[RoS] Soldiers of Fortune (IC)

[Lacco]

The door opened with no more than just silent scraping of wood against stone and the smell poured out.

Chains. Hooks.

It reminded them of the basement under the tavern in the woods - however, this was by no means just a small cellar. It was obvious that the local lord had a taste for wine - the whole room was filled with casks and barrels. But the bodies...

There were too many to count. Men. Women... other.

Hanging from the hooks.

The room had only one exit - a ladder on the opposite side, leading into a hole in the ceiling.

Behind them they heard only the same sound as before. A little louder.

[XIII]

Urukubarr swore in orcish in a way that would have earned him a beating by his druid teachers. Images of his own people's slaughter and desecration flashed in his mind, he took a step forward but then hesitated.

"Just like... My people..." He muttered a quick prayer under his breath. It didn't help.

"Dark Ones..."

[Cavir]

Dark Ones, but they aren't attacking?

Nazir loosened the draw on his bow and moved up next to Gerric to see through the doorway too. He caught the involuntary desire to vomit before there was really any outward visible sign of it. Barrels and hanging bodies everywhere. He tightened his core to continue to resist what his body wanted to do. He had been through plenty of scenes of slaughter tracking Gerric's army. This probably doesn't even bother him, the bastard. Back as a scout leader he had to hide his thoughts and display confidence so the others with him wouldn't falter. He put his bow away and drew his sword.

"Torchlight will make too many moving shadows in there. I'll go first with my night sight." He stepped up to the door and visually scanned the room from left to right while skipping the gaze of the dead faces above him. Senses on high alert, Nazir moved through the room to the ladder on the far side. He looked up and listened, then waved the others to follow. As Kate approached he used hand gestures to get her to stop before the torchlight came too close to the hole above. Once the others joined him he climbed the ladder as quietly as a halfling hunter could.

[Dienekes]

Gerric's jaw set as he saw the hanging corpses. Disgusting and pointless. Such a waste of potential, just like the night with the Goligai. All those sacrifices for what? So Hok and the Faceless would aid their war? They already won.

Pointless.

As he walked through the hooks he couldn't help but see familiar faces lumped onto the meat. His wife, his daughters, the friends that died for him. All fed to these dark gods. All died through betrayals and foul deeds.

There was a thought. What if the Hok and the Faceless were somehow tied to these Dark Ones? What if his actions brought about all this madness when he allowed the Goligai their sacrifices? What if. Bah, **** the what ifs. He needed to stay focused. There were people in here who needed killing. He could work with that.

Gerric crept behind Nazir, "See anything?"

[Anyr]

Sad to say, this wasn't the first room full of hanging corpses that Kate had encountered. But repeated exposure didn't make the sight any less horrifying. She hoped that it never would. When humans become indifferent to such atrocities, they lose a piece of their souls. Kate averted her eyes from the grisly gallery. She weaved between the bodies with great care: Making certain not to so much as brush against one.

When Nazir signalled her to stop, she did so. Hopefully his scouting would be quick and efficient. Every second spent in this room took a toll. Plus, there was the ever approaching noise behind them...

[Cavir]

Once Kate stopped, Nazir continued up the ladder and stuck his head through enough to see the room, ready to drop back to the ground below if need be to avoid a strike. A twisted ankle was better than a split skull. If no threat was seen he finished his way up and took in the room while beckoning the others up.

[XIII]

Uruk hung back and tried to be last through the door, closing it as he came through and following his companions up the ladder when they were ready. He mostly stared at the floor, avoiding looking at the bodies.

[Lacco]

The room itself was still dark, although a subtle hint of morning sky was visible through one of the windows. Nazir peeked out of the trapdoor and saw that they were in a kitchen. The massive stone fireplace, blackened with soot, dominated the room, standing in the middle, large enough for an ox to be cooked, while the massive stone walls were lined with tables and counters.

There were three windows leading outside - the shutters were closed and bolted - and two leading to the courtyard. He could easily tell, as he saw also the double doors swung open, one of the wings hanging on just one hinge. There were three other doors - Nazir could see the one in the corner lead to a spiral staircase up, but the other two were closed, and opposite of each other - they had to lead to other rooms as they were perpendicular to the courtyard wall.

The kitchen was a mess. Something - meat of some kind - was still on the roast, hanging there even though the fire was long gone. There were shards of pottery on the floor, cutlery strewn across the tables and bottles piled up in one corner.

He did not notice any movement outside through the door - but he had a bad vantage point while still in the trapdoor. Still, he was quite sure he could hear a faint scraping sound coming from the courtyard.

The sun was slowly rising, but it would take another half-hour or more before it would start to bathe the courtyard in its rays...

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Everybody who wants to get out silently, roll AGI/Sneak.

@XIII: please roll PER/9.

[Cavir]

Nazir silently finished the ladder and crouched in the kitchen listening for a moment. He was glad to get away from the stench of below. He signaled those below to come up. He aided whomever came up first to minimize the noise they made, then worked his way around the edge of the room to the window with the broken shutter. He kept low and to the side of the window. He carefully used angles and distance from the window to see what was out there while keeping himself from being seen. First he checked the other windows also facing the courtyard where something might see him from. The halfling then shifted the angle to get a view of the courtyard without openly exposing himself.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

PER (7d10)[5][6][2][9][2][9][3](36)

[Lacco]

Nazir helped Kate up the ladder - they both made it almost without any noise. Kate looked around and noticed all the grime and filth of this kitchen - but even though it was not as clean as the kitchens back home, she welcomed the mundane sight - it was almost reassuring to see that the kitchen has been used.

Gerric followed Kate, leaving Uruk last. As he quickly and silently climbed up the ladder, he noticed Nazir was already surveying the courtyard.

Nazir moved stealthily around the room, stepping over the pots and cutlery strewn over the ground. He first tried peeking through the closed window shutters - but he only saw the courtyard, its columns and a wagon full of straw. He thought he saw something moving to the left, but the angle was bad enough and he could only see a large doorway - he needed to change the vantage point. So he moved towards the door - and finally got a good look of the courtyard.

Covered in gravel and stone, the courtyard was rather large - the house Nazir grew up in could fit there twice or thrice - and lined by arcades. It offered several doors - one directly to the right, a double door on the opposite side of the courtyard, as well as stable door on the left side, near the gatehouse. And there could be more, but the arcade on Nazir's side ended with the door on the right.

There was a small well, right in the middle of the court. And two stairways to the upper arcades - on both sides of the gatehouse. It looked empty - the courtyard - but Nazir was quite sure that there was something...

...and here it was again. Something moved in the gatehouse, behind the raised portcullis, in the shadow. But even his eyes could not pierce the shadow, as if the whole outline was shimmering or shifting - but he could see it was large. And there - in the stables - something else moved there.

Urukubarr was the last one to leave the cellar. As he climbed, trying to keep his mind occupied, he thought he heard something. Scraping. Close. Behind the door...

His foot slipped - and while the sound was not loud enough to be heard above, he was sure the thing behind him heard, as the scraping became faster. He climbed up as quickly as he could, but the last thing he remembered was that when he looked back, he saw a grotesque shape moving through the door of the cellar.

[XIII]

Urukubarr moved as quickly as he dared, more noise could invite more horrors to the party. He felt a heavy lead ball of fear forming in his stomach, he did not want to end up like his people, like the people down there. He wasn't sure he'd survive captivity under the Dark Ones again.

He grabbed Kate roughly by the arm, not daring a word. He spun her to face the hole they emerged from, pointing at it with his sword. The blade trembled with his fear, he swallowed hard and released Kate. With both hands on his blade, he inched backwards in anticipation.

[Dienekes]

Gerric saw the fear in Uruk’s eyes as he tugged at Kate’s arm. He lead their captain pointing at something. Took no great genius to figure out it would be some horror.

Nazir has his intense gaze without, they were stuck in the very heart of the enemy territory. And it started to dawn on Gerric how doomed they truly were. Even if they killed Alaric where would they go? Through the front gates? Where they would need to cross through a town. Back through the tunnel? They collapsed one entrance and the Dark Ones probably knew about the others.

And now another creature crawled behind them. Nothing for it. It’d have to die. If it got out of the tunnel it will either warn the others or make so much noise that the same result would happen.

Gerric patted his axe and smiled. Then he walked over to the tunnel entrance and raised the blade above his head. If they can kill the thing at all, best do it here. Where they can hack at it while it tries to crawl up.

[Cavir]

Nazir surveyed the courtyard. He turned to give his report and saw the other three focused on the hole. Gerric's axe raised above the hole in attack position told the halfling all he needed to know. Those three had the hole fully covered for whatever was coming up. He shifted his position so he could keep watch outside yet keep the group in his periphery sight. His sword was readied to hold off anything trying to come inside long enough for the others to come take over.

[Anyr]

Kate didn't get much chance to survey the surroundings. She had just enough time to clamber up, stand, and give the kitchen a quick examination. Recently used, hmm? Apparently someone in this manor still needed food. That was about as far her thoughts got, before Uruk grabbed her. She suddenly felt herself being spun 180 degrees. Augh! Kate bit back a surprised curse. Did Uruk have to grip her arm so tightly?

Recovering her composure, she looked where the trembling blade pointed. Its message was easy to understand: A horrific abomination was coming to kill them; Again. Attempting to outpace it had failed. If the group fled even further, they'd just get sandwiched between the threats behind and ahead. Kate really didn't want to find out what was chasing her. Nonetheless, she positioned herself beside the hole. The creature would emerge; The group would strike as one; And another enemy would die. Easy...

...Her sword felt so heavy. How many more? How much longer before she could rest?

[Lacco]

Gerric saw the movement first. Whatever it was, it was larger than ordinary man - even larger than a horse. It slowly moved forward, into the cellar filled with bodies, suddenly stopping. A sickening sound, something between slurping and chewing could be heard - the thing stopped to eat the bodies.

It moved from first to the other one - moving closer to the part lit with their torch. As it came into the sight, it became obvious why the movement felt so unnatural. A grotesque mass of flesh, bone and sinew, its many extremities shifting under the weight of bloated torso - it seemed like several dozens of bodies, both human and inhuman, fused together. They saw eyes glinting - but it did not seem to notice them, even though Kate's torch was clearly reflecting in the eyes - blind eyes.

It continued to consume the meat in the cellar.

Outside Nazir saw something different and yet similar - from the gatehouse emerged a boiling mass of flesh, with no discerning features. It shifted at all times, as if it could not maintain any shape under the first rays of sun.

And then the stable doors opened again. A knight, seated upon a horse, with the same armor and surcoat, but this time with a lance, emerged from it. The horse walked slowly to the center of the courtyard.

[Dienekes]

**** is that thing? Is this why the Dark Ones wanted meat? No that doesn’t follow, there had to have been easier ways to just feed a creature. Right? ****. He’d have to talk this through with Uruk, after they get through this.

Gerric watched as the creature moved blindly through the room. He put a finger to his lips to warn the others to be silent. Then slowly he reached down and grabbed ahold of the ladder and gave it a soft tug to see if he could pull it up, and hopefully leave the monster stranded down there.

[Cavir]

Nazir couldn't believe his eyes. It was less believable with his fey sight. What IS that? Where would I shoot it? The mounted knight emerging brought Nazir back to the moment. Silently he started sheathing his sword and readying his bow. He faded slightly back away from the door to be less visible to the knight. He turned his head to try to get a silent warning to the others.

[XIII]

Uruk watched in anticipation, would Gerric get the ladder up? Would it matter? What other enemies and horrors waited in this place? He was so very tired, everything was more difficult.

With his sword still poised to thrust into the opening should the monstrosity emerge, Uruk waited with bated breath.

[Anyr]

Kate waited quietly for Gerric to withdraw the ladder. At first, she'd thought a fight inevitable. But now that she'd actually seen the creature, she wasn't so sure. Its movements were awkward and grasping. Its eyes seemed totally blind. Could it be only dimly aware of the world around it? If so, the group might be able to evade it completely. Kate silently prayed for this outcome: Blissfully unaware of the two other enemies waiting outside.