, 2016 13:42:56 GMT
sd: though Lord Daedharh gave them hateful stares, and Balnoth said resignedly that many people who had lost loved ones to the dragonspawn would not understand why they would spare the man who had brought the monsters down upon them, ultimately they were able to get an agreement that Leof would be kept under guard to speak to them about where Eanfleda was and how they could reach her. Beomund: "So," said Beomund when they had a chance to speak further with Leof. "Is there anything more you can tell us about Eanfleda herself? Any weaknesses we might exploit or resources we should be prepared for?" sd: "I don't know exactly what she can do," Leof admitted. "I can tell you two kinds of magic she's famous for, the others she keeps close to her chest. She can control your mind, and indeed she'll certainly try as soon as she sees you. She'll probably regard it as a personal insult if she fails, frankly. She's proud, so you might be able to goad her into something stupid. As for the other, she can drain your strength away, very quickly. She tends to reserve that for things she can't control, but I saw a cyclops get angry with her once and she drained its strength so quickly its armour became too much for it. She'll have dragonspawn with her, certainly Azraghar, her High Priest of Galazra, is there. I don't think she has great numbers though, and no undead that I know of." He paused ."Unless they raise the men they sent with me there." Beomund: "Do you know anything of Azraghar's powers?" Hogar: "Do you have any suggestion on how we might prevent her controlling us? Something that you feel might have done if you knew? Should we avoid looking into her eyes?"inquired Hogar, obviously worried by the thought of having his mind taken from him sd: "He's also an enchanter, though a more subtle one. I saw him once execute a man who had disobeyed his orders, he used a spell that forced the man to mimic Azraghar's own actions. Azraghar stepped into a raging fire and was fine, but the man..." Leof winced. "She also has a mystic and a singer, Sanaroc, he taught me how to make myself faster and stronger. Kill him painfully if you get a chance, he fucks children." Edmund: "A singer?" Edmund asked. "Is his music magical in some way?" Leofric: Leofric looked grim at the mention of Sanaroc's prevse desire and nodded, "Most painfully. Yes." sd: "And as for stopping her...well I don't know, I couldn't. Don't let her talk. Attack immediately and keep her off balance," said Leof. "His music isn't magical, but he has his own magic. Like I said, he taught me, in the beginning. I imagine you felt the aura I'd manifested when you first saw me on the wyvern, yes? Sanaroc can do that too, but stronger." Edmund: "You said she is proud and might overreach herself. yes?" Edmund said. "Does she have any other weaknesses we can play on?" Leofric: Leofric nodded, "Useful to know." sd: "If you remind her that no matter what she does, she's ultimately not one of the 'Chosen', that will make her very angry." Edmund: Edmund smiled without humour. "I will make sure to be very convincing." Beomund: Beomund nodded, satisfied. "Alright, then we should probably move on to how to reach her." sd: "It's a Forerunner ruin, hidden away in a very deep gorge that is difficult to reach or even notice that it's there, the hills there dip in such a way as to block it from view from almost every angle until you're almost atop of it. They put some kind of spell over the area to conceal the place, otherwise the dragonspawn would have found it years ago because once you're inside, the feeling of power from the pool of magic is utterly incredible. When I went down the gorge with my men I was the only one who survived, there were magical traps that caused gusts of wind that swept them off the edge, I nearly died myself but managed to grab a ledge." Edmund: "Would it be possible to draw a map to show the traps, or do they change them regularly?" Edmund asked. Edmund: ý sd: "Eanfleda said she was going to put something else in their place that didn't risk sweeping her underlings to death when they came in and out, so there'd be little point." Beomund: "Do you know of sentries or any other means used to detect anyone entering?" asked Beomund. sd: "There were summoning wards - I had to destroy a huge air elemental to get to the pool. I suspect Eanfleda has set up her own methods but I don't know what they'd be, she didn't trust me enough to keep me around and couldn't afford to keep controlling me mentally while she was trying to examine the pool. I'd have never had enough free rein to do what I did tonight if she'd been paying attention," said Leof. "She'll probably be pretty angry with me when she finds out I've got a large portion of her clans killed, but so be it. She should have let me invade Rulburna in force as I asked." Leofric: Leofric sighed for a moment, "It would be useful if you can quickly explain how the ruins is laid out so we already got an advantage of know the routes of the passageways ahead of us should we reach the ruins." sd: "The ruins are not very large, the difficulty is in finding them, not navigating them. There's a long shaft dropping down, then a corridor and a barracks. There's some interesting artwork in the barracks, but as Eanfleda was controlling me then I couldn't really appreciate it. Then there's another deep shaft and that leads to the chamber where the pool is. Eanfleda might have a lookout in the barracks though if I were her I'd just keep all my forces together to fend off any attack on the pool. Probably your other advantage is that you might catch her off-guard, if you get to her quickly enough she'll probably have no reason to expect attack." Leofric: Leofric smiled slightly, "That may be our biggest advantages we got." Edmund: "Is there anything else you can think of that might help us?" Edmund asked. sd: "Nothing particularly. When you kill her, make sure she knows she would have had all the time she needed if instead of making me her slave she'd have tried working with me," said Leof. "You can take the amulet and my sword if you want. I don't want to keep anything I had from her, apart from the magic which I can't exactly give up." Leofric: Leofric nodded, "Understandable." Hogar: "We thank you for your help. It will no doubt prove invaluable in our task - we will do all we can to defeat her and then come back and vouch for you."said Hogar Edmund: "We will," Edmund nodded. sd: "Make sure you do, Lady Guthild seems to think that if you fail that will prove I'm lying and therefore should be executed," he said. Leofric: When Leofric got a chance, he touched both the amulet and the sword to sense its power . You whisper to Leofric: the sword had no magic to it at all, and was simply a finely crafted weapon. upon touching the amulet, however, his senses were immediately assailed and overwhelmed. His head swam with the taste of sweet nectar and fine wine, but it was only a passing sensation, and then he could detect the power of the amulet itself, which had a flavour like a hard, dry trencher of bread, tough and difficult to chew. He retained only a sight aftertaste of what he immediately realised was very similar to what he had sensed from the Great Heartfire on Coelney, and he had a strange feeling as if he could have turned and pointed directly towards the ruin where Eanfleda waited for them. Leofric: He explained to others, "While this sword is not magical although it is very good sword. The amulet on the other hand give some kind of protection against some attacks. That's said, I can sense the location of the ruin/" Hogar: "I hope the amulet's magic isn't evil like the one that necromancer on Kalmar had - if it's not, it might prove useful to us."said Hogar sounding both interested and worried Leofric: Leofric shook his head, "No, it is not of that evil kind." sd: Erlene had been silent for most of the evening, unused to such situations, but now she spoke. "I could have been like him," she said pensively. "My parents never told me outright, but it was clear what they thought of me, they wished they'd had a real daughter and not...whatever I am. I don't think I ever would have done what he did, but then they never did anything like what his father did to him. I'm glad we didn't save him." Edmund: Edmund patted her on the shoulder. "Bad fathers can drive their sons, and daughters too, to extreme actions. This is not the first time we have heard of such a situation." sd: "I'll come with you to kill Eanfleda. If you're going to be travelling through the HIlls, I'm the best guide you could have here," said Erlene. "For now though we should sleep." Hogar: Hogar shrugged and said "I will shed no tears for the ealdorman. And some rest is in order, we need all our strength for what we plan to do." Leofric: Leofric's stomach growls, "I agreed!" sd: the party stopped to have a light meal before going to rest. Given what had happened, it was clear no one had slept the night in Bexcheap, despite the fact that the sun was beginning to rise. Lady Aethelu sat on a step, her eyes red from weeping and a hollow look on her face. Coenburg was sat next to her, speaking quietly. Erlene went to join her, as she and the Dark Widow had become friends in their time in Bexcheap, two women who would always be thought of as strange even in a dangerous frontier country. Within the feasthall, many of those who had survived had gathered. Lord Daedharh immediately made for the entrance the moment the party entered, while Annis came over to greet them, taking Edmund by the arm and sitting down next to him. She was trying with some difficulty not to fidget and touch the stitches in her cheek. Edmund: Edmund touched her hand. "It will heal quicker and cleaner if you leave it be," he said with a smile. He ate quickly and then got up to play some music to soothe everyone's ragged nerves. Leofric: Leofric eyed the leaving Lord Daedharh and made way for a table with some foods and start picking at the foods, considering upcoming fights that is to come, forcing himself to remains calm Hogar: "Hardly surprised - we knew giving Leof a chance would not endear us to most."muttered Hogar to the others noticing Lord Daedharh's behavior sd: after eating and allowing themselves a bit of time for their stomachs to settle, they set out to sleep for a few hours. As soon as they rose to leave, Annis got up too and again took Edmund's arm without comment. Edmund: Edmund drew Annis to one side so that they could speak privately. You whisper to Edmund: "If you're going to go off somewhere you might get killed, there are things I want first," Annis said bluntly. Edmund whispers: "You had better tell me now," Edmund said. " You whisper to Edmund: she laughed. "I'd have thought you knew." Annis grabbed Edmund by the neck and kissed him. Edmund whispers: Edmund kissed Annis back, but tried to control his reactions. As he drew breath he took a step back. "Annis, I like you very much. You're intelligent, lively and beautiful. We could forget the dangers and horrors which await us by spending the night together, and I am so tempted to do that, but I don't think this is the right time. I really need to sleep, to prepare for everything which we much face tomorrow. And you need to do the same. Maybe we can be lovers one day but tonight we have to be warriors." Player "Annis" is not connected. You whisper to Edmund: Annis sighed. "If you die in those hills before you lie with me, singer, I'm going to hunt your ghost down and kill it again." Edmund whispers: Edmund smiled ruefully. "I hope you won't have cause to." He kissed Annis again before leaving for his lonely bed. Edmund: Edmund found himself smiling as he walked to his room. Leofric: Leofric shook his head at Edmund's plight and went to the bed as well. Leofric: EDIT: Leofric shook his head at Edmund's plight with an amused smile sd: they rested and woke after mid-day. To see the sun so high in the sky when rising felt odd to them, but they had slept at least, which many had not. Lady Aethelu and Lady Coenburg were still on the same steps wherethey had been left the night before, though Erlene, needing to go off with the party, had been able to rest. Coenburg gave Beomund a smile as he went by. Others were busy at work, clearing away the bodies of the fallen, gathering spent arrows and weapons and armour that could be used again, shifting rubble from buildings damaged or destroyed in the fighting. Maccus was stripped down to his waist as he worked, and Atol of Parwick had taken a break and stood drinking a skin of wine with Synne. Edmund: Edmund checked his pack and bows, and made sure he had plenty of arrows, then went to find Annis to make his goodbyes. Leofric: Leofric already prepared himself for a fight and approached Maccus, "How's things Maccus?" He asked once he greeted Maccus? You whisper to Edmund: Annis was sitting on her own near the western outskirts of the village, sharpening her axe rather ineptly. She looked up at Edmund and smiled. "When you come back I'll have to ask Hogar if he can show me how to use this. The dragonspawn I hit with it didn't even feel it, I think." You whisper to Edmund: "I don't know how it is that Synne knows how to use a spear so well, it definitely felt that. She's pregnant even and still went in, which is bloody stupid." Edmund whispers: "Maybe I should teach you how to shoot with a bow," Edmund said. "I wouldn't be much good with an axe either." sd: "I'm limbweary, but I think our work is almost done," he said. "Alhstan was nearly killed last night, I think he'll be released from Lord Daedharh's service. Maybe we should bring him back with us, though I don't know what he can do other than fight." You whisper to Edmund: "I don't think I'd be of any use with a bow. When they were coming towards us last night I had to try very hard not to make myself rush at them screaming and break the line," said Annis. "If I'm going to fight something I need to be able to hit them with my own arm." Leofric: Leofric smiled slightly, "Pleased to hear about it. Worth a try at least. He might have some hidden skills as well." Edmund whispers: Edmund nodded in understanding. "When we arrived in Palania, I had never been properly trained in arms. I'd lived in the city - the only monsters there were men. I was a fair shot with a sling though, could hit a rat at a hundred paces. But if you need to get close and personal in the fray, perhaps you can get Synne to give you a quick lesson in spear use." Hogar: Hogar looked at the people who were busy gathering equipment and settings things in order with silent approval. He turned to Leofric and Maccus "We could perhaps use more good men at the manor, especially if the orcs there become more aggressive again." You whisper to Edmund: "It would be interesting to see Gastonland...you can't really go back there, can you? The Church aren't very pleased with you, Synne said." Beomund: Beomund smiled back at Coenburg, but left her alone as she was supporting Lady Aethelu. He joined those helping with the clean up, already thinking about the process of repairs. sd: Erlene came to meet them, having replenished her stock of arrows, steel and silver alike. She shifted her pack and spade on her shoulders. "We should go, this witch isn't going to kill herself." Edmund whispers: "Well you could say that," Edmund grinned. "Maybe things will change there, but we have made our home here. I am a Thegn of Phalen, a member of the Bard's College, and have a reputation in this land - I wouldn't care to give that up, and I think Palania needs me more. And there are things which I can do here, which I would definitely get into trouble for in Gastonland!" Beomund: When Beomund saw Erlene emerge, he quickly joined up with the others. "You're right. It's time to end this." Leofric: Leofric looked ready, "Hopefully our road to her is smooth..." sd: they went to find Edmund, who was sitting with Annis near the western outskirts of the settlement. She had her axe in her lap, and had evidently been sharpening it though not very adeptly, to their eyes. Edmund: "It's time to leave," Edmund said to her as he saw the others coming. "Remember to ask Synne. And I'll see you when I return." He embraced Annis and gathered up his gear. Edmund: "Is there someone who can give that axe an edge?" he asked Hogar as they approached. "Or cast anything useful on their weapons?" Hogar: "I could sharpen the axe for her."offered Hogar "But as actual spells go, only Beomund's would last enough to work for a battle that might happen while we're not here." sd: "I'll be fine, if I need a spell then there's lots of Changers here who can give me one," said Annis. Leofric: "Yes, good thing they are here." Leofric grinned for a moment before going off to saddle his horse. Edmund: Edmund called to Cadenza and followed Leofric. sd: Erlene led them up into the hills. Leof had said there were several routes they could take, but one led through dragonspawn terrain while the other was simply hard, difficult terrain. They had chosen the latter option, swinging south past the regions which were under Eanfleda's direct sway, pushing into rocky terrain filled with cliffs and ravines. It was only a short first day, and there was a late snow that made progress difficult. Erlene was very familiar with the hills, and Leofric used another spark of magic upon Leof's amulet, allowing him to regain a sense of exactly where the Wyrd was that persisted all day. The next day the snow was intermittent, and they used their understanding of the natural world to note the sudden signs ahead of a snowfall and take shelter, then to head out again when it began to clear up. Erlene took out her spade and used it to clear a path before them, with Beomund and Hogar also shoving aside the worst of it. As evenfall came on the clouds cleared. It was Leofric who noticed the strange effect Leof had mentioned, that the gorge leading down into where the Wyrd lay was hidden deep, the entrance small and difficult to reach, only possible to see from high, sharp angles or from virtually atop of it. They began to make towards it. They had climbed to nearly the highest point in the Cambers, some four thousand or more feet above Oswingas. The way down to the gorge was narrow and difficult and would require a long effort - Erlene thought it too dangerous to attempt at night, and suggested that they find a sheltered spot to rest and head down in the morning. Leofric: Leofric blew into his gloves and rubbed him, trying to remains warm, "Surprised that we got this far without any troubles," He looked around with warniess in his eyes Hogar: Hogar looked down at the impressive sight before turning to address Leofric "There will be no shortage of troubles later, I'm sure." sd: Erlene was looking down into the deep gorge as though it were a personal affront to her. "I'll take first watch and try to find the best route to climb down," she said. Leofric: Leofric approved Erlene's words, "Good idea. Thanks." sd: it was a cold night without any fire - Edmund, at least, had Cadenza crawled up next to him to provide some degree of heat, but the others had only to bear the chill. In the morning, Erlene began to lead them down, having noticed a path they could take which would minimise the amount of sheer climbing they would need - though there would still, unfortunately, have to be a great deal of it. sd: as it proved, her path was not as good as she had thought, and they spent the morning in a very long and arduous climb. Hogar went nimbly and fearlessly down. At one point the only place they could hammer in pitons the less adept climbers in the party could use was near a very precarious ledge, but Hogar went along it adroitly, tapping in the pitons, and then continuing down. Leofric again used his magic upon the amulet, and with how near they now were to the Wyrd the resonance left him with a low headache throbbing at his temples. The most dangerous moment came when Erlene lost her balance, plunged suddenly, and only managed to catch herself by using a spell in mid-air to steady her reflexes and snatch at a jut of rock. Her hands were torn badly and they stopped while Hogar ministered to them, Erlene looking rather ashamed to have come so near to falling when she should have been in her element. After this, however, they were able to continue down with greater ease, and Leofric found a few short paths they could take that wound down and gave them periodic breaks from the difficult descent. At last, they found themselves on a circular lip of rock. About a hundred or so feet below, they could see a small shaft leading down but they would need to clamber across many ledges to reach it. sd: their limbs ached hard now, and Erlene at least looked as if she needed a rest, however seeing the others unperturbed, particularly Edmund who was the least adept climber of the group, reminded her of their purpose and she gained her second wind. They prepared for the final descent.
|
|
|
Post by sleepingdragon on Dec 11, 2016 13:49:14 GMT
sd: their limbs ached hard now, and Erlene at least looked as if she needed a rest, however seeing the others unperturbed, particularly Edmund who was the least adept climber of the group, reminded her of their purpose and she gained her second wind. They prepared for the final descent. You whisper to Hogar: as they went, Hogar looked down and saw, in several places, strange disturbances in the air. After looking a few times, he realised that these ripples were in opposition to the minimal breeze affecting the gorge, and in fact were solid patches of air, formed into vaguely humanoid shapes, some of a size not dissimilar to a human, and others much larger. One of these latter, indeed, was perched on a shelf not far below where they currently stood. Edmund: Edmund took a vial out of his pack and drank the potion, feeling his magical power restored as he did so. He gazed out over the rocky landscape before them. Hogar: Hogar looked down for a while and his brow furrowed, as if he had seen something unexpected. He turned to address the others in a hushed tone "There are...ripples in the air, vaguely man-shaped. Some quite large, one not far below. Some sort of air elemental, perhaps?" Leofric: Leofric grimanced at the mention of the air elements, "Good eyes Hogar." sd: indeed, there were several such figures, and as Hogar pointed them out they saw them. One, significantly larger than a human, floated upon a shelf below them. They thought perhaps it was watching them, though as the creature had no discernible face or eyes that they could see it was difficult to tell. There were two of these large figures, and several smaller ones, dotted about the chasms. sd: without using words or gestures, Erlene manifested her Will and fire began to dance on her fingertips, though she avoided drawing an arrow for now Edmund: Edmund silently cast the same spell, and did the same for Beomund and Hogar. Hogar: Though still and silent, Hogar managed to cast a spell of coordination on himself - he was likely worried the sylphs would try to hurl him and his companions to their doom and that such a spell might help him evade their attacks Leofric: Leofric focused his wills on the enemies. Out of six air elementals, only one is banished from this grey world. He frowned, "They are stronger than I expected." Leofric: EDIT: "Only one. Hmm, they are stronger than I have expected." As the air elementals turns their full attention on him sd: the nearest of the sylphs rose up from the ground, gusts of wind coalescing into solid form. It raised a fist like appendage towards Leofric and fired from it a jet of air that battered at the scribe, who flung himself down to avoid it sd: a second fired a similar burst of air towards Hogar, who also rolled aside, more adroitly than Leofric, coming up with his bow ready Edmund is disconnected. Edmund has connected. Edmund: Edmund fired at the nearest Sylph, hitting it although not as hard as he would have liked. sd: more bursts of air were aimed towards Edmund and Erlene by the lesser sylphs, but the archers were able to avoid them sd: Erlene fired down at the larger sylph, but it simply flowed away from the flaming arrow, which clattered uselessly against the cliffs below Beomund: Beomund fired as well, but once again the sylph avoided the shot. Leofric: Leofric quickly stood up from his position, eyed the enemies. Hogar: Hogar fired a powerful flaming arrow which made the whirling mass of the closest sylph sizzle and wither as it went right through its center sd: the nearest of the large sylphs floated up towards them, looming overhead, out of range of their melee attacks but menacingly near nonetheless. Others flew after it sd: the others sylphs began to suck air towards them, preparing new bursts to thrust at the party Edmund is disconnected. Hogar: Hogar rapidly shot another arrow, but in his haste the projectile flew wide burying itself in the gorge's walls Leofric: Leofric returned his Shiting Blade back on his belt, and took a harder grip of his shield. Edmund has connected. Edmund is disconnected. Edmund has connected. Edmund: His eyes fixed upon the injured sylph, Edmund called upon the power of the bow and speedily fired another arrow. The Black Bow shrieked its war cry and flames glimmered as it shot through the sylph's substance, ripping it apart, although it still moved. Beomund: Beomund fired another flaming arrow, and this time it pierced into the midst of the sylph's roiling form. sd: the first of the two great sylphs was beginning to flag, the swirling air that made up its form turning in awkward and unnatural patterns, but the second rose and fired towards Leofric. The scribe raised a shield, interposing between him and its great blast of air - some buffeted at him, but failed to harm him. The two great sylphs then reared themselves up, clearly intending to fling themselves down upon the party in melee Edmund: "Look out Erlene, they're going to close in." Edmund shouted to her. sd: one of the lesser sylphs sought to fire down at Beomund, but the gusts of air eluded its control and indeed sent it careening backwards away from the smith sd: two more sent bursts of air towards Hogar and Edmund, who dodged away sd: Erlene finished loading and, nodding towards Ed, threw herself off the nearby ledge and down towards the next rocky shelf below Beomund: As one of the larger sylphs approached, Beomund decided it was time to ready for close combat. He dropped his bow to the earth and pulled his hammer from his back. Hogar: Following his companion's example, Hogar dropped his bow and took the Darkling Axe from his belt sd: one of the great sylphs loomed over Leofric, a great tendril of solid air smashing towards the scribe like a battering ram of wind. Leofric rolled below the blow, murmuring the last words of a spell and springing up to his feet right below the sylph Edmund: Looking round, Edmund spied one of the lesser syphs not in close combat with his comrades. Again the black bow screamed its defiance, and again the arrow flamed as it struck, visibly damaging the sylph. sd: two of the lesser creatures punched out at Hogar and Leofric, but Hogar blocked with his shield while Leofric had the thing's fist go right overhead sd: Erlene fired at the creature Edmund had just struck, but it flowed aside from her arrow Beomund: Beomund swung his hammer at a great sylph, but it flowed away from his blow. Leofric: Leofric finally spoken a single word and pointed at an air element. It suddenly caused a discordant blow of a winds and it vanished. Grinning for a moment, he then eyed much bigger elemental, reaching for his sword. Hogar: With a sudden burst of energy Hogar lashed out at the greater sylph facing him and Leofric, the Darkling Axe tearing a deep gash through the airy mass visibly weakening and dissolving a large part of it Edmund: Edmund followed Erlene over the edge of the rock, tumbling gracefully down to land on his feet, bow still in hand. sd: one of the lesser sylphs followed, overtaking Erlene with its greater speed Edmund: Edmund rushed to reload. sd: one of the large sylphs reached out and wrapped a huge appendage around Beomund, who struggled unsuccessfully to avoid it. The huge smith was lifted like a child and wrapped up in the elemental's great body, buffeted hard by winds sd: another fist of air sailed over Hogar's head sd: Erlene began to load her bow, with some worry as a sylph had her cornered and precariously near a long rocky slope. Leofric: Leofric glanced back at Beomund held with great concern, he ditched his shield, drew his sword and shifted his Shifting Blade to greatsword, ready to put down this Sylph Beomund: Beomund attempted to struggle his way out of the sylph's grasp, but the winds buffetting him proved too strong. sd: the damaged great sylph battered out at Leofric, but the scribe raised his magic sword and sent the creature's fist swirling overhead, slamming down into the rocks below and throwing the sylph off balance. sd: as it did, they looked down towards the hole leading to the Wyrd and saw a gust of wind as two more lesser sylphs rose up Hogar: "More of them!" said Hogar as they noticed another two sylphs coming "We must destroy them quickly or they will hurl us down." Edmund: Edmund fired at the Sylph menacing Erlene and although the fiery arrow damaged it badly again, the wretched thing still managed to survive. sd: "DON'T REMIND ME!" Erlene shouted back at Hogar, cartwheeling over a burst of air that would have sent the Changer woman hurtling over the ledge had it connected sd: the sylph engulfing Beomund began to lift up off the ground. Realising it would simply drop him to his doom, the smith gave a great wrench and pulled himself free, thudding back down to earth and managing to land on his feet Leofric: Leofric quickly took advantage of the off balanced greater sylphs and stabbed it. It collasped, causing ever great roar of wind.. With the main threat gone, he eyed Beomund with a concern. Leofric: YAY Hogar: Seeing Leofric had destroyed the greater sylph they had been facing, Hogar turned to face one of the lesser ones and with a powerful swing of his axe battered and tore through its form sd: Erlene and Hogar dodged more blows, while the lesser sylphs, advancing from below, fired bursts of air forcing Edmund to roll aside sd: as the sylph overreached itself, Erlene suddenly darted back, skidding near to the ledge. she raised her bow and launched a fiery arrow, tearing apart the creature's form. Edmund: Edmund smiled briefly before fixing his gaze on the sylphs heading their way. sd: Beomund swung his hammer again but the sylph was able to dodge away again Hogar: Hogar swung again, reducing the sylph he had been fighting to an even smaller and unstable form but not completely destroying it. Leofric: Leofric joined the fray and stabbed it with extreme skill, making a dent in it. But his main focus on ensuring that greater Sylph is under pressure to give his friend Beomund less pressure. sd: Erlene saw two sylphs coming towards them and knew she didn't have time to draw an arrow. "Ed, cast something on my spear, fast!" Edmund: Edmund instantly spoke the words and gestured towards the spear. "That will make it easier to penetrate them," he said. sd: Erlene flung her bow away and drew her spear, gripping it in both hands and advancing towards the sylphs sd: Beomund swung his hammer hard at the sylph before him, and though it tried to dodge he twisted his wrist at the last moment, redirecting the hammer and slamming it straight into its centre of mass, sending off bursts of steam where his enchanted hammer struck home Leofric: Leofric quickly followed Beomind's attack with another attack. With the combined pressure from both of them, they finally put the greater sylph to smoke Hogar: Hogar attacked again, but this time the sylph just moved around his swing and was unharmed sd: Erlene advanced to face the two sylphs, whirling her enchanted spear around her head Leofric: Leofric eyed the approaching Sylphs and frowned with concern, he moved toward to rescue Erlene from preilious fate sd: Beomund went and leaped down, hammer in hand Leofric: Leofric eyed Hogar who can easily handle the enemy and leaped after Beomund hittng the ground with a smooth jump. His eyes glared at these air elemants sd: the two sylphs hammered out at Erlene, but the ranger leaped adroitly over their attacks, though she was forced entirely on the defensive and ended up too close to her targets to risk a stab with her spear Leofric: Leofric as he moved closer muttered a spell to grant himself the power of flight just in case Hogar: This time the sylph couldn't avoid Hogar's attack and was struck right in its center with tremendous force. It rippled for a moment before dissipating harmlessly, and Hogar began to eye his companions below, ready to reach them. sd: Edmund fired a shot at one of the two sylphs, which flowed aside. The other struck out at Erlene, hammering her full in the face and sending her sprawling backwards, blood spraying. The ranger was hurled straight towards Beomund but he vaulted over her and brought his hammer up Leofric: Leofric made an attack on sylph with anger, attempting to reducing it to non existant cloud sd: Erlene stood, fire in her eyes and blood on her lip, raising her spear Leofric: Leofric kept on the pressure on the sylph sd: Beomund had engaged with one of the sylphs and already struck it hard once. Erlene stepped up and stabbed at it with her magic spear - though it easily flowed aside, it was now left completely open to the smith's hammer Beomund: Seizing the opportunity, Beomund swung the hammer once more, and the enchantments laid upon the weapon did their work, disippating the sylph. sd: the party encircled the remaining sylph. It took an arrow from Edmund, then Erlene thrust her spear through its middle and finally the last of the sylphs vanished into the chill morning air. sd: the ranger dropped her spear and took her gloves off, wiping blood from her mouth. "Fuckers." Beomund: "We were lucky to have all survived that," said Beomund. "Hopefully Eanfleda hasn't been alerted." Hogar: Hogar nimbly climbed down to the rest of the party. "Wounded, anyone?" he asked before noticing that Erlene was quite battered. Leofric: Leofric flew up and retrieve his shield and flew back and agreed with Beomund, "Yes, it could turn out much worse for us." He moved closer to Erlene, "Hogar can help with that" Hogar: Hogar was able to treat Erlene's wounds, improving them greatly. Now only a few light bruises were left on her face which would quickly heal sd: Erlene recovered her bow. "This shouldn't be too hard to get down from now that we're not being disturbed," she said, looking down to the small gap the last sylphs had emerged from. Beomund: Beomund agreed, already moving toward the gap. "We'll want to preserve our surprise advantage as much as possible." Leofric: Leofric nodded, "I could try and sense the magics ahead of us, could taste if there is anything werid going on." Leofric: weird Leofric: He casted the spell, "Hoping it doesn't give us away." You whisper to Leofric: upon casting his spell, Leofric had the odd sense of detecting...nothing. Even the auras upon his own equipment, and those of his companions, did nothing. With such magic it was little wonder the Wyrd hidden here had been overlooked for so long - he would need to keep the spell active in case this effect disappeared at any point Leofric: Leofric frowned with a hint of misbelief, "I cannot sense anything. No wonder why no one sense the Wyrd here. Something or someone is keeping the magic hidden here." sd: "That's a powerful spell to hide something that strong..." said Erlene. "Well, no option then but to rely on our eyes." Leofric: Leofric nodded, "Indeed, will keep my sense open in case that disappears." sd: they clambered down to the small hole, which revealed a shaft leading down. Erlene tied a rope round her waist and had Beomund and Hogar slowly let her down. She descended about forty feet before her feet hit the ground, landing on a steep slope that slanted down and ran deep into the earth. Beomund drove a piton down into the ground to hold the rope, and one by one they lowered themselves down into the gloom. Erlene had lit a lantern which she held while she waited for them. You whisper to Leofric: once inside, the scribe was suddenly assailed by a sensation he had known before, but was so overwhelming that he nonetheless reeled under it. His mouth was filled with the finest tastes he had ever known, distilled. He almost swayed as if drunk. Whatever effect had hidden the Wyrd was no longer in operation, but to detect any other magic now over the mighty sense of the Wyrd would require a powerful act of will. Beomund: "Move cautiously," murmured Beomund. "There may be new traps." Hogar: "I would be surprised if there weren't."said Hogar You whisper to Leofric: somewhere ahead of them, Leofric sensed a potent and frightening magic - its taste was like that of a fine wine masking poison, a nectar spreading tendrils that would spead and seize the body. This, he guessed, was some kind of powerful enchantment the witch had left behind sd: the party continued on, dropping down another ledge and landing in a short corridor that went on and ended in a small rectangulr chamber. The floors were set with strange black tiles that were slick underfoot. Leofric: Leofric almost swayed as if drunk, "I can sense the Wyrd, and it is powerful as ever. There are also magic ahead, a powerful enchantment that posion the body." Leofric: "It is still somewhere ahead but be very careful", He cautioned others. Hogar: "Be careful. I could go in the front, if you prefer."offered Hogar Leofric: Leofric nodded as he followed the group sd: the party entered the chamber. as they did, Leofric suddenly sensed a minor dweomer, one that the overwhelming power of the Wyrd had masked from his senses until now. And now it was too late as he felt it release. No fire was poured out on them, nor any other visible effects, for it was a simple spell of alarm which they had encountered before. The Wyrd and Eanfleda lay ahead...and the witch now knew of their presence.
|
|
|
Post by sleepingdragon on Dec 11, 2016 13:50:06 GMT
sd: the party entered the chamber. as they did, Leofric suddenly sensed a minor dweomer, one that the overwhelming power of the Wyrd had masked from his senses until now. And now it was too late as he felt it release. No fire was poured out on them, nor any other visible effects, for it was a simple spell of alarm which they had encountered before. The Wyrd and Eanfleda lay ahead...and the witch now knew of their presence. Leofric: Leofric sighed for a moment, "Damn." Hogar: "Shall we rush ahead hoping to catch her and her servants before they're ready, or prepare just like she is no doubt doing?" asked a worried Hogar Edmund: "We have to make sure we are prepared," Edmund said. "Not to go in without our full strength." sd: "Leof said there were a few rooms to pass through, and then the Wyrd was below," said Erlene. "We want to be sure we're right on top of her before we cast anything, or else we might get delayed." Beomund: "Quickly then," said Beomund, already moving toward the passage, his eyes scanning for danger. sd: they passed quickly through a set of twisting passages which ended in a small but solid stone door. You whisper to Leofric: the magic he had sensed, with a taste like poisoned wine, was on the door, and as he looked he could see the hidden rune that would set it off on whoever first opened the door. Leofric: Leofric warned the others suddenly, "There is a trap on that door!" Edmund: Edmund moved back, looking hard at it. "Magical?" sd: after Leofric's warning, they stepped away and examined the door, and eventually they could all see the faint rune etched upon it, almost imperceptible as it was placed near the door jamb on the far side. Leofric: Leofric and Hogar focused their will on the hidden rune and managed to dissolve the nasty hidden rune. sd: with the rune dispelled, they were able to open the door, which led into what had obviously been the barracks Leof had mentioned. As in other Forerunner ruins they had come across, the walls were painted with elaborate scenes depicting men in various sexual acts, which had faded only slightly with the long centuries. The contents of the room had fared much worse. The beds on each wall had suffered with damp and been utterly ruined, now little more than mildewed debris that left an overwhelming stench. There was a small circular table in the middle of the room which was of more recent make, with five plain stools placed around it. There were a number of papers upon the table, as well as a fair sized pile of gems, a golden torc, and some kind of large amulet. Hogar: "More traps, perhaps."whispered Hogar Edmund: "Maybe these are left to tempt the unwary into touching them," Edmund said, eyeing the objects on the table. You whisper to Hogar: it was indeed trapped, and very well and cunningly indeed. There were blades built into the table, and it had been placed in a groove which would cause it to rotate, blades spinning and slicing, as soon as anyone stepped up to it. You whisper to Leofric: it was indeed trapped, and very well and cunningly indeed. There were blades built into the table, and it had been placed in a groove which would cause it to rotate, blades spinning and slicing, as soon as anyone stepped up to it. Leofric: Leofric shook his head, "Cunning. It is trapped with blades. If anyone went close, the baldes would come out." Hogar: Hogar nodded and said "Best to assume everything here is trapped from now on." sd: indeed, the table was set in a hidden groove which would cause it to rotate, and there were blades set in its underside that would burst out and slice anyone who came near it. It would be possible to disrupt the mechanism, they thought, though perhaps it would simply be better to bypass it altogether Edmund: "If there had only been the plans, would we have been so suspicious?" mused Edmund. "Plans and precious objects is rather over-egging the pudding." Beomund: "Indeed. We can come back and investigate when this is done, but for now let's move on," suggested Beomund. sd: Erlene, having never been in a Forerunner ruin before, took a moment to contemplate the paintings, then moved towards the stone door on the north wall. Beomund: Beomund followed Erlene, wary of more traps. You whisper to Leofric: he sensed nothing on the door itself, but somewhere ahead of them, not far beyond the door, there was a dweomer with a taste like iron and blood, as of biting one's own lip so hard it became too sore to open. Leofric: Leofirc shook his head, "I don't sense anything on the door but there is a spell somewhere beyond a door." Edmund: "It seems strange not to trap this door, but shall we open it?" Edmund asked the others. Hogar: "No idea what kind of spell it could be?" Leofric: Leofric eyed Hogar with a nod, "I believe it can restrict your movember somehow" Hogar: "Perhaps we should open the door and try to look inside without entering."suggested Hogar tentatively Beomund: Beomund nodded and moved to open the door without stepping inside. sd: behind the door was a short corridor which curved around after only a few feet. You whisper to Leofric: the trap, he guessed, was somewhere beyond the curve Leofric: Walking slowly, "The trap is somewhere around the corner." sd: Erlene led the way. She stopped as she entered the new corridor. "There it is," she said, pointing to a small star on the floor, up against the wall. "There's one up there too, probably triggered by the other trap. Can ignore it if we disable the rune on the ground. I see some spinning blades as well, there," she pointed further along. "The runes are well hidden, those blades not so much." Leofric: Once again, Leofric and Hogar put their heads toogether and with a simple adjustment managed to disarm the trap You whisper to Leofric: there was a strange taste in the air, like some manner of heavy spice which was meant to distract from the rotten taste of one's food. Looking up, Leofric realised why this was - there was a wall at the end of the corridor, directly ahead of them, which was only an illusion. Not far beyond the illusory wall, he guessed, they would find the Wyrd. Hogar: "Every trap we disarm gives the witch precious time..."sighed Hogar Leofric: Leofric gestured at the wall at the end of the corridor, "The wall is a illusion and the Wyrd not that far neyond." sd: as Leofric gestured, the illusion was dispelled, and they could see through the seemingly solid wall. The corridor continued for a short while, then curved left and began to descend down. Hogar: Hogar cast some spells of protection, agility and perception on himself, chanting incantations and weaving arcane sigils in the air. Edmund: Edmund cast spells incuding one over his arrows. Leofric: Leofric merely waited until everyone is finished. Then he casted the spell of strength and then to protect them from spells and hoepfully reflecting the spells, he shielded them Beomund: Beomund wove spells over arrows for both Edmund and Erlene, as well as a spell of protection on himself. Edmund: Edmund cast one last spell, to help protect Leo. sd: Erlene had cast a spell to allow them to move more quickly, and another to allow her arrows to catch flame. She took a deep breath. "It's not as bad as the tower, I guess," she said. She stepped through the illusory wall. sd: they moved ahead into the narrow corridor that began to slope down. Erlene stopped quickly, spotting a tripwire which had not been concealed as well as it perhaps ought to have been. If triggered, this would cause the ground to give suddenly beneath their feet, sending them spilling down towards the hole at the end of the corridor. They could now all sense the Wyrd, the sensation of its power setting them on edge, hairs standing on end. It was almost directly beneath them now. sd: Edmund and Beomund were able to disarm the tripwire, and they stepped past and along to the hole in the floor leading down. Erlene knelt and looked. It descended about thirty feet and then curved slightly. As they crowded round, all of them could see a shining violet light, like lightning backlit, emanating from an unknown source, and there was a low buzzing noise like a great hive of bees that filled the air. Erlene looked at them, somewhat dubious, and reached for her rope. Leofric: Leofric closed his eyes and prayed silently for a moment before opening them, his dark copper eyes is full of steel determination Edmund: Edmund too was praying, asking god to strengthen their will when facing the sorceress. Hogar: Hogar spoke no words, but checked his weapons and shield, perhaps trusting more in their martial and magical skills than God's help Beomund: "Be ready to move," said Beomund stepping forward and peering into the hole in the ground. He knelt for a moment, briefly touching his hand to the stone and closing his eyes. Then he murmured some words before suddenly raising his hand in the air, palm upward. Instantly the ground began to rise and reshape itself, turning the sheer drop into a ramp on which they could walk. Leofric: Leofric grinned for a moment, surprised at Beomund's excellent grasp of his powers. He gripped his Shifting Blade and Shield closer Edmund: Edmund smiled too. "That is a useful trick." Hogar: "Quite an entrance we'll make!"said Hogar sd: Erlene went in front, darting down with a fiery arrow at the ready. They found themselves in a huge round chamber, set with a sea blue floor etched with strange patterns. There were four rune-spotted circles at the cardinal points in the room, glowing with arcane energy, and a sylph stood at the centre of each circle, waiting. In the centre of the room, there was a slight incline, leading to a small recess. Within this recess was the source of the violet light, a vivid pool set in a deep pit in the floor, humming with potential and power. Vibrating out from the pool were deep red rings, rising like a dome to cover the recess. They were not sure what would happen to anyone who tried to pass through the rings, but they doubted it was positive.
Near the middle of the recess was the most beautiful woman they had ever seen. Having ignited the devastating war between Middlemere and Bluebrycg over three decades before, they knew that the witch was at least fifty, but a stranger who came upon her would think her half that age. Her hair was dark as her repute, hanging down to her breasts which were only barely covered by a low-cut dress studded with garnets and emeralds. Her skin was alabaster and unblemished, her form voluptuous, her blue eyes piercing like icicles. There were others there - four large men in red, swords in hand, stood just in front of the party, and around the Wyrd there were two other women, a blue-scaled dragonspawn, and a tall, lean man in dark, garish clothing, but with Eanfleda before them it was all but impossible to pay them any mind.
"I see," said the Most High, facing them. There was an amulet of ivory around her neck, and upon each hand she wore a ring that had been offered to her in proposal of marriage. Herewulf, former Ealdorman of Middlemere, had given her a ring of gold set with an enormous diamond, while Orlege, Ealdorman of Bluebrycg, had preferred to give her a silver ring set with a beautiful garnet. She had taken their rings, their hearts, and in the end the war she had begun had taken their lives, but the witch gave nothing in return. "You're the adventurers from Gastony. Thank you for breaking the curse, I never wanted such a terrible fate to befall Oswingas. Come, speak with me. We could learn many things from each other." You whisper to Hogar: her words were fine, but Hogar looked into those beautiful eyes and saw nervousness there, even a hint of fear. She knew who she faced, and was not entirely certain she would prevail in a straight fight. Leofric: Leofric merely stared back and quickly drowned one of his potion. Hogar: Finally finding himself facing the witch they had heard so much about since first setting foot in Palania and without which the Plague Fields would never have been cursed and then healed by their efforts, Hogar seemed suitably impressed, though perhaps more by her appareance than demeanor, as if he felt she was less than fully confident she could win in the battle to come. After a few seconds, he spoke: "We could, perhaps. But we already learned enough to know we should not trust anything you say.". As he said that he eyed his companions, as if suggesting they should attack. sd: "If that's what you prefer," Eanfleda gave a dark smile. "You are Virians, yes? I know more of your God than you do. I've seen him, even spoken to him, if you could call it that." Beomund: "If that is the case, then you did not learn from him," said Beomund grimly. With that, he launched himself forward. Leofric: Leofric grinned, "I am losing count of numbers we fought around the Wyrds." He made way along with Beomund with great skill and speed sd: "Oh, I learned. I learned what he wanted. A pathetic entity, he wants to no longer be a god. I'll grant him his wish, and give him, and you, the chance to bow to a real god. GALAZRA! Give me your favour!" Eanfleda knelt by the Wyrd, and the air became suddenly heavy and oppressive. She began to sing in the language of the dragonspawn, and those with her did the same, chanting in praise to the dark god. They could feel pressure building up within them, as if their heads would burst from within. The light of the Wyrd intensified, and they could feel the words of the draconic language attempting to form upon their lips. sd: they resisted as best as they could. the words could not be forced onto their lips, but they felt agony spreading in their limbs as they refused to chant in praise to Galazra. Invisible hands battered them all over their bodies. Erlene swayed, groaning, then raised an arrow. "You're going to die today, witch, and I hope I get the last shot. I think it would burn your soul to die at the hands of an ugly woman." sd: ignoring Erlene's words, Eanfleda continued to chant, with Azraghal, Sanaroc, and the other two women joining her. The sylphs began to fly towards the party, and the red-garbed men nearby brandished their swords. sd: though longing for the last shot on Eanfleda, Erlene's first shot was aimed at one of the men who stood before them, who were lining up in formation. This one was in the middle of the line, but bore a two-handed sword and no shield. She fired a powerful arrow towards him, and rather than dodge, he allowed it to come towards him to maintain formation. This proved a terrible error, as this was one of the arrows Beomund had enhanced to ignore armour, and it struck him full in the throat and sent him tumbling back, blood frothing at his lips. "Tell Galazra to rot in hell!" Erlene shouted. sd: one of the nearer sylphs sent a blast of air towards Erlene, but the ranger dodged away Leofric: Leofric laughed as he ran at the shattered formation, "Why, I could introduce him to a demon prince or two. At least they are real." sd: Edmund sent an arrow another guard with a two-handed blade, and though he tried to dodge he wasn't fast enough. The Screaming Bow cried in mockery as the arrow tore through his midsection, sending him slumping to the floor. Hogar: Hogar hurled his enchanted hatchet at the javelin-wielding guard between those Erlene and Edmund and hit and the recess, striking the man in the belly with such vicious force that he collapsed immediately into unconsciousness. Leofric: Leofric managed to reach a bodyguard and fought him, he was surprised for a moment at the skill in parrying his blow. Leofric merely grimanced sd: Edmund had reloaded almost immediately. He fired an arrow towards one of the sorceresses, but as it sailed forward it struck the roiling red shield and bounced back, snapped in half Beomund: Beomund lashed out at the same guard who had parried Leofric's blow, and this time the man was unprepared. The strength of the hammer blow turned his lower torso into a spray of viscera, The other guard standing nearby was knocked to the ground was what remained of the body tumbled away. sd: though her guardsmen were being rapidly annihilated, Eanfleda continued to chant praise to Galazra Hogar: With the Darkling Axe still at his belt, Hogar slammed his shield down on the belly of the guard who had been knocked down, merely bruising him sd: Erlene was streaking across the room, but she had raised another arrow and aimed at the same sorceress that Edmund had targetted. The ranger's shot was able to pierce through the shield and slam hard into the woman's midsection, burying into her vitals. It should have been enough to fell her, but whatever magic affecting her was enough to keep her standing for the moment sd: Edmund quickly dropped his bow and drew his magic flute Leofric: Following up Hogar's attack, knocked over prone by Beomund's bashing a body into it, he ruthlessly hacked off the shield arm, sprouting blood all over the pace sd: Eanfleda's voice reached a great height, and the Wyrd flexed and began to spill outwards, tendrils flowing into Eanfleda's body. She reached out towards Azraghal, and the High Priest of Galazra smiled for a brief moment. Then the two were dragged towards one another, and Azraghal began to dissolve, flesh melting upon his bones. He gave a scream of terror and surprise, and Eanfleda flowed like liquid towards the centre of the Wyrd, levitating. She bathed in the High Priest's body and the Wyrd's light became unbearable. In the great light they could see a new form emerging. Eanfleda's alluring body was now gone, and when the light cleared there floated another. She was still beautiful, perhaps, if dragonspawn could be named beautiful. Her scales shone with light, and when she lifted her head her wings spread behind her. Upon each wing the dread symbol of Galazra unfolded. The red shields flexed and fell as Eanfleda lifted up into the air. "It's not time for you to die. I won't let you do that yet. It's time for you to serve." The two wedding rings were still on her hands, which she raised now as she began to chant a spell. sd: another sylph suddenly materialised in one of the summoning circles and began to move towards the party. sd: with the ritual with the Wyrd now complete, Sanaroc suddenly whirled with tremendous speed and sent a javelin whizzing just past Beomund's head. sd: Erlene began to load her bow sd: the sylphs that were moving towards the party blasted at them with gusts of air, forcing Beomund, Erlene and Hogar to dodge aside. Leofric: Leofric dropped the shield, his Shifting Blade shifted to Greatsword and he focused his will with a hand free to gesture. He started his chanting sd: Edmund played high, defiant notes upon his flute, filling them with the determination to resist the witch and bring her to her just end. Leofric: EDIT: Leofric dropped the shield, his Shifting Blade shifted to Greatsword and ran for it along with Beomund and Hogar sd: one of the sorceresses cast a quick spell, and to her surprise it reflected off Edmund and back at her. "They have defences! That spell returned back to me, be careful!" she shouted to her fellows. Hogar: Having drawn his axe, Hogar charged between the sylphs and into the recess, coming to face Sanaroc sd: Sanaroc launched a quick punch at Hogar, but the Bloodied Eye shoved him back with his shield, knocking him off balance sd: Erlene finished loading and looked up towards Eanfleda Leofric: Leofric made an attempt on Sanaroc with a strike but Sanaroc managed to avoid with almost magical ease Edmund is disconnected. Beomund: Beomund swung at the bodyguard beside Sanaroc, but the man managed to deflect the blow with his shield. Hogar: With a shout Hogar swung his axe at Sanaroc, but the man nimbly avoided the attack. sd: Eanfleda cast her spell. Erlene, Edmund, and Beomund felt her speak into their minds, urging them to simply accept her within them and to do the bidding of the Nameless One. Her mind bearing down upon them was like a hammer to their souls, but they resisted, barely. "I told you, Galazra can rot in hell!" Erlene shouted, raising her bow. sd: Erlene's arrow sailed through the air, but Eanfleda flapped her wings and allowed it to sail overhead. Her eyes, which had turned red in her transformation, were filled with bile. sd: one of the sylphs had reached melee and slammed at Beomund with a powerful fist. The smith parried with his hammer, activating the magic of his belt to prevent the blow from sending him stumbling back. Leofric: Leofric kept up the pressure on Sanaroc with increasing anger. Beomund: Beomund struck the sylph with his hammer, dealing a heavy blow, though more of the creatures were surrounding them. sd: one of the sorceresses cast fire from her hands at Beomund, Leofric and Hogar, but they were each protected by the magical armour Beomund had given them and were unaffected. Hogar: Hogar swung again at Sanaroc, and this time the bard did not prove quick enough to avoid the powerful blow. The Darkling Axe went through his shoulder and severed his in a hideous spray of blood, killing him in seconds. Hogar: edit: severed his arm sd: two of the sylphs struck out at Hogar and Beomund, but they responded with expertly timed parries that knocked the sylphs back sd: two more sylphs had appeared in the summoning circles, and it seemed would continue to do so until they were disrupted Leofric: Taking advantage of the prone bodyguard, he stabbed the guard in his chest Hogar: With a wild swing of his axe Hogar tore through the airy form of a slyph grievously damaging it. sd: the sylphs now were swarming around them, badly outnumbering the three melee fighters sd: Eanfleda again tried to force her will onto them. Edmund, Erlene and Leofric prayed desperately, feeling her overwhelming them - if she took them over now with the sylphs swarming over them then it would be the end. Mercifully, she was pushed back, and she gave a scream of indignation, flames billowing from her mouth sd: Erlene raised her bow and shot at Eanfleda. In her anger, she flapped her wings just too late, and the shaft slammed hard into her midsection. sd: the sylphs battered at the party. Leofric blocked with his sword, but the force of the blow still sent him staggering backwards. He reeled, felt his legs hit something, then looked back and his soul almost clawed its way out of his mouth as he saw the great pit filled with violet light right behind him. Barely, the scribe managed to right himself and stop himself from falling to his doom. Leofric: As soon he steaded himself, he quickly gestured to himself granting himself with the power of flight. He glared upward at Eanfleda with his bloody thirsty anger. sd: Edmund also raised his bow and fired at Eanfleda. The arrow buried itself thunderously into the shapeshifted witch, slamming straight into her middle. Beomund: Beomund swung once more at the already damaged sylph, and it billowed into nothingness, though more still pressed him and Hogar toward the wyrd. sd: one of the sorceresses attempted a spell that would force the arrows the party were firing to bend round towards Hogar, Beomund, and Leofric, but they resisted the magic sd: as Leofric lifted into the air, he felt an oppressive force weighing down upon him, but the indomitable will of the Erseman smashed past it, and he arrowed up to meet the stricken sorceress, lifting up the blade of the cursed Ealdorman whose land she had brought to ruin sd: desperately, Eanfleda breathed fire down towards Leofric. The Erseman twisted away, though on the ground Hogar was badly burned, as were some of the sylphs Leofric: Leofric flew directly at Eanfleda and brutally skewered the Shifting Blade into Eanfleda, opened by Erlene and Edmund's arrows. As the fires in her red eyes dimmed, he smiled without any pity, "Seems fitting for you to be slayed by Ealdorman Horsa's very sword." Once the life left her, Leofric came down carefully with her body firmly in his grasp as he left the violet air of the Wryd. sd: Eanfleda's fall seemed to send the sylphs into an inactive state, wandering back to their circles and vanishing. This left only two sorceresses, who, having seen their own magic turn useless and the Most High killed before them, were utterly broken. One, pierced through with Erlene's arrow, sprinted and flung herself into the Wyrd with a despairing cry before they could react, while the other simply surrendered. As they caught their breath, the violet light began to pulsate erratically, unable to maintain its form. Tendrils lashed out in all directions and as they leaped out and touched them, they felt themselves collapse to the ground, black flecks swimming before their eyes until nothing was there.
an eternity seemed to pass. then, before they could even open their eyes, they were filled with a golden light.
|
|
|
Post by sleepingdragon on Dec 11, 2016 13:50:45 GMT
Their souls swam in a sea of colour, washing over them, filling them with warmth and contentment. It required hard acts of will to make themselves open their eyes and observe the scene around them.
All about them was a roiling mass of shapes, a tumult of impossible forms seeking clarity and stability, and most often failing to find it. In places the void seemed to tremble like a frightened animal, threatening to collapse upon itself. In these places, the golden cord ran through and brought substance and solidity.
Like the spokes of a wheel the corona of lights radiated out from the cord. Where they now hung, they could see one form more clearly than on Coelney, where one of their number had spotted it in passing. Many great tendrils had been drawn to that spot, and more were slowly being pulled towards it.
The tendrils there seemed less vivid, for their colour and vibrant potentiality had transformed into certain, definite shape. It was a mighty mountain, above which there floated a great star of shifting colours. When they gazed upon the mountain an image came to their mind of blood upon the snow, blood which could and would not ever be washed away.
The star above that mountain was not the only one they could see in the void. A constellation of seven floated an indeterminate distance from the mountain, though two of the stars had dimmed notably, and each one individually seemed smaller than the star of many colours. There was a tendril near to where they floated, reaching out towards the seven stars like a great dragon’s tail. Here and there along its length there were sudden flashes of light.
Another new tendril had been shaped and reached tentatively towards the mountain, as if to undermine it and seek to sap from its strength, but this tendril had instead been drained utterly of life and colour and was in the process of dissolving into the void. They would need to do nothing to this, but it would be utterly reckless to leave here until the connection to the seven stars had been closed.
|
|
|
Post by sleepingdragon on Dec 11, 2016 13:55:35 GMT
The closing of the Wyrd left them sick and empty at heart. For the second time they had chosen the grey world over permanent communion with God, and their souls sank in despair to know that they would continue to know suffering and sorrow, entirely of their own volition. For many months afterwards when they slept, they would often glimpse the great golden cord as if from the corners of their eyes, and they would awake on the brink of tears.
They had been vaguely aware that the four of them had not been the only ones whose souls had gone into the Wyrd, but Erlene's initial despodency was expressed entirely in silence fitting her taciturn nature, and when she had recovered she refused to speak of what she felt. Their trek out of the Cambers was slow, uncomfortable, and silent.
Their return to Bexcheap brought more cheer. That they were alive, and bore the two wedding rings Eanfleda had been gifted, was proof that she had indeed been killed and that Leof had truly turned his cloak for a second time, though some muttered uncertainly of why they had not brought the witch's head with them. Few would ever believe the true tale.
Synne informed them that 'cousin Annis' would be returning to Phalen with them, which she was extremely enthusiastic about beyond a fear that she would be abandoning her mother in a dark time for her, the old wounds upon her heart having been inadvertently reopened by the party's words. Lord Garrick agreed he would bring Lady Aethelu with him and keep a close watch on her.
Leof too would be coming to Phalen, though, in his case, he would be wearing irons. Lord Daedharh bluntly informed them that whatever the Council would decide, Rulburna Weapontake did not recognise their authority and would seek revenge upon the unnatural murderer of their Ealdorman by any means at their disposal. By Balnoth's account, Daedharh was likely to become the new Ealdorman of Rulburna, and keeping the party's bargain with Leof would doubtlessly cost the Council dearly in their ambition to bring Peadaland into the fold.
They had time to speak to Wulfnoth before he left, and the most notable idea from the Changer Elder was that he was going to send emissaries to the Lost-Lands to speak to King Aethelwulf. Wulfnoth was far from certain this would be productive, but he was sure that the Changers could not simply ignore the sudden emergence of a king from amongst their own people.
They set out for Phalen on 20 March 229, with a large retinue and a prisoner in tow, and arrived back in the capital ten days later.
|
|
|
Post by sleepingdragon on Dec 17, 2016 18:01:13 GMT
The spring passed quickly. For the moment, they had no immediate work lined up for them - they had agreed they would aid the Soiled Sisters when they went east of the river to mount rescue missions amongst the villages of slaves which they had learned the orcs and goblins kept there, but the Sisters were still gathering information and recovering from the battle in East Phalen, and it was unlikely they would be able to make any moves until the summer.
News came from afar, however, of other events of interest to them. They kept a particularly close ear out for tales from their homeland. In early May, shortly before King Elfwine's sixteenth birthday when he would come of age, Regent Hrothgar and his men abruptly departed from Malagen and rode hard towards Haragmyne. This was supposedly simply to examine his estates, but all knew he was fleeing before the King could rule in his own name and his position became too precarious. Soon the King did indeed come of age, and shortly it became apparent that he had broken his betrothal with the no-longer Regent's daughter Sybella, and was seeking a new bride. This was an insult the Duke of Haragmyne was unlikely to abide.
No more likely to stand idly was the King of South Fryddenland. The Council had rejected the Dragonslayer's arrogant demands delivered following the assassination of his sons, and he was swift to retaliate. He decreed that anyone within his dominion who held to the Virian Way, or sheltered those who did, were to be punished with death, and he sent his navy out from the Bay of Brego to harass the coastlines. He made clear that he would turn back all ships from Fryddenland that sought to sail towards Palania or further abroad, and though he did not have the manpower to accomplish such an aim and some slipped through, many did not. Prices for goods from Fryddenland began to skyrocket as supplies dried up.
All the while, he began to slowly provide information about those who had killed his sons - they had struck suddenly from horseback, hitting the princes while much of their force was away riding against a group of dragonspawn who had proved elusive. The Dragonslayer even sent some tokens to the Council from the remains of the one assassin who had been killed in the battle and whose body had been recovered. He sent first his silver ring which bore the Virian symbol, then his shield embossed with the Prophet's Star, and the pommel of his sword which had a mark showing it had been forged in Meringas. Finally he sent the man's head, which the Church immediately pointed out bore the fair features of a Gavishman and not anyone of Gaston race.
Despite this, pressure was mounting and many in Palania were wondering aloud if they should risk full scale war to protect the Church. These fears were only accentuated when the Dragonslayer's navies began to raid the coasts of Peadaland, sacking the town of Styrnes and carrying off many of its people. Though Peadaland, ironically, did not recognise the suzerainty of the Council, they allowed Virians to move and preach freely in their lands, and the Dragonslayer vowed he would spare any Weapontakes which repudiated the Virian Way and barred its practitioners. The Ealdorman of Swithdun was said to be sorely tempted to accede to the Dragonslayer's demands, and foremost of his advisers suggesting this course of action was Daedharh, the new Ealdorman of Rulburna.
Nearer to home, the Conclave were busily working to decode and interpret the many texts the party had recovered from the library of Manehtar. They found some scrolls describing the spell he had developed to allow him to shield his magic from detection, and Sigrun believed they might have learned how to duplicate this effect soon. More tantalisingly, the Conclave found works suggesting that Manehtar had, not long before his death, become aware of a group of Virian sorcerers, followers of an obscure and secret sect, who had made a fastness for themselves somewhere in the northern forests, where they used their magic to shield themselves from the many marauding monsters that had scoured the land under the command of the dragon.
|
|
|
Post by sleepingdragon on Jan 1, 2017 14:02:10 GMT
By early May it had turned extremely warm, and this continued all through the late spring and early summer.
The blockade of Sweryn the Dragonslayer held out many ships from Fryddenland, but in their place came more Gaston settlers. The Duke Hrothgar had been commanded to return to Malagen or be named a traitor, but rather than comply he was gathering his armies. The King Elfwine had the greater authority and more men, if all the other Dukes remained loyal, but the land of Haragmyne was easily defensible and Duke Hrothgar was a doughty commander. Civil war was now an inevitability.
While the warm weather was pleasant for a time, the heat turned oppressive as the weeks stretched on. Three weeks passed at the end of May without so much as a single speck of rain, leaving the fields parched as a beggar's lips. On the first of June a major fire burned throughout the southeastern docks of Phalen. The Council and the Undercity Watch both insisted this was only a freak accident, but many feared it was an attack from east of the river.
Indeed, there was a stepping up of raids from that side, and seeing the state of the land the monsters turned readily to arson in their attacks. This was only one of the worrying signs in these raids. They were carried out, firstly, with the clear aim of killing and terrorising the populace rather than gaining loot or slaves - one nobleman and his entire entourage were ambushed and slaughtered, but in an unheard of act, his orcish attackers chose to flee immediately and set his heavily laden carriage ablaze rather than attempting to carry off his wealth.
Earlier rumours that the creatures had obtained a singular leader now seemed impossible to deny. In the aftermath of many of the attacks, survivors reported seeing a common symbol borne by their attackers, flown from banners, painted upon shields, or embossed on their armour. The symbol was of two broken pieces of a crown, unlovely and ill-fitting, but being forced back together as if to be reforged.
To those of Gastony this seemed less ominous than many other symbols an invading horde of monsters might bear, but the people of Palania believed a prophecy warning that if any ever claimed the title of High King again, that their land would fall beyond all repair.
During this time the Soiled Sisters had periodically come to speak to them about their preparations for the mission east of the river, sending Estra or Arianhod as Sisters the party knew well. Annis was so impressed by them that she asked Estra to be brought to their camp, and even before the weather had turned she seemed to have decided to join the group herself.
When she came back to see Edmund, she could pass on what information she had, which the Sisters had gained from slaves rescued east of the river. These spoke of someone they had begun to hear of a few years ago, a pitiless man with black eyes burning like coals. The Sisters had spoken to one woman who insisted that her son had dared to try to meet those eyes, and in doing had lost his mind utterly to fear.
The man had killed a powerful orc chief with his bare hands, and from then on he was the monsters' new leader. Those who had seen the Chief said he was a man utterly covered from head to toe with scars, as if he were an escaped slave. If so he had no pity for those of similar station for he had made many more. Many claimed he could take on other forms and go about undetected, and in so doing had murdered a number of monstrous warlords who might have threatened him. It was only in recent months that his crown symbol had begun to appear.
The Soiled Sisters were undeterred. The Chief had given women over to the appetite of the orcs, and for this they would pursue him to hell if need be. They were now nearly ready, and they begged the party to prepare for a mission deep in the lands of this mysterious warlord.
|
|
|
Post by sleepingdragon on Jan 1, 2017 14:03:33 GMT
Leofric: Upon their return to Phalen, Leofric spent weeks cloistered with various members of the Conclave. With a warlock, he learnt a new craft, controlling the various elements that make up the pillars of reality both fire and lightning. With Sigrun a most honoured seer, he tasted the fruit of his party's deep labour into Manehtar's Library by learning new spell which enable to 'hide' the magical signatures from people with sixth sense. With a druid, he learnt how to harness the power of human body to heal faster. Once the long spring has passed, Leofric felt that he is reaching the very limit of what he is capable, wuth the great majority he would never obtain, no more than any mage ever would. Beomund: Beomund, aftering suffering a strong bout of depression from his experience with the Wyrd, spent time over the next few weeks utilizing the Horn of Soothing and reflecting on what he had experienced. By the end he seemed refreshed and healthy, perhaps in a better state of mind than he had been in since losing Aisha. He also spent time learning from another member of the Conclave, discovering the secrets of turning he and his allies into birds. Hogar: Hogar was hit the hardest by the closing of the Wyrd. Though he had managed to resist the pull of the magnificent golden cord and its promise of infinite bliss as he already had in Colney, this time the effort had taken a huge toll on him. Perhaps the pull of the cord had been stronger this time, or perhaps his mind has been more taxed by recent events - no one could tell, but it was obvious to all he was wracked by feelings of despair, regret and inadequacy which left him almost catatonic, requiring his companions to care for him during the trip back to the Phalen. At the manor he spent the better part of a month in bed, unable to muster the will and strength to do anything that would take any effort, no matter how slight. Eventually however something stirred within him and the warrior began to rouse and gradually regain his composure, though there seemed to be something slightly different in his behavior - as if the experience had left his mind both traumatized and somehow keener. Once he found the strength to rise from his bed his recovery however was far from complete, but he slowly began to practice his archery and fighting skills, perhaps in attempt to take his mind off the Wyrd. It must not have been enough, however, for he also had to rely on the magical horn of mind-soothing they had discovered a long time ago in their adventures and the assistance of a Changer who was had some experience in treating people whose minds had been shaken by this sort of mystical trauma - assistance he rewarded with a large donation to their order. Soon Hogar was stable and hale enough to fully join his companions again and even accompanying Beomund when he went to meditate at the nearby runestones. Leofric: During their restful time, Leofric manage to use a potion to teach Edmund, Hogar and Beomund some interesting informations that entrapped all of them into genuinely spellbinding lesson. Clearly, his talent as a teacher shone through as he enjoyed this. Edmund: In contrast to Hogar, Edmund recovered quite rapidly from the effects of the Closing of the Wyrd. After a week spent in meditation at the Runestone, he returned to the manor with renewed energy, and seemed both more positive and more relaxed. He was constantly active - physically as he practised wielding the broadsword he had received from Leof, but also mentally. Edmund spent several weeks learning new magic with the Changers, and was full of enthusiasm for his new magical skills. He also spent a good deal of time at the Bard's College, where he was being trained in the arts of the stage. Yet despite all this, Ed still found time to visit the institutions they had set up to help the people of Phalen, consulting with Maccus how best to improve their situation, especially in light of possible increased threats. He also spent time with Annis whenever she visited, and seemed very happy with the situation. sd: the spring turned to summer and there was no relenting in the hot, dry weather. Fires in the city and the surrounding countryside became common events, and few people could manage a productive day of labour in the intense heat. Even for warriors as doughty as themselves, it was no easy feat to go about in armour, but with the fear of attack from across the river more people did than ever.
While they were waiting for any blow to fall, news from their homeland revealed that battle had been joined there. The Duke of Westunscir, long a rival of Duke Hrothgar, had led men on the King's behalf into the mountainous land of Haragmyne, and had been thoroughly routed for his trouble. King Elfwine was now gathering his own troops to lead his armies personally against the former Regent, though his efforts were being hampered now by the manoeuvrings of his lords. As the King's betrothal to Hrothgar's daughter Sybella had been broken, every high lord in Gastony was scrambling to find a suitably young, fertile, and unwed female relation to be Elfwine's new consort, and whoever he chose the young monarch would inevitably offend the Houses of those he passed over.
The Soiled Sisters had told them to prepare to move east of the river near to the beginning of July, but before this could happen they had a sudden and unexpected visitor. Since being brought to Phalen as a prisoner, Leof had been confined to a cell, and given his extremely dangerous reputation he was kept under constant guard, but otherwise not mistreated. Here and again the party had tried to interject, but the Council assured them he had not been harmed and they were merely negotiating terms. His sudden arrival at their manor on 29 June seemed to validate this. His hands were bound, and five heavily armed Thegns, representing the five Councillors of Phalen, went with him, but he clearly had been kept well fed and not mistreated in his time in prison. One of the Thegns requested leave to speak to the party in private, though Synne and Dunstan's presences were also requested. Leof had a wry smile on his dark face. Edmund: Edmund was relieved to see Leof obiously in good condition. "Please tell us what this is about." he said once they were alone with the Thegns. sd: "Before we commence, this matter is of the strictest secrecy," said one of the Thegns, waving a bound scroll.
"Oh I'm sure they've worked that out," Leof said. "Strictly, you should pretend you didn't see me today. Revealing that this conversation happened is treason, punishable by death, and so on, which must give you pause. I'm sure none of you have ever commited a crime that would be punishable by death before." Leof paused and glanced at Dunstan. "Well, maybe not you." Synne laughed, and Leof looked confused, but shrugged. "This is going to be somewhat mysterious I fear, but do you agree to keep this to yourselves?" Leofric: Leofric smiled wanly at Leof's mentioning of Dunstan and nodded, "We can keep anything secret." Edmund: Edmund also smiled, although more warmly than Leo. "We are the soul of discretion." Hogar: "We are no strangers to mystery."said Hogar "Speak." Beomund: Beomund simply nodded his assent. sd: "I don't know what I owe you, but I suppose I'll play along," said Synne. Dunstan nodded as well, seeming surprised that the Thegns looked to him before allowing the conversation to go any further.
"Excellent. It's quite simple actually," said Leof. "I'm going away for some time. I've made an agreement with the Council to...do something on their behalf in exchange for a full pardon. The only issue is that I don't trust the Council not to stick a knife in my back the moment I'm safely out of Phalen, so I'm finding people I suspect might listen to me and they'd be wary of causing problems with and bringing them a sealed scroll." He nodded to the scroll the Thegn was carrying. "That scroll explains what bargain I've made and what I'm going to do, but I'd ask you not to read it. Preferably not ever. However, if I've not come and spoken to you by this day next year, you should assume the Council had me disposed of, at which point you should read that and do what you will with it. I'd ask you that if that happens you should seek to avenge me but...well, we're not truly friends, as such, just people who are no longer enemies." Edmund: Edmund frowned but he held out his hand for the scroll. "If this is your wish, we will keep it safe and unread until that time. But is there no better way?" sd: "Not really. I could tell you what I'm going to do but...it's best not to." Leofric: Leofric scratched his chin and nodded, "That's is understandable. I do wish you well in whatever task you have before you." He nodded with steel determination in his dark eyes. Edmund: Edmund sighed but took the scroll. "Here's to your safe return. We will work on finding a safe place for this." Hogar: "Whatever the council is asking you to do must be extremely important."said Hogar "We'll keep this and hope we won't have to read it." sd: "If I never see you again, thank you for failing to rescue my father," said Leof. He glanced over at Beomund. "Find the people who took your wife, smith, and do terrible things to them." Beomund: Beomund looked Leof in the eyes, and flashed the barest hint of a smile. "Oh, I will," he said in a low voice. "Good luck to you." sd: Leof gave them a bow, smiled at the woman who might have become his bride had the world turned differently, and departed. Edmund: Edmund turned the scroll over slowly in his hand. "This needs to go somewhere it won't be stolen, and none of us will be tempted to open it. Beomund, can we fashion something to hold it?" Beomund: "I could certainly cast a spell to seal it in a container of metal or stone," replied Beomund. "Then someone else could hide it away." sd: "I...have a few places where I keep dangerous materials, I can find somewhere to put this," said Dunstan. "If I die and then Leof doesn't come back well...you'll just need to search." Edmund: Edmund nodded and handed the scroll to Dunstan. Edmund: "Would we need to seal it first?" he asked Beomund. Beomund: Beomund nodded, and went to the workshop to retrieve some scrap metal. Placing the scroll upon the sheet, he then wove a spell, slowly reshaping the metal over it into a cylindrical container without an opening. Leofric: "Nice work" Leofric looked at the work with appreciative eyes. Hogar: "Impressive, though we might want to save our magical energies if we can help it."said Hogar "I have my own suspicions as to what the Council asked of Leof, by the way. Perhaps they are the same as yours..." Beomund: "I would guess it has something to do with the threat of the Dragonslayer," replied Beomund, looking as if he knew Hogar suspected the same. sd: "If I were Leof, and the Council sent me to assassinate the Dragonslayer, I'd just go over to him instead," Synne replied. "What would they offer him to make him do that?" Hogar: "That is what I suspected. Surely the Council must have realized that Leof's skills could prove very useful to their goals." Leofric: Leofric nodded, "Perhaps, we will know if we failed to see him a year later." Beomund: "It's hard to say," said Beomund. "I can't think of what he'd want beyond his freedom, and he can get that without doing what was agreed. But yes - we will find out soon enough, I imagine." Edmund: "There must be more to it then," Edmund mused. "I would still like to know what really happened to the Dragonslayer's sons." sd: Leof was not the only visitor to come to them in those days. On the last day of June, Wulfnoth arrived, coming to meet with the men he had sent to the Lost-Lands to speak to King Aethelwulf, whose ship was due back in Phalen that day. Adverse winds proved to have delayed it by two days, but nevertheless they returned before the Soiled Sisters called on the group to head east.
the leader of the mission was a distant cousin of Wulfnoth's, Wulfestan, a greying Elder with long beard and lean features. He sat at their high table with Wulfnoth and the party, smoking a pipe and looking irritable. "I'm sure he was an improvement on the dragonspawn," Wulfestan said to the party, "but the man you've helped become King of the Lost-Lands is clearly not a suitable ally for us, and may do significant damage to the reputation of our people if we don't make every effort to distance ourselves from him. While I was in his court, there were envoys from Ealdorman Turoc complaining that he had used their resources to take over the Lost-Lands and was now not even spreading the 'true' Virian Way. King Aethelwulf sent them off with insults and told them that if Turoc wants a return of his men, he should come in person to get it. I suspect he wants a war." Beomund: Beomund looked sympathetic. "It was a difficult choice, helping him, and I hope it won't come to war between us. I wonder if his ambitions might be pointed in a different direction?" sd: Wulfestan grimaced. "If he wants to expand his kingdom, then his choices are Tohringland or the tundra," he said. "Turoc has been utterly used, he's lost a large number of his men in the campaign in the Lost-Lands, while Aethelwulf has acquired a brand new following of people who see him as their saviour. Aethelwulf has made his break with the Church entirely clear, the priests Turoc sent have all been expelled and replaced with his own men. It's odd, Wulfnoth. I spent over a month in a realm where people are coming to our faith, or something like our faith, in great numbers, and I've never felt so alone in my life. He's not, as we feared, using force to bring people over, but from what you told us," he nodded to the party, "he had previously and the reputation is still there. Besides, I doubt many people have any actual loyalty to the Dragon Cult." Wulfestan paused. "I wasn't the only person from afar to come to speak to King Aethelwulf, you know. There was one of your countrymen there." Leofric: Leofric raised his eyebrows with a surprise. "Someone from Gastony?" Beomund: "I imagine this has something to do with the news we've heard of the King and Duke Hrothgar," added Beomund, perking up. Hogar: Hogar listened in silence, perhaps expecting some sort of revelation. sd: "Yes. He was pretending to be otherwise, but I saw him speaking to the King a few times, and I overheard his voice once, clearly enough to know he came from your side of the ocean." Wulfestan leaned forward. "I have no idea what he said to Aethelwulf or who he is, but one of the others with me saw him putting away a signet ring. It had a symbol on it of a thrush taking flight from a large stone. I don't know this symbol myself, but I thought perhaps you might." Edmund: Edmund almost said something, then frowned thoughtfully. You whisper to Leofric: that symbol belonged to a noble family of Haragmyne, House Falstow, who were the lords of a growing town also called Falstow near to Muthdun castle. Lord Freomund Falstow was a close friend of Hrothgar's brother Haloth, and had been one of his advisers who had helped him run Haragmyne while Hrothgar was in the capital. You whisper to Edmund: that symbol belonged to a noble family of Haragmyne, House Falstow, who were the lords of a growing town also called Falstow near to Muthdun castle. Lord Freomund Falstow was a close friend of Hrothgar's brother Haloth, and had been one of his advisers who had helped him run Haragmyne while Hrothgar was in the capital. Edmund: Edmund frowned again as he recalled whose symbol it actually was. "The Falstows of Haragmyne." he muttered. Leofric: Leofric frowned for a moment and nodded, "I agreed with Edmund. A noble family near Muthdun castle. The lord, Freomund Falstow is a close friend of Duke's Hrothgar's brother and one of his advisers." sd: "This man was a short fellow, perhaps forty, slight build, with short hair, clean shaven, with long fingers. He rubbed his face a lot." Edmund: Edmund shook his head. "The description means nothing to me." You whisper to Leofric: that seemed to be a description of Lord Freomund himself, who was known at times to rub his face as a nervous tic. Leofric: Leofric only frowned deeper, "That is Lord Freomund himself. He tend to rub his face a lot when he get nervous." Leofric: EDIT: "That seems to be Lord Freomund." Edmund: "As well he might be," Edmund's face was grave. "This is not good - they can only be looking for allies on this side of the water." sd: Wulfnoth, for the first time they had heard, swore. "If Aethelwulf gets Palania involved in the civil war in Gastony then our people will be tainted by association for all time. Is Hrothgar planning to reuse the scheme he had concocted with Dryn, pulling out an heir to the Prophet to shunt King Elfwine aside?" Beomund: "I doubt Aethelwulf will be as easily used - Hrothgar is playing with fire," murmured Beomund, tugging at his beard worriedly. Edmund: "If this becomes known, it will cause havoc even if Aethelwulf has no intention of aiding one side or the other," Edmund said. "And there is already hatred building towards Virians." Hogar: "We did support Aethelwulf, so we have some responsability there."said Hogar Edmund: "So what can we do about it?" Edmund asked. sd: "We'll need to look into that," said Wulfnoth. "You have work to do for the Soiled Sisters I know, but I'll stay here while you're doing that. There may be trouble in Tohringland if Aethelwulf has ambitions there - it may be that Duke Hrothgar feels that having an ally on this side of the ocean to harass the Church and pin them down here is just as useful as having someone to bring to Gastony directly, and we can oppose him there if necessary." Leofric: Leofric agreed solemnly, "Let us know if we can help out with anything." sd: the final visitors came the next day. Annis immediately sought out Edmund and flung her arms around him. With her was a woman they didn't know, tall and lean with long, stringy auburn hair. She wore a long dark leather coat and carried a curved sword that appeared to be of goblin make. Her eyes were dark brown and hard as flint, her face angular and pronounced. "This is Sidwell," Annis introduced her.
"It's time to go east of the river," said Sidwell in a low voice. "We've a task you're probably the best ones to handle. Once that's done, we'll be in a position to move in force." Edmund: Edmund hugged Annis quickly, and then settled to find out the details. Beomund: Beomund was well-prepared to go already, and listened to Sidwell's plan with a look of solemn determination on his face. Hogar: Hogar acknowledged Annis for a moment before turning to Sidwell "We are ready."he said sd: "The creatures keep too close an eye on the river all the way north beyond Ceorlburh," she said, "so we're crossing further north and so should you. The creatures keep their slaves further east, near to the forest to cut fuel. There's a fairly large settlement there we have in mind, far from the greatest concentrations of orcs but near enough that we can mount a large scale rescue and get them across the river in time. We need somewhere to base our operations out of, and that's where you come in." Edmund: Edmund leaned forward, keen to hear more. Leofric: Leofric considered this plan over and looked curious as to what they will do to help them out sd: "Some of the women we rescued have spoken of an old hall, it belonged to one of the Estensalt noble clans which were wiped out in the invasion. It's about a day's journey east to southeast of Ceorlburh, in some hills which are cut off from the low-lands by a large waterfall on its western ledge," said Sidwell. "There's water there and space, and it can be approached without being seen. The women we've rescued say that the orcs are terrified of the place - it's haunted, apparently. Even the Chief has proven unwilling to do anything about it. If you can clear this place for us, we can sneak a large number of Sisters in and get ready for the next move." Edmund: "Ghosts!" Edmund exclaimed. "We have dealt with those before." Leofric: "Interesting." Leofric muttered with interest, sd: "Whether it's actually haunted by ghosts or something else that frightens the orcs of course we don't know. Those who go near the place suffer some kind of hallucinations or such - probably a hostile spirit in the place. With how many the orcs slaughtered when the dragon invaded it's little wonder," said Sidwell. "As we don't know what's there, it's better to send a small, mobile force that can flee if necessary and we can rethink the mission." Edmund: "I'm sure there is a way to deal with whatever is haunting the place," Edmund said. "Are we leaving immediately?" sd: "Obviously you have some time to gather your belongings, but we need to leave by mid-day. Sisters are gathering."
|
|
|
Post by sleepingdragon on Jan 1, 2017 14:03:52 GMT
sd: with Annis and Sidwell's arrival the party went to prepare for their journey east of the river, taking their horses and gathering their equipment. The Soiled Sisters themselves had gathered in Ceorlburh itself, at a manor belonging to a friend of one of their senior Sisters, and they would not be heading east of the river themselves until the party had cleared a base for them. "The less time we spend over there, the less chance there is the creatures get wind of us," said Sidwell. "And if you don't come back from this haunted hall then we'll be able to reconsider without giving the game away." Beomund: "A wise decision," said Beomund. "We'll do whatever we can to facilitate your plan." Edmund: "And we will make every effort to come back," Edmund added with a wry grin. sd: they set out north with the Sister and her apprentice. Sidwell they found to be an intense woman given to blunt speech, with a significant temper. Any time they might dally or cause a delay drew a glare and a caustic remark, but Annis had warned them of this and for the most part her anger was directed at the world, rather than at them particularly. On the third day of their travels, as they neared to Ceorlburh, Sidwell suddenly led them down a side path towards a little farm upon the banks of a small tributary of the greater Saltanow. "This farm belongs to one of us," said Sidwell. "This stream is affected by the tides, when the tides are out it's possible to lay down planks and cross over to the east bank," she took out a key and handed it to them. "You'll have an hour or so to wait, Annis and I are going to continue on to camp. When you've cleared the hall out, contact me by telepathy, if you can, or else come back and find us at the Purathing manor. If we don't hear from you in a week we'll assume you're dead. By the way, when you get nearer to this hall you should probably leave your horses behind. If the stories are right they'll go mad if they get too close and that would be a real waste." Edmund: "We have faced similar situations before," Edmund said. "We have a good guard to watch over them." And he ruffled Cadenza's ears. Beomund: Beomund nodded, peering down toward the farm. "Leofric should be able to contact you when we are finished." Leofric: Leofric nodded, "Shouldn't be an issue hopefully.!" Edivad: "Be careful."said Hogar to Leofric "The spirits there might interfere with your magic." Leofric: Leofric narrowed his eyes at that, "It is not a first time we came across dangerous spirits." sd: Annis grabbed Edmund and kissed him goodbye Edivad: "Of course. But not all are the same - we don't quite know what to expect." Edmund: "Take care," Edmund said to Annis when they had kissed. sd: Annis and Sidwell departed and the party unlocked the door to the farm and waited at the table, nibbling on bread and cheese, while waiting for the tide to go out. When the time had come they fetched the planks, which were stored in a small shed on a rocky jut just above the river. They had small lengths of chain attached to them, allowing them to build a makeshift bridge to walk their horses across onto a small islet next to the Saltanow proper. They forded the river clinging to their horses' backs, the animals sunk up to the tops of their long legs in the cold water, but they were able to force their way across and come to the east bank, Cadenza swimming along beside them.
Further north, there were human settlements such as Gastonford on the eastern banks where they had been partially reclaimed, but due to the width of the river here that had proved impossible. Not far from where they came back onto solid ground they saw a large rock which was carved with goblin and orcish runes warning of death. They would need to ride hard and stick behind what cover there was as much as possible, though there was little of that for about fifteen to twenty miles until they came near to the small area of hills where the noble hall was sd: Edmund and Beomund found them stealthy paths, with the smith going behind as normal erasing signs of their passage. Leofric was able to determine the lay of the land, predicting where there were likely to be clusters of rock where they would be able to conceal themselves even when it was not visible. They continued like this throughout the day, and at night Beomund and Hogar climbed up to a high spot where they had seen a sheltered ledge where they could take shelter, behind a crumbled wall of a long-burnt farmstead. Leaving Cadenza below with the horses in a small copse, they rested for the night.
In the morning, they were not far from their destination, however after they climbed down they found an orcish patrol was somewhere nearby, perhaps lured by the scent of their animals. The party split, with Beomund and Hogar continuing on while Leofric and Edmund rode out to divert the creatures, leading them on a wild chase before whirling and losing the creatures. They caught up with the others as they began their climb up into the haunted hills. The orcish tracks which had been ubiquitous on the plain below now vanished.
Again, they left their horses behind and ventured up towards their destination, which they could see up on a rocky perch perhaps seven miles distant, a long, rectangular stone hall with a low roof. The ground here was difficult and uneven. Undergrowth had been allowed to grow unhindered for many decades, and here and there they felt long branches rake across their legs like knives. There was no sign of any wildlife, and absolute silence hung over the hills. Here and there they passed shadows that seemed to dance and loom out from the corners of their eyes, but when they turned to look it was but a tall tree glowering above them, or the shade of a great stone. Leofric: Leofric shivered as he glanced around the barren lands, "I can see why no one really want to be here." Edmund: "Perhaps it was a good place once," Edmund said, shading his eyes as he looked around. Edivad: "The plauce is haunted, no doubt about that."said Hogar surveying the grim landscape Edivad: edit: place Edivad is disconnected. Hogar has connected. Beomund is disconnected. sd: they continued on, passing beneath a series of tall trees with long jagged branches, casting shadows as of monstrous creatures with cruel tools in their hands. it felt wrong to speak in this land, and they went along an old overgrown path in grim silence. The path ran along underneath a great ledge, and eventually curved back up it. Where the path curved many trees and overgrown plants jutted out to bar their way, forcing them in places to kneel or bend to go by. He had been bent often here when they had placed him on the rack.
they clambered up higher, passing by several small pools choked with weeds, winding their way up another ledge. Hogar was at the front, clearing what undergrowth he could with the Darkling Axe. As he brushed by what seemed a sturdy tree, there was a sudden noise as the Bloodied Eye's light contact was all it took to send the tree toppling over. The scream of a young man rent the air as the flensing knife kissed his skin, and there was another cry too from those watching.
How had that thought come to their minds? The noise had been little more than the creak of an old tree as it fell, but suddenly they felt the air upon them and their blood ran chill. Visions swam in their face, and closing their eyes simply made it worse... Edmund: Edmund whispered a heartfelt prayer for God's to aid and strengthen them. Edmund: edit* God Leofric: Leofric's eyes widened for a moment as the vision started to swim in front of his face. He put forth his Will and with a gesture and words, and sealed their minds against the onsalughters. Hogar: Hogar recoiled from the tree for a moment, but then steeled himself and looked at the others knowingly. Hogar: edit: Hogar recoiled from the tree in shock, the haunting scream obviously echoing in his mind. Edmund: Edmund gasped and stared in horror, but eventually drew himself together, although his face was white and set. sd: Leofric's spell came just in time. they were onlookers in a great crowd, orcs and goblins and humans as well. The great blocks that were laid out here had seen many a rebellious or disobedient slave punished, but this young man was chosen for other reasons. As they saw him stretched out before them his features were barely discernible, ghostlike, as if viewed through a fog. They heard his screams, however, as the goblin applied the knife to him again and again. Though the fog covered his body, it rolled away in a red mist to reveal his right hand, where his skin had been flayed away entirely, leaving only pink flesh and cold bone exposed to the world. The young man cursed his own name and begged for release. For a moment the knives stopped and their crashing hearts began to calm. Then they heard the crank of the gears, the rack gave a jolt, and they felt the man's pain tearing into them, sending them jerking and crashing back into the real world.
They had stood near to each other a moment ago, but now they were scattered as they had stumbled through the awful vision. Edmund had nearly stumbled over a ledge, and Hogar had fallen over, clutching at his head. You whisper to Hogar: a voice whispered in Hogar's mind that he too deserved such treatment. It was a hideous injustice that the young man alone should suffer the touch of the knife upon his skin while he was untouched - he would need to rectify this immediately. Leofric: Leofric shook his head, wishing to get rid of such memory but alas, it is one of many that resides in his mind over last three years since his arrival on this land. He noticed Edmund and Hogar taking the vision more heavily. He reached out to them, "Edmund! Hogar!" Edmund: Edmund threw himself back from the edge and clutched at Leofric's hand. Then he saw Hogar and dropped to his knees beside the stricken warrior, tears rolling down his face. Leofric: Leofric knelt as well, paying close attention to Hogar Hogar: Hogar was obviously not in control of himself. He quickly took off one of his mailed gloves and then with the trembling, still-armored hand reached for the knife on his belt and furiously tried to flay the skin off his bare hand, the blade tearing through skin and muscle but not biting deep enough to deal grevious damage - at least not yet... Leofric: Clearly alarmed, Leofric reached out to try to help Hogar. Edmund: Edmund cast a spell which gave his voice authority. "Stop Hogar, put down the knife! You are a warrior - be strong and resist!" sd: Hogar was temporarily snapped back into reality for long enough for Beomund to charge in and grab hold of his arm, squeezing it tight with his smith's strength. "Leofric, help me get him down!" he cried You whisper to Hogar: they were going to hurt him again! he wouldn't let them torment him again, not without a fight! Leofric: Leofric followed suit with his own strength which is much improved. sd: Beomund was able to fling Hogar to the ground and grip onto his knife-hand life a vise. The warrior's blood trickled down over his hands, but Beomund grimly held on as Hogar tried to thrash and writhe free, screaming and trying to slash with the knife. After a long minute, Hogar's strength went out from him and the madness passed. sd: like a vise Hogar: When Hogar came back to his senses and realize what he had done his face was full of shame. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." he stuttered, still on the ground, his gaze going back and forth between Beomund, his bloodied hand and the dagger on the ground. "The vision was too strong, I couldn't resist."he added as he slowly began to rise Edmund: Edmund shook his head. "There is nothing to be ashamed of, it could have overwhelmed any one of us. The vision was... so real, and so awful." He shuddered. Leofric: Leofric looked relieved that the vision passed and Hogar retains his sanity, "Indeed. Hopefully, we can lay this place to peace." Hogar: "I would have maimed myself if you had not stopped me."said Hogar to the others, deeply grateful . "I hope we will prove strong enough to put these spirits to rest. "he added as he briefly inspected his hand and applies some of his healing supplies on it in the hope it would improve the wound before wearing his hand-armor again. sd: once Hogar had a moment to recuperate and bandage his hand, they continued on. The path led up towards the hall, and as they came nearer they saw that there was a flat plateau they would need to pass through on their way. There in that clear space they could see a tall wooden structure from which there dangled some kind of iron, and when they came nearer they could see it was a rusted gibbet. There was a strange, acrid smell in the air.
The path had been fully overgrown in one place, so they had no choice but to clamber up a rock face as they went. Hogar was still reeling from the previous barrage of visions, and he climbed slowly, the last one to haul himself up onto the stony ledge. As he did stones were knocked loose to tumble down, clattering against the side of the hill, and Hogar's armour and weapons clanked together. The noise of metal upon metal jolted them, and there was a feeling of sickening vertigo as they were suddenly bombarded again.
coin upon coin upon coin, clinking into the bucket. they had known this before. a slave who was to be punished, almost always a woman, would be placed in the stocks and stripped naked, whatever the weather, so that anyone who chose could throw in a silver coin and have their way with her. this young man was no comely lass, but he was who he was, and was worth more, so his coins were to be gold. It didn't matter, for the buckets were being filled nearly as fast as he was. a great queue of drunken orcs wound their way down the path, but the overseers had made sure enough space was left that the rest of the slaves could, and had, to watch. Perhaps they might have once thought this young man could come from the shadows and save them, even after hearing him curse himself, curse his name, curse them. That belief was surely to be crushed now, for who could believe this whimpering young idiot with a bleeding arse being spread to every grey or green cock within ten miles could do anything for them? This land belonged to the grey and green now, and so did he. When the last of them had spent themselves into the young man, they hauled him back onto the rack, and forced his burning legs apart again. He screamed for someone to save him, but the only one to pay him any mind was the goblin with a small, heated knife which was slid slowly along the length of his manhood. Leofric: Leofric shook his head, "So horrible. No wonders why this land is so blighted." Edmund: Edmund was paler than ever. "Is it because they have a loathing of humans or are they naturally cruel do you think?" Hogar: "Does it even matter?"said Hogar "It would be no loss if they all died." Edmund: "That is something we should think about, before we condemn them all to death," Edmund said, "but not now." sd: they continued to climb. They were now not far from the summit, and Leofric's spell was nearing its end, but it would at the least last long enough for them to reach the plateau. Shortly after mid-day they crested a rise and were able to see it from a distance. Their minds reeled as they looked upon it. There was the great gibbet cage hanging near the centre of the plateau, but other tools of torment were also at hand. There were two great racks, their iron rungs rusted over. Before the gibbet were three sets of stocks, around which were tables set with a variety of cruel, rusted implements. Buckets lay near the stocks, and they could see that near the central stock there were four buckets, filled to the brim with gold coins, a veritable fortune. As they came nearer the horrible smell became stronger. Though not visible from a distance, near too they could see that the ground was utterly covered in a thin layer of green slime. There were smears of old dried blood everywhere, and a great splodge of indeterminate gore not far from the nearest rack. There was a well there too, but it was overflowing with slime. You whisper to Hogar: perhaps his mind was reeling with the sheer horror of this awful place, but when he looked, it was as if the nearby pile of slime had begun to move, slowly, imperceptibly slithering towards them. You whisper to Edmund: perhaps his mind was reeling with the sheer horror of this awful place, but when he looked, it was as if the nearby pile of slime had begun to move, slowly, imperceptibly slithering towards them. Hogar: Hogar looked visibly agitated "The slime...it's moving..."he muttered pointing at the ground Edmund: "Back, back!" Edmund cried at the same moment. Leofric: Leofric quickly on higher status of alert and watched the slime warily. sd: Beomund too saw the movement, and all around the plateau the slime began to ooze about in great quantities, suddenly rising and taking on solid form. The nearest reared up by them, and they gazed on it in horror. It was a great roiling mass of slime, but dotted unevenly about its hideous body were innumerable eyes. Human, orc, goblin, it mattered not - dozens of eyes of every colour gazed out in all directions as it oozed towards them. Behind, a great goop of slime vomited up from the well, eyes rolling and blinking, beholding them. All around the plateau these terrible creatures were rising, slithering towards them, dripping ichor that smoked along the ground as they went.
|
|
|
Post by sleepingdragon on Jan 7, 2017 18:31:26 GMT
sd: Beomund too saw the movement, and all around the plateau the slime began to ooze about in great quantities, suddenly rising and taking on solid form. The nearest reared up by them, and they gazed on it in horror. It was a great roiling mass of slime, but dotted unevenly about its hideous body were innumerable eyes. Human, orc, goblin, it mattered not - dozens of eyes of every colour gazed out in all directions as it oozed towards them. Behind, a great goop of slime vomited up from the well, eyes rolling and blinking, beholding them. All around the plateau these terrible creatures were rising, slithering towards them, dripping ichor that smoked along the ground as they went. sd: Leofric and Hogar both recognised the creatures from tomes they had read of arcane lore. They were panopticuses, creatures of ichor and viscera, which absorbed the eyes of their victims into their slimy forms from whence they peered out in perpetual terror. They were most associated with various particularly vile and sadistic demon princes, and could only be permanently killed with fire or else their bodies would simply reconstitute themselves. Slashing and piercing weapons were of absolutely no use against them. Leofric: He swore for a moment, glancing at his useless Shifting Blade with sadness. Hogar: "Don't despair!"said Hogar to Leofric as they eyed the slowly advancing mostruosities "We'll bash them with our shields until they're inert then set them on fire." Leofric: Leofric nodded, "I read them in the old tomes. They are called Panopticuses." He took a hard grip of his Kite Shield, his dark copper eyes looked at the oncoming storm with determination. Edmund: Edmund was taken aback for a moment, shocked by the sight of the vile things. But his companion's words brought him back to himself. And they knew how to destroy these monstrosities. Swallowing hard, Edmund drew out his sling and silvered stones and cast a spell over them. The stones flared for a moment. You whisper to Hogar: thinking more, Hogar recalled that these creatures secreted a venomous slime, which rendered any body part it struck numb and then began to eat it away with acid. This could be counteracted with an alkaline solution, some ingredients of which he had in his medical kit though he was not sure how many times he could do so. Hogar: While the others prepared their weapons and spells Hogar kept assessing the monsters. He shouted a warning to his companions "Don't let them get their slime on you or it'll numb your limbs!" Leofric: Leofric started chanting to weave a spell that grants them extra strength. He eyed his friends over and told them, "Touch me so I can give you the extra strength as soon as possible)_ Edmund: Edmund put his hand on Leofric;s shoulder. Hogar: Hogar touched Leofric's left arm with his right and felt his muscles swell from the effect of the spell. sd: Beomund began to cast a spell as the creatures began to flow forward. One came vomiting up from a stagnant well, the caustic slime corroding its stony surface as it came. Behind them they left stinking trails like wounds burning the surface of the earth. Beomund has connected. Beomund: Beomund murmured the words of his spell to increase the damage inflicted by weapons, and touched Edmund's sling bullet pouch. Edmund: Edmund smiled grimly in response, and drew out one of the bullets. sd: Leofric cast a spell as the creatures came forward, but fumbled his words as one of the creatures loomed almost on top of him and failed to cast it correctly Hogar: Shield held out in front of himself, Hogar moved between Edmund and the nearest Panopticus sd: Hogar flung himself foward into the path of the multifarious eyes. Orcish, goblin, and human eyes gazed back upon him, eyes in the dozens, a grotesque audience as had once watched a young man put to torment in this place. The creature's form was like a mountain of slime, and its stench was awful beyond description. Beomund: As Hogar pushed against the nearest creature, Beomund stepped to its side, and slammed his hammer into the gelatinous creature, doing his best to avoid retching. sd: dropping the Shifting Blade, Leofric drew a torch. Hogar: Hogar slammed his shield into the gigantic mass of the panopticus, making the slime quiver under the strength of his blow. Beomund: Beomund slammed the panopticus a second time, and the writhing mass went inert. "That won't be the end of it!" he said grimly. sd: Leofric stepped forward, lighting his torch and burning the panopticus mass. it began to smoke and dissolve, but three more of the horrible creatures were nearly on top of them Hogar: With a sudden move Hogar leapt away from the huge inert mass of the temporarily harmless panopticus towards another that had not yet been wounded and quickly struck it with his shield. Beomund: Beomund followed, striking the same panopticus with a blow made especially powerful through the enchantments woven upon his hammer. Edmund: Edmund stepped back smartly as one of the panoptici slid nearer. Whirling the sling around his head he let fly at the monster, hitting it hard. Flames licked out from the stone. Hogar: Hogar slammed another panopticus into inactivity with his shield. sd: several of the creatures were sliding forward, so eager that they flowed over the burning remnants of the first panopticus the party had destroyed and began to burn themselves Beomund: Beomund, seeing no other enemies within range, slammed his hammer into the panopticus Hogar had made inert, hoping to keep it from rejoining the fight. sd: Edmund struck the nearest panopticus with another slingstone, and then Leofric slipped in and smashed it down with his shield. As it was already burning, the fire began to spread throughout its inert form. Three of the creatures were down now, and the flames were spreading, dissolving their bodies into smoking slime, stinging their eyes with acrid smoke. Hogar: With another sudden burst of energy Hogar quickly took a torch from his pack and lit it, setting another panopticus on fire sd: with three of the creatures down and a spreading ring of fire blocking the others off, Leofric hastily recast his spell, this time managing to send strength coursing through their limbs Leofric: Leofric quickly retreated, trusting in Beomund's ability to deal with a Panopticus as he rushed toward to the flanking Panoptocis approaching Edmund. Hogar: Hogar nimbly darted around the mass of another panopticus who had been reaching for the rear of their formation and struck a light blow against it with his shield Beomund: Beomund fended off one panopticus, slamming it with a powerful blow. sd: Hogar and Beomund both fended off bizarre 'limbs' of oozing slime that lashed out towards them. Hogar dodged aside while Beomund deflected it with the haft of his hammer, which lost several slivers of wood that were burned away by the foul touch of the panopticus Edmund: Edmund swung again and a flaming bullet buried itself into the slimy mass in front of Leofric. Leofric: Leofric moved closer with a skillful move with his eyes glaring with iron solid determination. Hogar: Hogar kept his shield close to his body and lashed out with his lit torch this time, smashing and burning a large part of the slimy mass of the monster he was facing Beomund: Beomund struck the nearest panopticus once more with a finishing blow, and as it was already alight, the creature's body began to dissolve. Leofric: Lunging out with his shield, he managed to wound it further although not much compared to Ed's wound sd: four of the creatures had now fallen and their massive bodies had begun to smoulder, fire spreading onto the rotten ground. Seeking to avoid the burning bodies, the creatures that were oncoming circled round. Hogar: Hogar struck again with his flaming torch, leaving the panopticus in bad shape but still moving, albeit barely. Edmund: Again Edmund attacked the same monster and this time the bullet struck it hard enough to make it collapse. Hogar: Taking advantage of the thing's poor condition, Hogar struck it one last time and, when it stopped moving, left the torch on it for a few extra seconds to ensure it would burn fully Leofric: Leofric cheered at the sight of slain panopticus. Dropping a torch to free his hand, he turns his attention onto the four panopticuss facing Beomund and Hogar. His eyes focused on these enemies sd: the remaining creatures continued to cycle round to avoid the burning mounds of eyes Leofric: His right hand started to crackle with energy. Hogar: Hogar suddenly darted towards the closest panopticus and struck it with the torch, but it was a weak blow and the monster was merely slightly singed Edmund: Edmund stared at one of the Panoptici sliding towards them and let fly, hitting it hard. Leofric: Leofric's hand finally crackle with immense folks of powers that stuck out at all four panopticus with a various wounds wth ligthening. Hogar: Hogar slammed his torch again, this time at another panopticus facing Beomund and with far greater strength Beomund: Seeing that Hogar had set a panopticus alight, Beomund followed up with a blow that caused the creature to melt away. Leofric: Smiled wanily at seeing the result of his Will, he reached down to pick up the still lit torch and strolled toward the pure terrible enemies Hogar: Hogar struck again the panopticus he had attacked earlier, before assisting Beomund. Beomund: Combining his blow with Hogar's torch strike, Beomund felled yet another of the creatures. Edmund: As Hogar, Beomund and Leofric moved accross, Edmund fired at one of the two remaining monsters, again hitting hard. Hogar: Hogar manouvered around one of the last two remaining panopticuses, ready to strike with his torch sd: Leofric was able to deflect a blow just as Beomund struck down another panopticus, and soon they swarmed over the last one and laid it low. They stood in the midst of a great crescent of burning slime, filling the air with horrible fumes sd: for a moment Beomund thought he would be sick, but Leofric comforted him and they retreated a safe distance from the awful stench. With the madness of battle now done, they could examine the place with fresh eyes. This was, beyond a doubt, the place they had seen in the visions where a young man had been put to vile torment. There were multiple racks, as well as a high gibbet cage, which could be lowered down onto the brazier below by an ingenious device. There were three sets of stocks there, and by the central stock were four barrels filled with gold coins. Everywhere were tables upon which lay badly rusted hooks, knives, chains, and other tools of torture. Beomund: "This place should be... cleansed," said Beomund, the mere act of speaking almost making him sick again. Leofric: Leofric shook his head, "So horrible." Hogar: Hogar stepped away from the burning masses of their former foes and surveyed the place together with his companions. "What should be done with the gold? It might be cursed. If not we could take it and use it against the orcs, perhaps donate it to the Sisters...that would be a justice of sorts." Leofric: Leofric nodded warily, "This is really a blighted land." He took one of his many potion out and took a pull from it to restore his immense energy. Putting the stopper back on, he glanced at the others, "We will need to check if it is cursed first and I will try sense the magics around this area as well, which is not something I am looking forward to" Leofric: His eyes focused as he ended the spell that protected their minds from the horror and recasted the same. Leofric: "Let see what horrors around us." He recasted the spell to see You whisper to Leofric: he cast his spell and concentrated. The most powerful flavour came from the direction of the hall at the top of the hill, and its aftertaste held on his tongue for a long time. Its taste was ice cold and had a slimy texture - it was doubtlessly the source of the creatures they had just slain, and the visions they had experienced as well, he thought. So long as that spell or effect remained, it would not be safe for the Soiled Sisters to come here. You whisper to Leofric: there were other flavours too in the air. The buckets of gold coins tasted like a single spot of rotten meat that spoiled an entire broth - he was certain they were cursed and no matter how much wealth was there, it would not be safe them to take it. There was another taste as well, however, and it was one that hung in the air, as if it were an aroma of a meal long ago consumed but still detectable. Its flavour made Leofric's insides burn, twisting into painful knots. He knew with certainty that some extremely powerful magical event had occurred here, violent and without warning. He forced himself to concentrate on it despite his pain, inhaling another mouthful of air and allowing it to shred his insides. The flavour was one that originated from some other twisted plane, fire and ice at once. You whisper to Leofric: A demon prince, he thought, had been here. He had investigated these creatures more after their encounter with Tashqarrazedar, and as he took another painful taste he thought he knew which one. Torment and cruelty were, in essence, the portfolio of all demons, but one in particular delighted in both inflicting and receiving horrific new sensations, and this place would draw this prince's attention for a certainty. Arkaveshirazidor, demon prince of torture and sadism. You whisper to Leofric: Where people inflicted the most horrific cruelties, it appeared to revel in the carnage. Arkaveshirazidor was especially fond of possession. It would seize control of individuals suffering physical or mental torment in their dreams, or it would whisper into the ear of one suffering particular torment, promising salvation of the body in return for ownership of the soul. Arkaveshirazidor was a demon prince particularly fond of the vile panopticus creature, due to their ability to terrify and inflict particularly cruel and vicious pain. Leofric: Leofric nodded as some kind of understanding came to his eyes, "These creatures and the visions are all from some kind of magic located at the hall we are heading to. These gold coins are cursed. A spirit silimar in rank to the one we dealt with in a library under the city has been here a decade ago," He explained it loosely as if he trying not to attract attention of hellish prince. "This spirit is fond of using these kind of creatures to inflict terrors and pains. We will need to deal with that event or spell in the hall before the Soiled Sisters can use this place." Leofric: EDIT: "In other words, we will need to banish something from the hall." He rubbed his dark eyes for a moment. Edmund: Edmund stared at Leofric for a long moment. "Can you tell us more about it?" he asked eventually. Hogar: "This is dreadful."said Hogar, grimly. "I did not expect demons to be involved, and I hope breaking this curse will not require making deals with them." Leofric: He sighed for a moment, "It is fond of possessing of the various person who suffering torments in the dreams or promising salvation to tormented souls in exchange of the soul." He quickly explained it. "I am almost sure such creature is not here any longer. It has been few decades before." Leofric: EDIT: "It is almost a century since this event happened." Beomund: "Let us away quickly," said Beomund, his eyes darting about warily. "I have no desire to spend more time here if unnecessary." Leofric: Leofric nodded as he steeled his nerves, "Indeed, this land will be better once we cleansed this." sd: the effect Leofric had sensed which was responsible for the lingering curse upon the region was emanating from the hall atop the hill. They strode up the path towards it, limbs and hearts heavy. It had suffered long neglect, abandoned for many decades. To Beomund's eyes, attuned to building work, he guessed that it had been destroyed at one point and then rebuilt - there were faint outlines around the hall where demolished outbuildings had once stood, and they guessed the hall itself, a long, simple building shaped like a cross, had once been twice as large. sd: Here and there, they saw old trails where the panopticii had once slithered, but they guessed these had been amongst the slimes they destroyed below. As they ascended to the plateau where the hall itself stood, Leofric looked down and noticed a small piece of stone embedded in the grass. It had some kind of design upon it, so he turned it over and saw it was of a wheat sheaf. In the midst of the golden stalks was a single red one that stood out. Leofric: Leofric eyed the stone and shook his head, "No idea what it is, someone else might know" Hogar: Hogar glanced at the stone for a few seconds before shrugging sd: passing by the stone, they continued to the door. Immediately Beomund noticed that there was a trap embedded within the door, which was rigged so that shortly after it was opened, several heavy beams in the low ceiling of the front room would collapse on them. sd: Edmund and Beomund easily disarmed the trap, and they could now open the door and enter the long hall. Leofric: Leofric glanced around, trying to make a sense of this magical effect, sd: they entered firstly into a low cloak room where the trap was located. There were numerous very heavy log beams there, which would have dropped onto their heads had they not spotted the trap. There was a faded wooden door ahead of them, and a symbol was painted upon it, of a shield quartered saltire, red, blue, white and gold. This symbol had clearly been drawn over the old one - a faint streak of red amongst the gold field marked where the red wheat stalk had once been Edmund: Edmund examined the symbol on the door, eventually shaking his head. "Can't work out what this is." Hogar: "We should make a note of these symbols and then research them later," Leofric: Leofric nodded, "Good idea!" He smiled Leofric: He moved closer to the door, looking at it wariness sd: they opened the door and entered into the common hall, at the centre of which was a long table with about a dozen seats. There were a number of platters laid out with rotting food and spoilt drink, including a jug of milk with a reek that hit them the instant they opened the door. Such ripe fare would normally have attracted wildlife or insect life, but none wanted to dare this hall. It was very cold. There was no sign of any bodies, or of any struggle - it was as if the inhabitants had suddenly decided to flee, but in tremendously good order, knocking nothing over in their haste. sd: There was a tall chair at the head of the table which was etched with the same quartered shield symbol. A long rotted, half-eaten trencher lay upon the silver plate there, and a rusted dagger lay across a rolled up scroll next to the plate. There were three doors on the northern, eastern, and western walls - the western door also held the quartered shield symbol, and from the outside they had seen that wing of the hall was slightly longer than the eastern. Leofric: Leofric was about to head out to have a look at the scroll before deciding against it. He glanced at the western door Beomund: Beomund moved toward the western door, giving the table a wide berth, now worried not only about the spoiled food but about more dangerous curses. Hogar: Hogar said nothing - it was obvious to all something was terribly wrong with the place, so there was no need for words. He did however glance at the dagger and scroll. sd: the scroll had the look of one that had been rolled and unrolled many times, and was worn at the edges. It was not sealed, though as they looked they saw a small piece of cloth that might have served to hold it closed when its owner was not studying it which apparently they had been at the time whatever had happened here had occurred. Leofric: Leofric nodded, "Better to check the other wings before having a look at that scroll." sd: they opened the door to the western wing, which led to a small, slightly elevated room. They guessed this little chamber was simply a welcoming area to guests to the master bedroom - there was a little table containing a few books and papers as well a small decanter of some kind of spirit, which had largely been drained. There was a cellar door on the floor, as well as a solid oaken door leading into the bedroom proper. You whisper to Leofric: he guessed that the source of the curse was almost certainly inside the master bedroom. Leofric: Leofric pointed at the door of the master bedroom, "The curse is inside the master bedroom." Beomund: "Perhaps we'd best look around this room and examine the scroll," suggested Beomund. "Just in case it helps us prepare for any threat inside." Edmund: "Good idea," Edmund agreed. Beomund: Beomund went to retrieve the scroll, gingerly pushing aside the dagger. sd: You had no right to expect me to do anything than what I have. You might lack the shame to realise that you deserve to die, but I still remember what honour is. I've reached manhood today, and I hope that in death I've reminded you what it means to be a man, if you ever knew. Your 'salvation' has been the doom of our clan! There are supposedly survivors west of the river, and I can't even flee to them because of how you've shit upon the graves of our ancestors, shamed our name, and betrayed our people. May the Colding clan die with you and I. Mother will not let you father another child on her, and if you force yourself on her my ghost will return and gorge upon your soul. It might have survived through your brother, had you not murdered him in order to continue serving an orc. sd: Remember to take my amulet now that I am dead. It is the only heirloom left to us since you allowed your masters to plunder the home of our clan for the last three hundred years. Moulder here instead in the home of a better man who was your friend. Do you recall what it was to have a friend? Please do, and know you have none now and never will again. The runes of Osoltan lie upon it, and perhaps someday you will remember the gods you are supposed to serve and try to make some manner of amends for the dishonour you have heaped on our clan. Why are you not already dead? sd: Farewell, 'Lord' Horik, and may you suffer for all times. I will die today on my first day as a man, and in taking my own life I achieve more for our clan than you have in all your days. Be cursed. I am no son of yours. sd: the bitter text was in an older form of the present Gaston script, still legible, written in an uncertain hand. There were places where it had been streaked and stained as if tears had fallen upon it, or where a finger or thumb had passed across it and smudged the words. Edmund: Edmund examined the letter with interest. "This form of Gaston has not been used for a hundred years or so, yet men were already serving the Dragonspawn." Beomund: "Did the son bring about the demon to spite his father and stop the orcs here?" mused Beomund. "Or does he simply speak of ending his life to escape what his family had become...?" Leofric: Leofric looked thoughtfully as he considrered this, "Not sure but we will find out nevertheless." Hogar: "I don't think he would do the first thing...at least, not knowingly."said Hogar "But this is a demon prince we are talking about, so he would be no stranger to deception" Beomund: "Let's check the other wings first, and then the cellar, just in case," suggested Beomund, moving toward the east wing. sd: the east wing had clearly been a kitchen and storage area. Rotted food in states of semi-preparation dotted the kitchen area, and there were barrels taken out from where they had obviously been kept permanently. There was a small scrap of parchment which one rare literate servant had scrawled on, lamenting that the kitchen had been impossible to run since milord had sold Einilda to the orcs, whether or not he remembered doing it. Edmund: "Selling people as slaves," Edmund said disgustedly. "What kind of lord is that?" Hogar: "Not a popular one, I'd wager." Hogar: add: "At least with his subjects, the orcs might have seen it differently." Edmund: "The kind of man who rules by fear no doubt." Edmund: "And maybe mad or a drunk, judging by the comment about remembering,..." Edmund added. sd: they went on to the north wing, the smallest part of the hall. There were a few more small rooms used for storage, but the area was dominated by a little private bedroom. There were marks on the wall which indicated where perhaps a sword and shield had once hung, but they had not been there when whatever catastrophe that had befallen this place had occurred. There was, however, a very interesting slip of parchment. It was in the same hand as the message in the kitchen - most likely this was the writing of Lord Horik's principal steward. sd: It was dated to 07 August, in the 8th year after the Fall of the Valing clan - this would have been the 135th Year of the Virian Way, or ninety-five years ago, assuming that the sack of Phalen and the Fall of the Valings was the same thing. sd: Even Lord Horik will not speak of it. I will not commit to paper the horrors we saw today, but perhaps, if I have drunk enough and work up the courage, I will ask him if he can persuade the orcs that we have learned what we need to know and should not have to watch what they will do to him tomorrow. The shame is absolute. Palania is lost forever and so are we. I am no fighter but I took up a spear in the war, and only laid it down because it was clear we had lost. Now shouldn't we take them up again even if it's hopeless, if he is who they say he is? Lord Horik is certain that he is. How can we name ourselves Gastons if we sit by while they torture our High King? Leofric: Leofric explained the situtations behind the last High King Cynewulf and his son Cynefrith. sd: the High King Cynewulf, the last crowned High King of Palania, had been slain in the sack of Phalen. This was a matter of definite record, because some of his bodyguards had survived and reported his death at the hands of an orcish chief, and how the great sword Mage-Breaker had been stolen from his body. Some historians named his son Cynefrith, who had been fourteen at the time of the sack, the last High King of Phalen, but most did not as it was generally believed he too had perished when Phalen fell. Beomund: Beomund looked up from the letter with a sharp look after Leofric's explanation. "That torture we saw... it was Cynewulf's heir, or at least one they thought was his heir?" Beomund: *edit: "...it was Cynewulf's son Cynefrith, or at least one they thought was Cynefrith?" Leofric: Leofric frowned for a moment, "That is a possibility." sd: note for logs - edit 135th Year of the Virian Way, should be 132nd Year or ninety-eight years ago Leofric: "And would explains the vision we seen and its gold coins" Hogar: "I feel that was indeed him"said Hogar "A horrible fate for anyone, most of all for the one of such high birth....I'm sure those we will tell about this will not be pleased." Beomund: Beomund ruminated on the discovery for a few moments. "Nothing we can do about it now, except pray for his soul. Let's examine the cellar."
|
|