Tucker grimaces and rushes to keep up. His hands shake but he keeps moving, remembering the faces of his friends.
Fenris glances over his shoulder now and again, eyeing the two of you to make sure you're keeping up. After a half hour he stops, dropping to a knee in the dirt. He listens carefully. His dog has halted too, tail straight and ears perked.
He mouths the word, "Orcs..." pointing off in the distance. You see movement among the trees perhaps two hundred feet from you--the scouts for the troops beginning to head out.
@Chantry Williams Make a stealth check for me......
(Total 20)
(Niiiiiice.. very good. 17 for Fenris 12 for Tucker)
You duck down like a shadow behind the tracker. Tucker makes a little noise, but comes up behind you and hides behind your back. You are all silent for a long time. You can hear the footfalls in the distance. The orcish curses. The sharpening of blades.
After several tense minutes you hear Fenris speak.
"Move."
He gestures forward and, crouching, makes his way toward the treeline and the base of the hills before the mountain pass.
Alrik motions for Tucker to keep up, moving forward to stay right with Fenris
@Chantry Williams Tucker does his best to stay as close as possible. His small form helps him keep hidden and at least make up for his lack of training.
Fenris motions for you to stop again, pulling you both tight up against the side of the mountain. He presses himself into a crevice, blending with the shadows. His dog winds behind his legs like a mouse. It's one of the best trained dogs you've seen.
(Make another stealth check for me Fenris 22...)
(14... crap)
(4....) Tucker stumbles and trips, smashing into the gravel in front of the bolder. He looks up in horror, then looks over his shoulder. He sees an orc scout, a thin scraggly fellow, stop dead in his tracks.
"Huren ka!?" He glares, advancing on the boy with bloodlust in his eyes. He doesn't see either of the adults, and Tucker scrambles to his feet as if to bolt.
(Is it just the one scout in the area?)
(Yep! One scout right now.)
Alrik lances out with a dagger, it glowing with the familiar blue static energy, piercing right into the orc's throat, severing his windpipe and shocking his muscles into a spasm. (Kind of assuming I hit with a 19. Lol 9 damage and it is immobilized until the start of it's next turn)
The orc collapses to the ground, right on the heels of Tuck. The kid spins around just in time to see you save him, the body twitching from electricity as the blood pools in the dirt.
Alrik nods to Fenris in the direction of the body. "Help me hide it." He hisses.
@Chantry Williams Fenris nods and grabs the body, stuffing it into the hole he was just hiding in. Brutus growls and sniffs at the ground some more, pawing at the blood.
Tucker sits back in mild shock as you both work. It's not the first time he's seen someone die, but the experience is still rather unpleasant.
Fenris leans in close to Alrik. "You sure we can trust having a kid along? Why not send him somewhere to hide? Might be a death sentence for us three... lucky that there was just one scout."
(I wanna search the body while they hide it. For anything useful as well as clues as to what's going on. 12 investigation)
Alrik shakes his head. "He's my apprentice. He was given the choice to come or stay. He chose to follow us. A brave decision, and one that will make him a better soldier..." he looks at Tucker. "We got lucky this time. Next time we might not be so... let's try to be more careful... all of us."
@Chantry Williams You find a strange whistle around the orc's neck, carved of bone and plugged with a strange cork. You pocket this, along with a bag of 20 gold coins. This scout had little more than his daggers with him; a sack with a bit of rope, a bit of meat wrapped in a cloth, and a waterskin.
Fenris grunts in acceptance and heads out down the trail. Tucker nods, his ears burning red. "T-thanks for uh... for that." He stares at the dead orc.
Alrik nods silently and gestures for Fenris to continue.
@Chantry Williams Fenris leads you forward through tall, dagger-like rocks--weaving between shadows like a ghost. You can hear the marching feet ahead of you descending the mountain and making their way toward the forest. After several long, tense minutes, the marching lessens.
Fenris touches the rock nearest to him and holds it there for a moment. "Now is the time we can move. Come."
He gestures for you and Tucker to move forward, as silently as you possibly can.
(Perception check please~)
(11... yuck. Lol)
@Chantry Williams You look around at the burned out husks of old buildings dotting the way up the mountain. It's... eerie. A ghost town, full of false life, the signs of an orc camp everywhere like an infestation.
The occasional cloud of dust is kicked up by the wind on the road. To your surprise this place is completely unguarded... there are no hostiles in sight. The only audible sound you can hear is the harsh whistling of the wind around you.
You move forward cautiously. No buildings currently stand out as a place for prisoners, so you press on. (Make another perception of investigation, your choice)
(14...? Perception)
@Chantry Williams You spot a building that looks a little more well put together, perhaps a prison or keep at some point. A magical lock has been placed on the handles of the door, and you feel a tingling of energy in the air.
A bright image flares in front of you, in magical blue light warding the door. You notice on the floor that there is a black wooden tray decorated with silver runes in front of the door. The box is filled with black sand and a skeletal finger is resting next to the tray. You examine the magical ward on the door closely...
It is in the shape of a triangle. It has a question mark next to it. You figure you must draw or write something in the sand to attempt to disable the lock.
Alrik looks at the triangle and squints. "Could it... really be that easy?"
He draws the strange symbol he's seen a few times... the same one that Oxious, Tak, the mad mage, and necromancer have all displayed at one time or another.
You draw the triangle in the sand, and then the line through it. The runes on the door light up and fade again, a audible CLICK sounding from the door. It opens.
You step inside. It's pitch black except for the light of the moon that happens to filter in behind you from the door.
In the dead silence you think you can hear whispers... but they are so faint, it is hard to tell what they are saying, or whether you are just imagining them. They seem to be coming from a stair well down to the left.
Fenris' dog Brutus whines and pulls at his leash, urging you to go in. He scrambles trying to get down the stairs ahead of his owner. Fenris just looks at you and Tucker for the go ahead before letting the dog take the lead.
Alrik throws a small mage light into existence, the bluish purple ball of electricity surging into the darkness, followed closely by the Storm Caller himself, his purple scar glinting in the magical light.
You make your way down the steps to the left. You hear the whispers growing louder. At your approach, you find a gated prison door. Eyes peer at you from the gloom, the whispering suddenly hushed.
"T-Tuck? Is that you?"
As your vision adjusts, you realize...These are the missing orphans from the town.
Tucker runs forward, pushing past Fenris and you and pulling at the bars. "SARAH! Twitch!! You're all okay! Thank the gods...!!" The girl, though covered in dirt, looks safe. He grips her hand through the bars trying to hug her. The other smaller children rush up, pulling at his clothes and his arms. They're making quite a bit of noise and you have to hush them to be quiet.
"Quiet, young ones... the orcs are still nearby. We'll get you out of here. Don't worry..." Alrik looks at Tucker, then gestures to the lock. "Any ideas on how to pick that?"
He gets a cocky grin, pulling out a small wire from his pocket along with his knife. Bending down he gets to work picking the lock.
In another cell you find a person resting on the floor. A blonde with messy, curls and familiar clothes... albeit slightly grungier with scarring and fresh cuts along her arms and neck. Zinnia.
Alrik walks over to the cell and grabs ahold of the lock, pouring energy into it before sparking the energy into a small blast of flame. (I'm assuming the lock melts, because it's orcish?)
He swings the door open and walks in, his scar flickering with purple energy. "Hello there, Miss... perhaps you could help me. I'm looking for a young woman who's just enamored by magic... do you know where she is?"
She almost doesn't respond at first like she's in some kind of stupor. Her body feels clammy and cold, her eyes like they've lost the life in them. When she sees you, she opens her mouth but no sound escapes. She merely reaches out to weakly hug you. You're not sure how long she's been here for.
Alrik looks at Zinnia with a concerned expression on his face. Bringing the mage light closer, he looks into her eyes and presses the back of his hand to her forehead. (I want to make a check to see if she's okay. Would that be medicine or perception?)
(@Chantry Williams Medicine or Perception would work well for this situation. Each will give you different information, but I'll let you choose)
(17 medicine)
@Chantry Williams You touch her forehead and notice her skin feels like ice. She is most definitely unwell, almost... deathly ill, it seems. You scan over her body and see a great deal of cuts and injuries, as if she was subjected to some type of physical or magical testing. The thought is absolutely abhorrent.
You feel the cold bite of a knife in your side. Or just barely...
@Chantry Williams Your soldier instincts kick in. You immediately leap back, pushing Zinnia away from you. The knife in her hand harmlessly rips your shirt, barely scraping against your skin. She looks at you blankly, holding the weapon almost as if waiting.
Alrik looks at her in a combination of amazement and anger, a small bit of energy pooling in his hand before smacking her in the forehead. (25 to hit, 6 damage, attempting to knock her out)
@Chantry Williams The children yelp in surprise at her attack on you, but the hit meets its mark. The force of your strike combined with the energy in your hand stuns Zinnia. You see her sway and collapse to the ground, the dagger falling helplessly nearby. It looks to be a small one, strangely archaic in design and covered in old blood.
Fenris has a hunting knife in hand, looking between you and the girl. The dog whines and growls at her still form on the floor. There is a clicking pop as the lock is picked in the other cell, and Tucker quickly yanks the door open to free his friends.
Alrik pulls a small piece of cloth from his satchel and carefully picks up the knife, examining it closer. (14 arcana)
@Chantry Williams The knife glistens with bloodstains. It looks like it was used a few times within the last week or so, and the thickness of the blade matches the cuts on Zinnia herself. It looks like it was used to draw blood from her. For some reason it has been left with her instead of taken by whoever... there is nothing specifically magical about it.
"Bind her." He looks to Fenris. "We can't risk her exposing us..."
@Chantry Williams Fenris nods. Stashing his hunting knife he pulls out a rope and begins hog tying the unconscious Zinnia. Brutus continues to growl and whine nearby, his ears up and pointing to the door outside, listening.
Sarah practically tackles Tucker, shaking like a leaf with tears streaming down her face. The children cling to him desprately, several of them crying. For the most part they seem okay and Tucker looks a mix of relieved, flustered, proud and scared. He is resolved to get them somewhere safe, away from this hell hole and back to Trundleberry's home.
Alrik looks from Tucker and the orphans to Fenris and Zinnia, then back to Tucker. "Get them somewhere safe, Bloodhound. I'm going to go see what I can do about this orcish invasion..."
Fenris nods, grunting as he hefts Zinnia up over his shoulder. "Will do, Alrik. Come, boy." He nods to Tucker and the two of them lead the children into the hallway, awaiting the safe passage out of the building.
Alrik, make a perception check for me.
@Chantry Williams You peer outside through a crack in the door and your blood runs cold.
A shambling zombie, larger than anything you've ever seen before, moves past the doorway. It is stitched together meticulously with twine, body parts from various grave robbing expeditions... it sports multiple heads up a torso with no necks. Several rib cages nested together with their bones and flesh interlocking. Several legs, struggling to move the massive beast, and several arms with weapons fused with the skin. It is making its way down the hill, perhaps 10 feet away from you now.
Alrik's eyes shimmer with blue lightning, changing from dragon like to feline before slowly returning to his version of normal. (Enhance Ability spell, cast Cat's Grace on himself. Total 20 stealth, since I roll with advantage. Kept the 13 as my first roll, got an 18 with the second.)
Waiting for a chance to escape, he slips outside and makes a break for the treeline, his footsteps barely making a sound as he moves stealthily like a predatory cat stalking it's prey...
(Fantastic.........) As you successfully reach the treeline you look behind you and see the others peering out the door after you. Up the road, coming over the ridge....
Are three more of these large monstrosities.
Alrik whips his hand and a ball of electric power leaps into existence, some 30 feet across the small road. He sends the new mage light zipping into the trees the opposite direction of himself and the hidden children and Fenris. (Attempting to distract them. Undead are stupid. Lol)
(Bwahaha... I like it. Clever.) The fleshy golems turn their many heads and gaping eye holes toward the light, two of them breaking to investigate it. There is a moaning, horrid sound coming from it as it moves. The hands and weapons twitch eagerly for death.
He brings the mage light back toward the third one, spinning it around his head and having it make chirping and laughter noises (Prestidigitation) before sending it flitting off again in the direction the other two are moving. (Making it appear to be a faerie)
(Loooooooooool that's cute XD) The golems all begin to shamble toward it, off the path and away from you and the children. Fenris nudges them and they, along with his bloodhound, rush forward to the treeline with you. The soldier raises his eyebrows in your direction, as if rather impressed with your tactics.
Alrik nods at Fenris and watches them all disappear into the trees before throwing his hood up and diving through the forest as fast as possible, heading toward the sounds of the battle. (Jessi, you tell me when I get there)
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