[RoS] Soldiers of Fortune (IC)

[Dienekes]

The troupe left their horses safely tied up behind them as the followed Nazir closer to the mansion. Each of them felt tense and tired after their restless night. But they knew that today would have to be the day they striked, another night in the dark would surely be their doom.

The half-elf quietly lead them through the fields around the outskirts of the town, giving the cemetary and stone circle a wide birth. But he heard nothing, he saw nothing. The whole town was silent and lifeless. Chunks of disturbed dirt and toppled gravestones, with shovels strewn about the site were the only reminders of what strange magics he had seen that night.

"****," Gerric muttered, coming to a stop, looking down at his feet. The rest circled around, seeing a small pool of blood next to tracks on the ground. The tracks were human, but strangely proportioned. The two feet were far too wide, for a normal walk. A handprint was preserved in the dirt, though the print made the hand look as though it was split in half between two of it's long fingers. The tracks pointed off where their camp had been the night before.

[XIII]

"Twisted things", Urukubarr grumbled.

[Anyr]

Kate could almost see this town's past in her mind's eye. Not too long ago, happy citizens had probably walked these streets. She pictured them laughing, talking and going about their daily business. Now they were gone forever: Either dead, or twisted beyond repair. All Kate could give them now was justice. Alaric would pay for this heinous betrayal of his own people.

The footprints only provoked a slight hesitation from Kate. She'd already been granted a much more intimate view of the horrors ahead. That knowledge was imprinted on her very bones. It'd take more than a few marks in the dirt to shake her now. Steeling herself, she continued onwards.

[Cavir]

Nazir paused only briefly at the tracks Gerric pointed out before continuing on. He continued on to the mill. It had been said to be a safer spot which made it a good checkpoint, but the scout also hoped to get an elevated view of the area.

[Dienekes]

The band were silent as they moved toward the mill. Only the rustling of plants underfoot and the faint metallic clank of their gear kept them company. Even as they passed the cemetery, the heavy stench of death did not leave them. It only became more pronounced as they passed by the stone circle.

But finally, they reached the mill. The building was made of solid wood. Well crafted, it would have been sturdy in its prime. Yet it looked as though it had been several months since anyone had taken care of it. The door was boarded shut, though Uruk and Gerric were able to pry the door open without making too much noise.

The building was filled with cobwebs and dust. A leak must have formed sometime last winter which had never been patched, moss grew around the pool that had formed. A single spot of life in the godsforsaken town. The wooden stair to the upper deck of the mill had been split apart, though the gap could be jumped across if anyone was so inclined to look through the windows that had been seen from the outside.

Spoiler: Uruk

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You feel a warmth radiating from the pool. There was something special about if. The state of nature nestled safe within this building, while the lands around it were barren of all life.

[Anyr]

Kate surveyed the crumbling mill. Its sorry state was another sign of this town's wrongness. Such a building should have been essential to the small community's well-being. And yet, it'd been completely abandoned. Bread and grain no longer sustained the people here. Kate shuddered to imagine their current diet.

She made her way inside. It certainly seemed safe enough. The group could at least pause here to get their bearings. She began searching for anything useful that might be lying around. Not that she really expected to find anything.

[XIII]

After prying open the door and stepping inside, he felt it before he saw it. The pool and its growth defied not only the man-made structure, but also the corruption running rampant on this very land. Such a find helped dispell the lingering fear in his heart. The chill was replaced with warmth. "Easy to forget", Uruk knelt before the moss encircled pool, "life, in all ways, is on our side. Struggling against darkness. Can you feel it?" Uruk held his hands over the pool and muttered prayers, attempting to connect with this place, this rebellious pool against the dark. He dipped a finger into the pool and pressed it to his forehead.

[Cavir]

Nazir followed Uruk to the pool of water. After Uruk's prayer the halfling took a knee by the pool, dipped his finger in, and tasted it. Boosted by hope, he checked on what remained of the stairway then made his way up top carefully. Keeping low he made his way toward the window for a look while trying to remain hidden from any who happened to be looking that way.

[Dienekes]

Gerric sniffed at the air. It had a heavy musky odor that would usually be considered a stench, but it was clean air when compared to the reek of death that pervaded the rest of the town. He saw Uruk sit next to the pool of water, a good sign, it meant maybe some of that weird magic would work for them again. Gerric believed that the spirits on gods took a hand in the this world. He truly believed in Abdallos and Meeka, in Hok and the Faceless. But as he watched the orc he realized he'd never quite felt that assurance. That pull toward the gods that Uruk had. Maybe he wasn't chosen? Probably for the best.

Gerric made his way up the broken stairs with Nazir. It would have been easier if the two had attempted to help each other to get past the broken steps, yet both seemed to silently agree to struggle on their own rather than offer aid. They came to a window that looked out over the town with clearer view of the mannor.

Gerric gave a slight whistle. "That's goin' to be a bitch and a half."

* * *

Kate glanced around the bottom floor of the building. Nothing that looked important enough, to take with her. She found a room with what she imagined had once been grain, only it had grown mold being left in the elements. How long has this been going on she idly wondered. Grain was supposed to last, this batch looked as though it had been abandoned months before, if not longer.

In another room she found a general living quarters. There was not much space, far too little for anyone to have been comfortable. With a personal grain stone and a little oven that barely looked large enough for a loaf of bread. The normal assortment of knives and spoons and pans were strewn about the ground, covered in dust from their long abandonment. It must have been a difficult life working the mill, a lonely one, too. It did not look like the miller had anyone living with them nor did Alaric seem to distribute his wealth among the people who lived near him.

As Uruk touched the water to himself he felt a sad warmth watch over him. It was weak, whatever was still here. A minor god or spirit perhaps? Whatever it was, it felt as though it was near it's death. There was too much darkness around it, choking it from the life it craved. Filling the land with poison. It was old and gentle and scared.

Nazir and Gerric looked at the manner. There were two entrances, one that lead toward the town and another that lead to a wooded patch and a road that wandered down the hills. The main entrance had thick doors that looked as though they were barred. The angle made the second door difficult to see, though there was no reason to think it wasn't also suitably sturdy. There were windows on the second floor, though Nazir could see the gleam of thick glass. Scaling the window wouldn't be difficult for him, though he didn't quite see how he would be able to get to the windows without travelling over very open terrain. The side door through the trees seemed easier to get close to the building, but no obvious windows were above the door.

[XIII]

"What can I do?" Uruk whispered to the dying entity before him, the rebellious thing that refused the darkness to the end. Urukubarr was aware of the cuts yet to heal on his body, the power he had already used up to this point. He had been pushing himself and wondered where the limit was. How much blood and faith did he have to give? Truly, there was only one way to find out. The half-orc placed his hands at the bottom of the pool. "Drink", he said, "Drink".

"Drink of me", He said to the entity.

[Cavir]

Nazir studied the manor and the terrain around it from the mill's window. Do windows seem like they would open? From the rooftop was there access in? Any signs of movement/sentries at the manor or the village leading to the manor? He discussed options with Gerric, who short of the oath would have been the halfing's enemy.

"He said they can't see much in the light. Circling to the orchard should be safe. Breaking the door or a window will announce us though. From the orchard we can look for another way in on the backside of the manor. Didn't Gregor say there secret ways in? From the cemetery wasn't it? That's a long way from the manor. Maybe there are other access points. If the tunnels are old enough maybe one even leads to here? The orchard might have an access tunnel too."

Spoiler: OOC

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Gregor's Intelligence Report IC #817
Traitors posts IC #911-924

[Dienekes]

Gerric and Nazir.

"He did say that, not sure we wanna get closer t' that," Gerric waved vaguely toward the graveyard. "An' if light is our best advantage, wanderin' down into some black as night tunnels seems like a pisspoor decision. If we can avoid it anyways." Gerric sliently mused for a moment.

Nazir looked back out toward the manor. Squinting as he tried to pick up the fine details of the building. It took some concentration, but he was sure that the window would open when pried. It was getting up to the second story to reach them that could be a problem.

"I don't think we're goin' t' have time to go wanderin' and searchin' for secret passages. Unless, you can spot somethin'" Gerric finally said. "I figure we only got today, we still here by nightfall we're probably dead."

Spoiler

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For late reference, successful use of Search skill by Nazir.

* * *

The thing stirred, and a growing warmth filled Uruk. There were no sounds or visions, but the other's emotions filled him. Gratitude, kindess. Uruk was reminded of a day so many years back, when Ruark and he had first joined together. When Ruark hunted and told stories while Uruk cooked and prayed. They helped each other sail rivers and climb mountains.

Uruk felt some energy leaving his body. But the other stopped. It was dying, Uruk knew he couldn't stop that now. But the sad creature filled his emotions with something new. Wrath, or no. More accurate, righteous indignation and shame. The rot, the death. The creature would not drain any more from Uruk. Not when it thought that Uruk would stop the filth that was killing it.

Uruk nodded his understanding, as another emotion swept over him. Quizzical tinged with the sense of pride when lending someone a helping hand. Another memory, this time back with his tribe. When Uruk had first seen the slaughter and destruction caused from these dark creatures. He had been young then, and he did not fully realize what he was seeing. But as the hunter was brought before the shaman he had realized how much he had wanted to help, yet he had not know how. So he watched, and he learned.

The entity was asking how it could help him drive out the darkness.

Spoiler

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Alright, I've been a little bad. I still don't have firm rules laid out for magic use. I probably won't for another week or two as work has been ramping up.

Is it ok to say that Uruk's CP will be lowered by 2 for the rest of the day due to fatigue caused by using magic and blood loss? If that doesn't seem too harsh, we'll see how much this effects your play and we'll go from there.

* * *

Kate continued to look around the mill's ground floor for anything that may be of use. Sadly, there wasn't much, and the insects were starting to get at her. Cobwebs, dust, and the scent of mildew was all she found among the general living area. The table that would have been both for eating and preparing had a single dirty dish near one edge by an overturned seat.

The only oddity was a smaller table in a corner that had a few misshapen clay lumps on it. She picked one up and rotated it in her hands before putting it back down. There were no discernable features on either of them.

[Cavir]

"An' if light is our best advantage, wanderin' down into some black as night tunnels seems like a pisspoor decision. If we can avoid it anyways."

"Yeah, yer right. Window it is then. From here it looks like that side window is the type that opens. I might be able to climb up but working the window like that might be a problem. That side of the manor is hidden. We could stand on each other's shoulders for me to reach with Kate on watch." Nazir thought a little more. "If we find some logs or long planks in here or the orchard we can make a primitive ladder. That would make it easier for everyone to get up."

[XIII]

Uruk was angry, ashamed, nostalgic, and more. The emotions swept over him gently but began to weigh on his heart. He finally felt his body and spirit waver from the constant exertion, it felt like he hadn't slept in days. Uruk wished for the survival of the entity, but that seemed out of reach now. "Anything helps." Uruk hoped for information, locations, exploitable passages, or even power. Anything to assist them in defeating the dark ones here in this place, he didn't feel like he could be picky with the dying spirit.

Spoiler: OOC

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Sounds good to me! Uruk is now le tired.

[Anyr]

Kate's search yielded nothing except melancholy, and a desire to wash her hands. Had she visited this mill in its prime, it'd probably have left no impression on her. But now that it was empty, she couldn't stop thinking about what life here might have been like. She was fascinated by an imaginary version of the past. No change there, then. She'd grown up hearing and reading about her nation's noble, righteous history. Such tales had inspired her path of knighthood. Even now, she dearly wanted to believe that her home had once been a good place, before it fell to corruption.

Mind still wandering, she made her way back to the entrance.

"There doesn't seem to be anything useful on this floor. Has anyone else found anyth-Uruk? Uruk, are you all right?"

[XIII]

Uruk continued concentrating on his task, but offered the simple and true answer, "Little tired". Which was true.

[Dienekes]

Gerric nodded, "Might work, better than my idea o' havin' Uruk throw ya up there."

* * *

The entity shrank back from Uruk's mind as Kate entered the room. For a moment Uruk thought it had disappeared completely. As he turned his head to speak to his commander, he saw Kate step back in shock.

The light around him dimmed, and he felt like he was falling.

Spoiler

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He felt the entity around him, a being of warmth that surrounded him and guided him through the dark. They were moving about in the blackness, Uruk tried to figure out what where they were, what it was trying to show him. But all he saw was dark.

Then a dim light and the sound of voices. They were talking among each other, but the presence could not understand them. But it was interested, and followed the voices. It danced through the moisture in the dirt until it came to a tunnel. One of the humans that had lived near the entity for the last thousand years was shouting. All around it, other humans were hacking away at the dirt with picks and shovels. The entity watched them as they dug. The one that shouted would lash the others when they stopped digging.

The entity did not understand what they were doing. So it only watched, until it saw the spark of life dwindle from first one worker, then another. Until each had died and were replaced by more, while the angry man kept shouting and whipping.

The entity was still young, and the lives of these humans made little sense to it. But it decided that this was unfair. As the men toiled in the dirt, it took the water from the ground and drew it together until it formed a thin stream. It would drip down and into the mouths of the workers, and they felt their strength grow. They no longer needed to stop, and the shouter would hurt them less frequently.

The being stayed with them for as long as it could. Giving them a small portion of its strength as they cleared the dirt from the long tunnel they were forming. And the water was with them as they breached the ground, one entrance near the graveyard, another along the cliff edges to the east, a third beneath a small unadorned cliff, and a final entrance inside a building that was larger than all the others.

That was what the creature was showing him. The tunnels that sprawled beneath the town, he saw each of their entrances, he saw the path that lead to the manor.

The vision ended and Uruk opened his eyes his face was wet and he was on the ground. But he no longer felt the presence near him. The mill looked the same, but there was something more, with a deep breath he filled his nose with the faintest scent of rot.

* * *

Uruk looked to Kate, and mentioned how tired he was. But there was something wrong with his eyes. They appeared a swirl of black and white. Before Uruk frowned and slumped over, his face landing in the pool of water, covering his mouth and nose.

[XIII]

Just tell her you're a little tired. Why is she looking at me like that? Something is-
Uruk wanted to open his mouth to speak, but the darkness swallowed him first. He was falling. As Uruk's spirit left his body yet again, he couldn't help but feel concerned about his physical body. He was already pushing it with his newfound abilities, yet here he was again.

Uruk took in the vision, humbled by the spirit's sacrifice for these people. Angered that it was necessary. He saw the tunnels, hope burned in his throat. He had to tell the others, but he was once again laid out on the ground, alone. His body protested against getting up, his mind was hazy, eyes heavy. Uruk noticed the little spirit had gone, he no longer felt it, the surrounding rot rushed in to claim the air that was pure only seconds earlier. A pang of sadness and regret shot through his core as the rot filled his nose. He had to pull himself together and tell them about the tunnels. "Little tired" The words came out flat and monotone, a delayed reaction, an afterthought. I must tell them. I must... Uruk struggled to stay upright, to say what needed to be said. The world swirled and darkened yet again, his heavy and armored body crashing to the ground. His last thoughts were of investing in a helmet, if he was going to to be doing this all the time.

[Cavir]

Hearing some noise along with a splash, Nazir looked at Gerric with a quizzical look. He glanced outside one more time as he was standing then agilely got back down to the ground level. He found Kate approaching Uruk who was prone face first in the water. "Kate...?"

[Anyr]

Kate didn't buy Uruk's excuse. He was clearly suffering from more than simple fatigue. But before she even got a chance to tell him so, Uruk's own body admitted the truth. Kate watched in horror as her comrade collapsed to the floor.

"Uruk!"

She rushed forward, and pulled his face out of the pool. As gently as possible, she shifted his unconscious form into a more comfortable position. Her anxious eyes scanned him for signs of consciousness.

"W-What happened?! Nazir, Gerric, did you see him do anything that might have caused this?

[Dienekes]

"****, ****, ****," Gerric stumbled down the ruined stairs and landed heavily on his feet.

"I didn't see nothin'," Gerric muttered as he drew close to his friend. "Give him room."

Gerric kneeled down beside the orc and placed his fingers on his neck. "He's breathin', heart's thumpin'." He looked about, confused. "He got a wound he's been hiding under his armor, or somethin'? What happened?"

[Dienekes]

The presence was gone, and all Uruk felt was alone in the blackness and rot. Without the last bastion of life, the mill was exposed. The eyes from the night before, they saw him. The twisted mismatched hands reached out for him. It would devour all life, it would crush the faith it felt within him. The orc needed to know, he was alone. The gods would not come for him in his time of need. There would only be the Dark Ones.

"Uruk!" a voice broken the darkness, and the darkness pulled back.

"What happened?" Hands were pressing his body, but not the cold hands of death. They were warm, they were pressing upon him.

He wasn't alone.

Uruk let out a groan and his eyes opened. They were with him, his friends, his family. They all looked over them, worry in their eyes.

[Anyr]

Kate breathed an audible sigh when Uruk opened his eyes. But it was quickly followed by a sigh of frustration. Relief and anger battled for control of her expression. Kate quickly took advantage of her comrade's newly restored hearing.

"You stubborn fool! Why did you hide this from us?! 'Little tired', indeed! Was it the rituals? Or the nightmares? Or a bleeding wound? Regardless, you should have said something!"

[XIII]

_{"No time, twisted things see us now, spirit gone. There are tunnels, we use them." Uruk stood up cautiously, he rubbed his aches and pains caused by these repeated falls and spiritual drain. "We must go." Uruk stood ready to move out, his weariness apparent on his face.}

[Cavir]

Nazir helped Uruk up, trying to get an idea of how out of it Uruk was. He briefly raises a questioning eyebrow to the other two. "You know where there's a tunnel entrance?"

[XIII]

"Yes, tunnels we can use, but we must go now. They see us." Uruk was drained, but not out of the fight. He was a warrior before ever learning of the druidic ways, perhaps it was time for him to lean more on his sword. He drew his blade and examined it, smiling a weak toothy grin. "Urukubarr is ready to fight." Uruk was ready to lead his friends into the tunnels, and prayed for the best.

[Dienekes]

"Hold back," Gerric said quietly to Kate. "The fool's tryin' t' help."

Uruk looked terrible, but he got to his feet and explained his plan.

"Are they safe?" Gerric asked, "Do we know if they're empty. I thought the things see better in the dark than us? We got a fairly clear shot to a window we can all get through." He turned back to their leader. "Well chief, which'll it be?"

[Anyr]

"...Lead the way, Uruk. Your visions have all been right so far."

Therein lay the danger. Uruk's new-found magic was extremely useful. It had helped the group escape many times already. They might even have been dead by now without it. So naturally, Uruk kept answering the call. Kate knew very little about this strange, shamanistic art. But even to an outsider like her, some facts about it had become blindingly obvious.

"But please, you must stop taxing yourself. Every arcane legend I know shares a lesson in common: All magic has a price. The Dark Ones force others to pay that price for them. And people like you gladly pay it themselves, for the sake of others. I'm very grateful for the sacrifices you've made. Now stop making them...at least for a while. We'll manage without the spirits' aid."

[Cavir]

"I'll be able to see, but if we find any of them in the tunnels the rest of you will be blind. We'll need a lit torch or two once we are in a tunnel. Anyone have a quick way to light one down there?" Nazir starts scrounging around the barn for torch supplies.

Spoiler: OOC

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MA?/Scrounge(8) (5d10)[3][4][3][3][6](19)

[XIII]

Urukubarr smiled, a wide toothy grin, "Yes, dame. Hot bath sound good. Maybe Uruk cook something special after, very hungry." Uruk chuckled and motioned for everyone to follow him to the tunnels he saw in his vision. He knew Kate was right, he felt the drain and it was getting worse every time he exerted this new power. "Uruk is still good for fight, not too tired."