A Day in the Life of Dismal Hollow (IC)

[Mordae]

Flurries have started to fall, replacing the icy mist from the afternoon, as the Crane boys and Lance gather themselves in fur and prepare to head out into the early evening to brave the frozen ruins and take charge of the fallen adventurers--and perhaps, to find out exactly what Wyll Wenser was up to.

The heavy, uncured furs from the butcher's shop reek faintly of charnel, but their weight lends its own warmth against the encroaching chill of midwinter. Zeke leads the way, tracking his own footprints and Wenser's as they lead through the otherwise undisturbed snow. There is no sign of a second returning pair that would indicate Wyll had already returned to town. In fact, by following the rich boy's outgoing tracks and marking the landmarks, the group finds that the young man has disappeared into the very ruins that the Crane troupe had come to explore.

[Grim ranger]

Adrian

"Well, that definitely can't be good" Adrian summarizes rather aptly as he stares darkly at Wyll's tracks, hefting his mace in his hands. "This is all getting stranger by the second, and I have to say that I don't like the possibility of Wyll having something to do with the death of those adventurers" he muses, looking at the others. "Let's follow his tracks and find the man so we can finally shed some light onto this situation!"

[gunnar11]

"Oh god, this place holds terrible memories..." Lance says, pondering the best strategy to go about. "I say we go charging in, not screaming, though, as to be a surprise for old Wenser if he's in there - Lance looks at the tracks -, and he probably is"

Then he rethinks his strategy "Or perhaps sneaking is more fruitful, but I'd hate to get attacked like those adventurers..."

[GuyFawkes]

Zeke

"Oh, come on. You guys are giving that lunkhead too much credit. Like he could have thought about something that much. I mean, come on. To even use the word think and Wyll Wenser in one sentence is hilarious to say the least," Zeke replied with a snicker, then turned serious.

"Though to say he is working alone, that is something else. Maybe he's in cahoots with someone, I don't know...maybe the old Wenser or someone else. But to what end?"

Without any answer to his own question, he shrugged. "Let's not overanalyze things. And yes, sneaking in is better."

[Mordae]

The quartet cautiously follows the footprints into the ruins, in the process flushing a snowy white hare from a little hollow between two of the snow-covered stones. The tiny animal bounds across the otherwise undisturbed white surface, zig-zagging back and forth before disappearing into the treeline.

The antechamber beneath the crumbled tower is largely as the group left it days before, except there are boot-shaped rings of crushed snow that lead toward the open trapdoor leading into the catacombs further below.

[Mordae]

Somewhere out in the cold, a snowy owl hoots its awakening as the evening starts to fall around the ruined tower. Gradually, the crumbling antechamber begins to darken, resembling more closely the pitch-black tunnels beneath. There is still no sound from below, though Wyll's footprints clearly lead that direction and no other.

[Grim ranger]

Adrian

Seeing that they have delayed quite enough by now, Adrian decides to take point in their little incursion, descending into the catacombs below. "Time to face those fears of ours, brothers... Are we men or mice?" he jokes, even if the distinct feeling of unease still remains.

[GuyFawkes]

Zeke

Zeke sighed at his brother's joke.

"Either way, we'll be killed if we don't do this right. Let's go," he added, following Adrian's lead down into the darkness.

[gunnar11]

Lance

"whatever I do for great tales..." Lance murmurs to himself, entering the cave after the brothers. He holds onto the only knife he could find at his home, ready to strike any danger below.

"Let's go"

[Mordae]

Rory nods and lights up a lantern, the flint and steel casting fiery sparks until the wick takes and begins to glow, fed by cloudy oil from the reservoir below. He lets the other three go down first, holding the lamp over the door to illuminate the corridor with flickering golden light, before descending himself.

The passage is dry and somewhat warmer than the antechamber, though a fresh flow of cold air sweeps in from above now and again as the gusts from the surface dictate. The stone-walled corridor runs straight north and south with no obvious bends, though the boys recall from their last visit that further south, just around a corner, was the trap where the adventurers had met their end. This time, the dusty floor is marked with many footprints, having been disturbed at most only a few days ago by the Crane clan's own explorations. It seems like there are more, though...

[GuyFawkes]

Zeke

Zeke walked with silence and observed the footprints and tried to discern how many pairs were there. He was sure there were more than what he expected, and so he spoke.

"Damn. I think we're in over our heads here. I don't know what's going on anymore. But we can't stop now. The only way for us to find out is to move forward. Come on guys. But be careful. And try not to make as little noise as possible."

[Mordae]

"Yeah, but which way? Should we go check the bodies first, or see about this other passage?" Rory looks doubtfully one way and then the other.

[gunnar11]

Lance

Crouching on the floor, inspecting the different sets of footsteps visible on the ground, Lance asks "Which way, gentlemen? Should we follow the steps- looking at one of the corridors or explore the rest of this?" eyeing the other one.

[GuyFawkes]

Zeke

"Of course we check the passage we passed when we first came here," Zeke said matter-of-factly before passing his brothers and leading the way.

As he inched forward, he finally clutched the weapon underneath his coat, a small dagger. He was not a superstitious man, but something about the place gave him the creeps. And who knows if those damned crazy Wensers were there waiting in ambush?

Better be safe than sorry.

[Grim ranger]

Adrian

"I agree, brother: at least the possibility of being crushed by traps is lesser this way" Adrian comments as he grips his mace, the whole situation making him somewhat nervous even if he is generally the most level-headed out of the trio of brothers. "We might already be too late, so it is best that we won't delay any longer: as dangerous as this is, I have a bad feeling about the whole mess with Wensers. We have to figure out just where Wyll has been going..."

[Mordae]

Zeke leads the quartet away from the known trap, with Adrian and Lance following and Rory covering the rear. The butcher's lantern casts a fluttering beam of illumination and reveals many tracks in this direction: some human, some distinctly canine. About fifty feet ahead, there's a sharp bend to the left, and the yellow light catches a number of shiny-looking metallic objects scattered on the ground.

Spoiler: OOC

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Spot and listen checks all around.

[GuyFawkes]

Zeke

As soon as he saw it, Zeke immediately stopped and held his open hand up to signal the others to stop. He squinted his eyes to see the object clearly, and when he distinguished what they were, he turned and whispered.

"Looks like someone was in a hurry and snagged their bag on that nail over there," he pointed at the shiny object on the wall. "Let's see what he was carrying. But be careful. Might be a trap," he added before inching forward to investigate the scattered items on the floor.

[Grim ranger]

Adrian

Freezing in place and grabbing Zeke's shoulder, Adrian made sharp gesture. "No! I hear growling from ahead... It seems that the wolves are still here. Alright, if someone wants to back out, now is the time: otherwise we'll have fight in our hands, I bet."

[Mordae]

From around the bend there comes a clang of steel on stone, followed almost immediately by a whining yelp. The growling is louder now, so much so that all the lads can hear it.

[GuyFawkes]

Zeke

The eldest Crane's eyes widened as he strained with all his might to see through the darkness, his hand firmly gripping on his weapon to the point of trembling. Maybe it was the cold, he told himself, but he knew he could not betray his own emotions. Clearly the tension was getting to him, and this was adrenaline making him shake.

Although he had steeled himself for whatever was to come before they had come her, being in the moment was a different matter altogether.

"Dammit, slowly...back to the junction..." a voice that seemed unfamiliar issued from his throat as he backed upaslowly.

[Grim ranger]

Adrian

"Back? If we go back, we'll never get to the bottom of this!" Adrian muttered, hefting his mace before striding onward, rather surprisingly considering that he was generally the cautious and conservative type. "Come on! We can beat some wolves: that is what our weapons are for" he says to the rest as he goes to round the bend, ready to defend himself.

[Mordae]

As Adrian plunges forward down the hallway, he sees that the shiny objects on the ground are some of the weapons and accoutrements of the deceased adventurers. The barbarian's big sword is there, as well as the dwarf's stout hammers. Even the gnome's "battle axe", slightly larger than a lumberjack's tool, has spilled on the ground out of the rent in the canvas sack that had held the items fast.

From around the corner, Adrian can make out flickering lantern light from down the passage. There's another wolf howl, too, and a swish of steel cutting air. Peering along the hallway, he can see several shaggy canines with their hackles up, staring down cornered prey just out of sight.

[GuyFawkes]

Zeke

"Wait! What? No!" Zeke gasped out after Adrian's actions.

"Argh, dammit!" He muttered as he signaled the rest to follow their brother. He gritted his teeth and ignored the items lying on the ground and when he caught up with Adrian, grabbed him by the shoulder and yanked him back.

"There's smart fighting and dumb fighting. Use your head dammit!" he whispered forcefully. "If we die, we won't get to the bottom of this too, yeah?!" His face was seething with anger, but after breathing deeply once, calmed down.

"All right, go check what you can use from those items. I'll check what's happening."

With that, he pushed Adrian away and slowly peeked around the corner, trying to see the situation more clearly.

[Grim ranger]

Adrian

Giving his brother a resolute look, Adrian nevertheless followed his advice for the time being, allowing Zeke to scout out the situation as he quickly tried to search the sack for anything more useful than the weapons. While fine make and no doubt ready to be used, none of them had that much in way of experience with real weapons designed for battle, and the blacksmith knew the fact. Thus, other items would take priority for the time being.

[Mordae]

Adrian finds some rolled-up pieces of parchment and a half-dozen stoppered glass vials containing a variety of colored liquids. He also sees two silver-hilted daggers sheathed in jeweled scabbards. There's a big coin purse as well, which jingles with the promise of gold and silver as the smith pokes through the ripped sack.

"Gods, is that Wyll Wenser?" Rory breathes as he pokes his head around the corner. As the dark figure continues his standoff with the wolves, the butcher's hand reaches for the battle axe on the ground. "Think we should give him a hand?"

[Grim ranger]

Adrian

Hefting his mace and joining his brothers again, Adrian motioned for Lance to grab the vials as he would likely be somewhat too busy in a moment to take enough care to not break them. "I say we go and help: Wyll is a blustering bully and bad influence all around, but even he doesn't deserve to get eaten by wolves. Besides, I want to know what in the hells is going on in here."

[GuyFawkes]

Zeke

"Calm down, little brother. We don't need to endanger ourselves for someone like him. Let's make sure we get the best advantage first before we move in. I'll go in first. I'll try to circle around to the other side. You guys follow and attack from here after me," Zeke said calmly.

"Oh, and watch out for other wolves," he added before moving in towards the open space. He walked swiftly but as sure as he could, sticking close to the walls and trying to circle the room to the other side, eyes on the wolf and its prey, waiting for an opening.

Spoiler

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Sorry for the long time of not posting. I had tried to post a number of times, but with my slow net, they didn't get through and I forgot I haven't posted yet.

So for my move, Double Move action to go around and circle to the other side of the room.

[Mordae]

Zeke pushes his way to the fore and enters the chamber. It's a roughly circular space approximately forty feet in diameter. The walls are covered in dust, cobwebs, and lichen, giving the appearance of disuse, though the floors are largely clean. In the center of the room, a stone statue has been erected, but its form is unrecognizable on account of the thick layers of webbing and dust. There is a second passage, to the right of the statue, that leads away.

Standing with his back against the statue, facing the second passage, Wyll Wenser stands with sword outstretched, wildly trying to hold off a trio of slathering wolves. He spares a brief glance in Zeke's direction, and his eyes go wide. "You...?" he sputters in disbelief, before regaining his customary bluster. "I thought I told you to get lost, Crane."

[GuyFawkes]

Zeke

Zeke could only shake his head and smile at Wyll's reaction.

"Really, Wenser? You can still say that with the predicament you're in right now?"

[Grim ranger]

Adrian

Joining Zeke in the front lines, Adrian hefts his mace and considers the situation before looking at Wyll with bland look. "For once I agree with you, Wenser: we really should walk away and rid ourselves of your cheating, violent and downright suicidal personage. If someone wants to be eaten by wolves so desperately, who are we to deny his will?"