[WFRP] The Waters of Life

[Hemnon]

Valerie

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Valerie Just nodded as response to Abel's words, seeming very distant and thoughtful.


Perception Test.
TN 43 vs. (1d100)[4]

[BlueMagnusStorm]

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Upon hearing the tapping Siegfried paused for a moment listening to the sound. He then gets down from the carriage and proceeded to listen carefully to the tapping sound he was now hearing.

[Thragka]

Simon

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As he reached out to the winds of magic, Simon felt momentarily light-headed; the currents were unusually strong as they swirled around the village. His ears popped as the muted footsteps swam into focus. The sensation of vertigo was identical to the one he had experienced when Émilie had blessed Valerie - but now there was a sickly sweet taste in his mouth with each step.

He could sense the priestess walking the road from the shrine towards the inn. As she drew closer, his throat began to feel tight. His mouth went dry, and his breathing became laboured as he slowly began to choke on the musty arcane scent ...

~

Siegfried

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The rhythm was not loud, but as Siegfried got down from the carriage it became quite distinct: the source was very close by, almost just outside the stable door. The tapping put the apothecary in mind of a tired old donkey or carthorse, plodding along in a practiced motion - although if so, it was a very light-footed, three-legged horse.

It stopped right outside the inn.

~

Abel and Valerie

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As Valerie sat wrapped up in her own thoughts, something in the background susurrus took shape - a creaking sound, like the bough of a tree breaking. But the trees were too far away to make such a clear noise - it was, she realised, the hinge of a door. And perhaps what she had taken to be the gentle murmuring of leaves in the wind was in fact the sound of cloth shuffling and fabric rubbing against fabric - people moving through the village. Several, all at once.

Abel didn't seem to have noticed any of this.

~

Heinrich

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Time passed undisturbed as the pit fighter tried to keep himself occupied with a variety of tunes. It was not very stimulating work - for the first hour or so, nobody tried to burgle the stables or any of its contents, and Heinrich felt he'd been right in thinking that there was no need for a watch in such a quiet little village, despite his employer's concerns.

His reverie was broken by a soft ululation - it took him a few seconds to realise it was some sort of dog, howling very quietly. It sounded as if the sad creature was just outside the stable door.

[ZeltArruin]

Hienrich

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Hearing the dog-like sound, Heinrich got to his feet as swiftly and quietly as possible, which, given his armor and general lack of need to be quiet, was none to much at all. He padded forwards with heavy footfalls and leaned out the door to the stables, glancing side to side, wondering what had made that odd sound.

[Hemnon]

Valerie

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Valerie gives Abel a poke on the shoulder. ''I can hear something from outside... maybe a door that opened and what sounded like fluttering clothing, a lot of it.'' She whispered to Abel, a concerned frown apparant.

[-Sentinel-]

Simon

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Simon stiffened. Something was wrong, very wrong, and he had the feeling that this - whatever it was - was the kind of thing only he or Valerie could deal with. Keeping his arcane sense "open", so to speak, despite how unpleasant it now felt, he slowly rose from his pile of hay, snuck to the entrance of the stable and hid behind the doorframe, exposing just enough of his face to keep an eye outside.

What is she doing?

[vegetalss4]

Abel

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Abel stand up from his kneeling position in the corner where he had been praying in response to Valerie's words.
If you would excuse me for a moment my lady, I could go and see the cause of this commotion? he says waiting a second for confirmation before doing anything else.

[Hemnon]

Abel

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Abel stand up from his kneeling position in the corner where he had been praying in response to Valerie's words.
If you would excuse me for a moment my lady, I could go and see the cause of this commotion? he says waiting a second for confirmation before doing anything else.

Valerie

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Sitting there in the darkness of the night, Valerie simply nods as a response to Abel. It might not look it but her mind was ready to take a hold on the winds of magic, the different arcane words recited and memorized for use.

[vegetalss4]

Abel

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Having received the blessing of his companion Abel strides out of the stable to search for the source of the noise.

[BlueMagnusStorm]

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Upon hearing the sound stop outside Siegfried placed his hand on the hilt of his axe. Ready to draw it at any moment. He then proceeded to the doors of the stables and listened. Waiting to see what the sound would do next.

[Thragka]

Simon

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Simon's eyes were watering, obscuring his view through the crack in the door as he watched Émilie approach, but it mattered little - as the Shallyan paced slowly along the village lane, he could feel each footstep that she took as a quick burning sensation in his nose and mouth. Closer and closer she came, totally indifferent to his surveillance as she arced to the south, towards the empty market green. The young hedge wizard could barely keep his eyes open as the priestess reached the closest point on her route; his head pounding, he considered that maybe keeping his magical senses fully active had not been the best idea ...

OOC

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Willpower test at +20 to avoid falling unconscious, please.

~

Siegfried

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There was a shuffling noise; then the voice Siegfried recognised as belong to Edgard spoke softly.

"Is there someone there?" the village elder asked quietly but assertively.

~

Abel and Valerie

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The door opened with a slight creak; Abel's eyes were still becoming accustomed to the gloom, but in the moonlight he could make out a group of perhaps a dozen cloaked figures congregating on the market green now mostly deserted of stalls. They seemed to have rough masks obscuring their faces - from the distance, he couldn't make out the details, but after a moment he realised that they had all slowly turned to face the inn at the sound of the stable opening ...

There was a tense moment of motionless silence.

~

Heinrich

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Sitting only twenty yards from the stable door was the largest and fairest fox that Heinrich had ever seen - its fur was snow-white, glistening brilliantly under the light of Mannslieb, and it was at least the size of a wolf, if not larger. Its yellow eyes met the pit fighter's. It cocked its head to one side inquisitively, tail swinging just once as the human looked at it,

[ZeltArruin]

Heinrich

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Heinrich furrowed his brow as he hesitantly did not reach for his weapon. He glanced back into the stable before stepping out of them entirely, crossing his arms with some confusion as he looked at the fox. "A white fox? Some...symbolism I must not understand,
" He muttered to himself.

[vegetalss4]

Abel

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Abel stand still for just a moment before deciding on a course of action.Then with sure, but shorter than usual, steps he walks towards the men. His eyes locked upon them as he watches, both for a closer look on their masks and in the hope of triggering some sort of reaction that will make the proper response obvious.

[Hemnon]

Valerie

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Valerie Remained as silent as she could, awaiting whatever the knight would do.

[Thragka]

Abel and Valerie

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There was absolute silence for a heartbeat or two, the figures as still as stone. Their cloaks were the uniform of the peasantry, the same sort of garments that almost all the villagers had been wearing earlier that afternoon. As Abel paced cautiously forwards, he realised that their faces were hidden behind nothing more than bundles of sticks. Thin fingers of wood were lashed together with twine to make a flexible flat surface, tall enough to obscure every feature from beneath the chin to above the hairline. In each makeshift mask, two jagged holes had been cut to see through, but other than the eyes staring out, and the lump of noses beneath the wood, the figures seemed utterly inhuman.

The knight errant took another step, and another, and still they did not move. The figures stared back at him, reciprocating his curiosity uneasily.

OOC:

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How close do you want to get?

~

Heinrich

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The beast's white tail thumped twice against the earth expectantly. It opened its mouth slightly, and a high-pitched keen emerged; Heinrich was familiar enough to recognise the noise as playful. The creature was excited.

[-Sentinel-]

Simon

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Clenching his teeth, Simon shut out the pounding sensation of his magical sense just in time to avoid losing consciousness. He touched his nostrils, half expecting a nosebleed like the time when, at age thirteen, he had cast an improvised curse of bladder failure at the bully who had stolen his raisin cake.

What in the Lady's name is this? Can Valerie feel it, even in her sleep?

The hedge wizard crept out of his hideout, trying not to let the priestess out of his sight. One day curiosity would get him killed; but, he decided, it would not be today. And when it happened, it would be well worth all the times it had paid off.

[vegetalss4]

Abel

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After a short bit of consideration Abel reaches the conclusion that it isn't against the sumptuary laws for peasants to wear sticks in front of their faces - however strange and suspicious it might seem. Since they didn't flee when he approached they likely aren't in the middle of actively stealing something.
Thus it would be at least possible that they were there on legal business, possibly relating to one peasant superstition or another and as a result he decided to be polite.

Good evening monsieur.
Might I inquire as to the reason for your presence this fine evening?

OCC

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Speaking distance

[Thragka]

Simon

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Simon could hear his heart beating thunderously in his ears as he gently pushed the stable door open, hoping that absolute force of will would prevent it from making a whisper. There were a couple of almost-silent creaks that made him wince - but either the priestess hadn't heard, or just hadn't noticed. Émilie was wandering slowly down the path that rang alongside the market green. In fact, a better word would be shuffled - she was not walking fluidly, but simply putting one foot forward and then drawing the second level with it.

OOC:

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If you look at the map of Remy-sur-Orne in this post, the lane I'm talking about is not marked - if you catch my meaning, it basically runs directly north-south in the gap between the group of dark brown houses and the market stalls. So, Émilie is about to be obscured from view by the two houses directly opposite the inn. I'm guessing that when you say Simon leads his hiding place, he goes outside but I just thought I'd check - and let you specify exactly how he follows her.

~

Abel and Valerie

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There was a moment of silence from the three masked figures. Then one spoke. Abel had half-expected the voice to sound like the breaking of the branches strung before their face, but it was in fact unmistakeably a peasant speaking to him. The man's voice was dark and rich - mellifluous, almost - but reassuringly common.

"It is a good evening. Our wayward son has returned."

There was a pause. One of the pair that had not spoken cleared their throat lengthily and noisily. The other masks turned to face the splutterer for a moment, before swinging back around to the knight errant.

"You have come from faraway banks to reach the Orne," the speaker continued. It didn't seem to have the tone of deference that was befitting such a question from the mouth of an inferior.

Valerie

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To Valerie, the sound of the peasant clearing their throat brought on the strong sensation of déjà vu - that harsh, creaking noise was something she'd heard only minutes before, tinged with otherworldly laughter ...

[ZeltArruin]

Heinrich

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With a final glance back into the stable, Heinrich shrugged and walked cautiously towards the fox, watching for any hostile moves. He had fought animals before, but there was an intelligence to this one that he knew nothing of, and that worried him. Such things were often the work of the dark gods.

[vegetalss4]

Abel

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Abel's brow furrows slightly at their tone, but he decides to ignore the faux pass of the strange peasants.

So I have.

Still I must insist that you inform me why you are out here by night wearing the style of head wear you are.

[-Sentinel-]

Simon

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Simon hurried after Émilie. It looked like she was sleepwalking, or something... Was she aware of her surroundings? Would she notice him? All the same, the hedge wizard followed her as discreetly as he could, trying to remain in the shadows whenever possible.

[Hemnon]

Valerie

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The spooky feeling ran down her spine, making her shutter from it. She silently went over to peep out at whoever it was that the knight-ly fella was trading words with.

[Thragka]

Simon

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Hurrying across the open ground, Simon hugged closely to the rough wattle-and-daub wall of the house opposite the inn. Skirting the shadows of the eaves, he watched the priestess slowly plod towards the forest. She stopped beside the final house, turning on the spot beneath a hanging lantern. The flame behind the dirty glass was putting up a valiant effort to stave off the sweeping darkness of the forest, but its flickering belied its frailty; in combination with the shadows of her hooded robes and the dark scarring across her face, it actually made Émilie's features harder to distinguish than before.

Motionless moments passed, the priestess seeming frozen to the spot. She was gazing at the blank wall of the house as if she could see right through it. Simon let his gaze wander as he tried to see what was so captivating about this particular mud hut. It wasn't the only one with a lantern; several of the houses nearest to the trees also had lights hanging, a line of soldiers defending against the roiling night spilling out of the Arden. But unlike the others, this house still had thin wisps of steam coiling in the cool night air above the chimney.

Wordlessly, Émilie paced around to the south face of the house, disappearing behind the corner.

OOC:

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If you wish to get any closer, please make a Silent Move test, at +30 thanks to the priestess’s apparent inattention.

~

Abel and Valerie

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As Valerie looked out from the stable door, the shortest masked figure cleared his throat again. This time it went on for several moments - a stuttering cough, modulated in tone and rhythm, and as both of the other peasants turned to watch, Abel wondered exactly how much information could be conveyed by a noise that complex …

When it finished, the wooden faces turned back to Abel.

“You are pale, sir,” said the one who had spoke before, the tallest of the three. He gave no indication of caring about Abel’s demand. “It’s dangerous to be out at night if you’re not well. And alone.”

OOC:

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Perception tests at +20, please.

Quieter than the hushed conversation between the knight and the masked men, Abel and Valerie both became aware of dull, slow hoofbeats coming from the west.

~

Heinrich

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The fox gave a short, happy bark and jumped to its feet. It turned twice on the spot, sniffing the air at length, before trotting down the road towards the Orne. When it reached the bridge, it jumped up onto the wall. Sitting down once more on the stone, it gazed back in the pit fighter’s direction, tongue hanging from the side of its mouth as it panted.

[-Sentinel-]

Simon

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Taking a deep breath, Simon followed the priestess around the corner, treading carefully. His heart thumped hard, though he had no idea if he was really in any danger.

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Untrained Silent Move (14) +30 = 44.

(d100)[25]
Fortune Point: (d100)[6]

[ZeltArruin]

Heinrich

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Heinrich followed, making sure to keep his distance from the strange beast, his head constantly turning back towards the stable he was supposed to be guarding. Were he more of a mercenary, he likely would have remained with his charge, but his wonder was prone to causing trouble, and he couldn't let this kind of thing walk away without a little more observation. At least, that was the excuse he gave himself as he followed in the fox's wake.

[vegetalss4]

Abel

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What is dangerous for a knight, could be deadly for a peasant.
Thus I ask you once again. Why are you braving the dangers of this night your faces hidden behind wood.

OOC

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Do the peasants have any weapons and approximately how far away is the hoofbeats?

[Thragka]

Simon

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It felt as if Simon were motionless and the world was slowly turning around him, running past on rails as he patiently observed. It was as if the rest of the world were motionless too, Émilie's half-raised arm stretching out to the knotted wood of the house's chunky door. The tips of her fingers were wreathed in black mist, the shadows wriggling between the digits as they poked out from the thick sleeve of her yellow cloak.

It was as if Simon were standing very far above the priestess as the vertigo suddenly struck. He was falling towards her, his stomach revolving as her head twisted towards him. Her eyes were alive, glinting with what might have been either surprise or anger, drawing him forwards.

He stumbled, but it was she who collapsed, and when Simon righted himself she was just a heap of cowl and cloth. The lumpy shape moaned, dragging her hood off her face, blinking hurriedly before a much gentler pair of eyes stared up at him from the warzone of a face.

"Boy ..." she muttered throatily. "Simon. I should have guessed that you were ... gifted ... earlier."

~

Abel and Valerie

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This time, the guttural spluttering from the shortest of the trio was unmistakably a chuckle.

"Only the drowned have nothing to fear from the flood," said the talkative one. "You will understand."

In unison - as if responding to some unseen signal - the three peasants began to inch their way back, step by careful step towards the forest. It seemed they too could hear the approaching hoofbeats.

OOC:

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They don't appear to be harmed, but could conceivably have small weapons under their cloaks. Abel can't tell how far away the hoofbeats are, but Valerie

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thinks that they're close, if slow, likely no more than twenty seconds away - and it almost sounds like there's more than one horse.

~

Heinrich

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The pit fighter had little cause to worry, it seemed; if this were some elaborate distraction by a ruffian intent on ransacking the inn's stable, then the animal trainer never sprung the trap. The fox moved no further when Heinrich reached the bridge, except to lie down on the stone. Plonking its head on its forepaws, it gazed at the human through half-closed eyes, tale lazily ticking from side to side as regular and unperturbed as the pendulum of a mechanical clock.

A cool gust of wind blew from the forest, invading the gaps of Heinrich's clothes, sending a playful shiver down his spine as it caressed his neck. The Orne rippled, dancing with the wind as tiny waves sprang into existence and were smashed flat once more by the passing air. The moon was reflected on the water as a creamy oblong streak, every individual part of it shimmering and yet calm and dependable in its entirety, never truly losing its shape.

Something passed under that illuminated image. Nearly invisible, a shadowy blob was travelling down the Orne - faster than the current.

[-Sentinel-]

Simon

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Simon stared at her, shaken, his mouth opening and closing as he sought his words. That strange aethyric attack... had it been thrown at him by reflex, or could he expect another?

"Ah, um, yes I'm gifted, if we can call it that," he mumbled cautiously. "What's this all about? I felt... A wrongness around you. "...something strange in the Winds."

[Hemnon]

Valerie

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Seeing that the creepy peasants leaves, Valerie tries to get a hold of Abel's attention. ''psst! Sir knight, I think those hoofbeats are getting very close.... are you gonna remain out there in total view?''

[ZeltArruin]

Heinrich

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Heinrich gulped and made the symbol of Sigmar over his heart when he saw that something in the river. He had seen something similar before, and it was no less unnerving now. He glanced between the fox and the river before turning to quickly resume his post at the stables. There was something out there, and he was not too keen on drowning.