Obelin takes off towards the village. His companions will follow but being a wolf, he can scout ahead and get there first. He will be able to warn them of any danger that lies ahead.
Rook shakes his head, maybe now wasn't the time for levity? Maybe things here were so bad that he should take things seriously.
Who was he kidding...life was a dark and depressing joke. Throwing out a quip here and there was one of his small joys in life. Damn it all, before he went to Astur's dark dungeon, he was going to take all the joy he could.
I don't know, can you? You could talk with the voice of a man from a wolfs mouth, which might be pretty creepy? Or maybe it is barely understandable growling, or it could be like a lassie episode. How does it work?
The walk to the village is uneventful, though there is the occasional sound from the woods around you but no further sign of the undead. As you approach the village you begin to hear sounds, shouting and banging of hammers. Obelin can smell burning flesh now that you are closer. You turn a corner in a path and you can suddenly see the village.
There are some outlying homes outside the wall of the village, several of them are damaged and one has been on fire. The one closest to you and near the path seems empty, but undamaged.
The village itself is surrounded by a wall that is rapidly being reinforced by some of the villagers. Other are digging a trench outside the wall, and a small group are armed with bows and arrows and keeping watch. It only takes a few moments before the group of you are spotted and the shouting rapidly increases. The ditchdiggers scramble inside the gates of the village before the gate is slammed shut. Only Obelin can understand what is being said at this distance and even then it is hard to pick out complete sentences in the midst of all of the commotion. the words undead, doom, fire, death, panic are all repeated. As you get closer finally a large well tanned man wearing armro steps up to the wall and loudly shouts "Halt and declare yourselves or we shall open fire!"
Freya help her arms out wide, the talisman of her Order glinting in the sunlight. "I am Sister Freya, Cleric of the Forge. We have been sent to beat back the darkness that has caused your village so much suffering. Please, let us help you."
Ovis skulks wearily near the back of the group. Even with the cleric's goodwill lain out plainly, he was unwilling to put himself any nearer to those arrows without knowing the inclination of this village.
The wizard studies what remains outside the village wall, particularly the undamaged cottage amongst those burning or razed. He peers timidly into the woods, inspects the path around them, and does his best to get a good look at those villagers taken refuge inside the wall.
geth roll 2d6+1 to Discern Realities
What here is not what it appears to be?
Ovis, while the large man who shouted at you has the dress of a warrior you can see by his bearing that it is unfamiliar to him. He is not used to wearing armor or carrying weapons, and neither are the others on the wall, though some do seem familiar with the bow, probably from hunting. They are trying to seem like warriors, but they really aren't.
The large man hesitates a moment at Freya's words before he shouts a reply. "We have always been friends with the Dwarves here, you may come closer, though I fear you shall just be trapped in here with us once night fall it will be better then letting die out there. Hurry and get inside, they shall be here soon!"
Freya smiles, relieved that the standoff is quickly resolved. She ushers the rest of the party into the gates, stopping once inside for another word with the large tanned spokesman of the village.
"What can you tell us of the darkness that plagues this village? Are there any injured within the walls? Forge has granted me craft to mend the injured."
Ovis, feeling less trepidation having determined these men were more so fearful villagers than armed soldiers, makes his way inside the safety of the walls. Still, he is cautious, and feels comfortable taking the lead from the other party members.
The large man hesitate for a moment. "We are under siege. The undead come every night, we don't know why. We didn't even know they were attacking until someone the woodsfolk began coming here begging for sanctuary. At first the area around the village was safe, then they began striking at the nearby homes, and now they assail our walls every night. They claim they serve our rightful lord and we must supply him with soldiers, but they just kill anyone they can get their hands on! And now we see fresh undead with them, people we know, that we are kin to."
He stops talking after this statement, and his voice becomes firmer as he excuses himself to make preparations. He points you to the town inn before he leaves but warns you that it is mostly full. There is a temple too to the Moon Goddess where the injured are mostly staying, and where you might be able to stay.
Questions for the group:
Has anyone passed through Elefsina in happier times? If so do you know anyone who might still be here?
What is the Moon Goddess' name, have any of you encountered her worshipers before? Or perhaps been one?
I'd like to put forward that an old mercenary buddy that Rurik once fought beside said he was going to take his money and buy some land somewhere near here, to set up a small farm
His name was Harren. He was getting on a bit, hence retirement.
Rurik makes his way forward.
'Well, friend, I don't suppose you have any ale here? I'd say we would be more than willing to help out, but it's been a long walk, y'know?'
The Moon Goddess, as Ovis well knew from his childhood, was one of the Seventeen Nameless Divines. Sometimes referred to more reverently as the Lady of Solemn Bounty, she was a facet in the pantheon of gods worshiped by the Empire of Gold, whose acolytes served in the Temples of Hunt and Harvest. Missionaries from Ovis's homeland had no doubt ventured to Eleusis in efforts to find new souls to train as low acolytes in the service of their Lady.
The wizard remembered too well his time as a boy in the service of the Lady of Final Measure, studying in the funerary crypts below the Temple of Debts and Death. The memory chilled him.
"I, ah... I do believe I'll check at the inn. Perhaps there is an extra room or two we might squeeze in to during our hopefully short stay." With that, Ovis takes off towards the town inn, doing well to give the Moon Goddess' temple a wide berth.
Freya was unfamiliar with the Moon Goddess, or most other faiths for that matter. She found studies of any kind frightfully tedious. Books were so... long.
"I'll head to the Temple, to do what I can to aid the injured. Let's all meet at the Inn an hour before dusk, we shouldn't be separated when the dead strike the village again. See if you can learn more of the attacks." She told the group, before heading toward the Temple.
One of the watchmen answers Rurik "There is still some ale in the tavern, food too. Their nightfish special from the pond is pretty good."
At the Inn
The inn is crowded, but not boisterous. Many of the customers are nursing a smallbeer or similar drink, here at the Inn to avoid having to be alone or outside rather then any desire to be social. The exception is an older man who is loudly telling stories to a group of nervous looking young men and women eating dinner. The young people have bows and spears resting near them, recent additions to the towns watch. The older mans story is a violent tale about how he got a particular scar. Rurik recognizes him as Herren, a retired mercenary.
There is a sign above the bar that proclaims "Profiteers will be considered volunteers!" and indeed all the prices for food and drink seem normal, though if any of you ask they are out of rooms.
Dinner is available for a coin, enough drink for the night is another coin.
The temple is even less cheery. It is a fairly small building for a temple, with a single large room for worshippers and the walls are decorated with pictures of the moon and the other Seventeen Nameless Divines. There are no chairs and the injured are lying on makeshift beds. They are mostly tended to by family members. The Priestess is an overweight middle aged woman who introduces herself as Herra welcomes you, but explains she is too busy to chat right now.
Anyone who wishes to can make a roll to help out the injured at the templeNarrate what you are doing to help and roll the appropriate stat ex: treating injured is +Wis, moving supplies is +Str or +Con. On a 7-9 Herra appreciates the help and has time to talk. She will answer one question as well as telling other townsfolk of your help. On a 10+ she will answer 3 questions.
Druids can speak as animals, making the sounds with the vocal system of the animal's body they inhabit. This can make communication difficult but not entirely impossible
Obelin changed back to a man before they approached the village, so as not to scare anybody. He makes for the inn, preferring less boisterous places. He uses half of his poultices and herbs to help treat the injured.
Obelin spreads poultices to sooth injuries and crushes herbs to feed the injured to give them strength. "Are these injuries from the undead attacks?" he asks. "When did they begin?"
Freya tends to the injured using the spellcraft granted to her by the Forge.
When she gets a moment to speak with Priestess Herra, she asks if there is room for her friends to sleep here if the Inn is full, and if she can spare any holy water, as well as the following question(s):
Geth roll 2d6+2 for treating the injured
What can you tell me about Baronet Donovan?
Did anything unusual happen in the village right before the undead attacks?
Anything else we should be on the lookout for?
After an eventful time treating the wounded you both are able to catch a quiet moment with Herra when all the sick are taken care of. She offers to feed you for the night, and shows you where some straw is in the back to sleep for the night. Unfortunately she has used all of the holy water in the temple to anoint the sick, and cannot make more until the next full moon.
"It is awful isn't it? At first people just went missing, we don't know when that started. Some of the woodsfolk only come in a couple times a year, to trade furs or some such thing. The first time anyone here knew what was happening was nine days ago I think? At first we thought it was orcs, Thorvald, you saw him I'm sure he's headman of the village, he was attacked by an orc not long ago but killed it. But then people reported seeing the undead soldiers, and not long after that there were fresh undead, people we knew! It was horrible. They've attacked the walls for the last four nights, that's how most of the people here got injured. They say they are serving the Baronet, but we don't even have a baronet! The Duke is our rightful ruler and he just leaves us alone, I'm not even sure he would send help if he knew what was going on here."
Rurik leaves the others to their own devices as he enters the inn. The scene the dwarf encountered was an odd mixture of frivolity and despair.
"My kind of place"
Walking over to the bar, Rurik slaps down a single coin, motioning to the ale tap. As the barkeep carries out his work, Rurik takes a slow glance around the room, before his eyes settle on a familiar figure. Unless he was mistaken, that man over there was Harren, an old mercenary buddy.
'I haven't seen him in years'
Rurik spins rounds and sticks two fingers up to the barkeep, before taking the flagons and walking over to the other side of the room.
Slamming two flagons down on the table, Rurik announces his presence.
"Harren, I thought I could smell you. What's an old codger like you doing in a place like this?'
Freya is grateful for a bite to eat. "I'd be happy to Sanctify water for you Priestess. If you've no objection, please give me a large jug of water."
Geth roll 2d6+2 to Sanctify water
If I roll less than a 10 I'll get put in a spot.
Edit - oops
Freya helps herself to a vial of the Holy water, in case she gets an opportunity to see it's effect on the undead. The Cleric then heads to the Inn to rejoin her companions and wash some of the road dust from her throat with a proper drink.
Barren smiles widely at you before beginning a wildly improbable tale involving gambling, a fetching young man, his irate father, and a prize goat. The end result is that he has taken his earnings and invested in a farm to enjoy a quiet retirement which the undead have now interrupted. He has been working with the headman to try to train up the town militia which previously was just the headman and a few of his drinking buddies along with a pair twin poachers. "Now that you're here I suspect you want to get in on the action eh? They don't have much money to hire you, but he'll youre stuck in here with us no matter what."
Meanwhile at the temple freya's invocation to the Forge has not gone unnoticed. A body has been placed in the corner until it could be buried slowly rises up. "You're presence here is loathsome dwarf. This is a place for humans, not for those who abbandoned us in our fight." As it speaks the body begins to rot rapidly, it's hands becoming clawlike as they reach out towards you and maggots crawl under it's skin."
"By the Bellows! Herra, run to the Inn! Get our friends. We'll hold this slag-made monster back!" Freya stepped back, drawing her shield to protect herself and the wounded.
I'm assuming I need to roll Defy Danger, otherwise I guess this roll can be used for Defend.
aplogies for the delay, minor illness kept me from posting.
The creature shrieks at Obelin as he spring forward. "Fool! They shall betray you and you protect them! We are your shield, we must protect you all, even at the sacrifice of some!" As it speaks the rotting continues faster and faster before the creature is nothing but bone which collapse on the stone floor.
Several of the villagers in the temple have fled, and those that are left look at the two of you with fear. Herra slowly walks to the skeleton and shakily begins a prayer to put the soul at rest.
Ovis surrenders two coins to the tavern keep for dinner and drink before retreating to the quietest corner of the common room he can find. Once his food is delivered, the wizard throws a final furtive glance about the room before he cracks open his spellbook. He sets himself to study, preparing new spells for the evening as he eats.
Buying food and drink for the night. (-2 coins)
Preparing new spells: Magic Missile and Charm Person.
"Silence, lying filth. the Forge will go cold before I heed your vile words." Freya resisted the urge to spit on the corpse, to smash it's grinning skull. No, those would be the actions of a petulant child, embarrassed at her failure, her uselessness.
No, much more useful to stomp her way wordlessly over to the Inn, to drown her doubts with hard liquor.
'Well that all sounds mighty interesting, and I'm more than willing to help out training the locals, but.... we seem to have a bit of situation here. What exactly has been going on, from what you've seen?"
"Zombies!" Herren says loudly, causing several of the other patrons to give him dirty looks. "Fresh ones too, they come at night and try to find a way past the wall. Every now and then one of the smart ones shoots an arrow at the guard on the wall. They shout thing at us too, don't make a huge amount of sense, but than again when did anything a dead man tell you make much sense eh? They will probably start coming in a couple hour, usually show up around midnight or so. Gods know why."
Rook sits quietly, doing his best to remain unseen and unheard. This type of thing was not his specialty. That drunk over there's coin purse though... that would bear watching.
In the interest of keeping things moving I'm going to cut to later that night, if anyone else has any last things they want to do you can stills say so though.
Where ever you are sleeping that night the screaming at the town wall is loud enough to wake you. One of the guardsman has been hit by an arrow, the wound is bad evidently judging by hisries. There is shouting outside the wall as well, dry voices barking commands, orders to bring something forward followed by a dull thump at the front gate. A few more arrows go over the wall, hitting the inn and a few houses but missing any people.
The village headman is standing in front of the tavern, trying to bring some order to the proceedings. Herra the priestess is there as well, saying some prayers for some of the villagers who are grabbing weapons.
"It's a major attack!" Herren shouts towards your group. "Something must have spooked them, they need everyone who can up on the wall!"
From the wall you can see what is going on at the gate. A group of zombies are being commanded by a few of the intelligent undead soldiers you saw earlier. They are carrying a crude battering ram which they are using to bash against the wall of the villages gate. A pair of other undead soldiers are a short distance off holding bows and arrows and shooting into the village. Right now they are just shooting randomly into the village, but they don't seem to have noticed you yet.
There are several ladders on the wall and Rook is easily able to climb one close to the battering ram. You can see that there are two of the undead soldiers issuing step by step commands to the eight zombies holding the battering ram.
Pick your target (soldiers issuing the commands or the zombies) and roll +dex for volley.
Seeing the lay of the land gives Rook a great idea... he listens for a second to see if he can get the cadance of their commands down and then heaves a dagger towards the closest undead issuing commands. He misses wildly as an arrow is fired too close for comfort.
I know it's complex, but I'm hoping that taking out one of the commanders and them imitating him will give me a +1 Forward on an Interfere attempt to slow/stop the battering ram.
Too bad that roll isn't going to help!
Geth roll 2d6+2 for Volley vs. Undead issuing commands
Freya stands from her table at the Inn, finishing her drink in a large gulp. With a minor adjustment to the straps on her shield, she heads towards the screams of the injured guardsman.
"Sorry, this will sting." She warns the guard as she kneels beside him, before pulling the arrow from his stomach.
Freya's hands close over the wound as she prays. "Forge, mend this man, this town still has need of his protection."
Geth roll 2d6+2;1d8 to cure light wounds on the injured guard
Put myself in a spot for a 7-9 roll
"Freya, you might want to save some of that for later. I feel like a lot of these lot aren't going to survive this"
Rurik swings Sofia up onto his shoulders as he runs forward towards the gates.
"Just like old times Herren! I'll go up and take down any ladders they try to put up. I trust you're gonna behave as normal? If they breach that gate, keep the militia back and cone them in! We'll strike them from above in their blind spots!"
Rurik then begins his ascent to the top of the wall.
Posts
With a final glance at the map before putting it away, the Cleric begins walking toward the village.
PSN: Boozer_777
Obelin takes off towards the village. His companions will follow but being a wolf, he can scout ahead and get there first. He will be able to warn them of any danger that lies ahead.
Rook shakes his head, maybe now wasn't the time for levity? Maybe things here were so bad that he should take things seriously.
Who was he kidding...life was a dark and depressing joke. Throwing out a quip here and there was one of his small joys in life. Damn it all, before he went to Astur's dark dungeon, he was going to take all the joy he could.
Because lets face it, someone has to take care of these guys.
PSN: TheBrayster_92
The walk to the village is uneventful, though there is the occasional sound from the woods around you but no further sign of the undead. As you approach the village you begin to hear sounds, shouting and banging of hammers. Obelin can smell burning flesh now that you are closer. You turn a corner in a path and you can suddenly see the village.
There are some outlying homes outside the wall of the village, several of them are damaged and one has been on fire. The one closest to you and near the path seems empty, but undamaged.
The village itself is surrounded by a wall that is rapidly being reinforced by some of the villagers. Other are digging a trench outside the wall, and a small group are armed with bows and arrows and keeping watch. It only takes a few moments before the group of you are spotted and the shouting rapidly increases. The ditchdiggers scramble inside the gates of the village before the gate is slammed shut. Only Obelin can understand what is being said at this distance and even then it is hard to pick out complete sentences in the midst of all of the commotion. the words undead, doom, fire, death, panic are all repeated. As you get closer finally a large well tanned man wearing armro steps up to the wall and loudly shouts "Halt and declare yourselves or we shall open fire!"
PSN: Boozer_777
The wizard studies what remains outside the village wall, particularly the undamaged cottage amongst those burning or razed. He peers timidly into the woods, inspects the path around them, and does his best to get a good look at those villagers taken refuge inside the wall.
What here is not what it appears to be?
The large man hesitates a moment at Freya's words before he shouts a reply. "We have always been friends with the Dwarves here, you may come closer, though I fear you shall just be trapped in here with us once night fall it will be better then letting die out there. Hurry and get inside, they shall be here soon!"
"What can you tell us of the darkness that plagues this village? Are there any injured within the walls? Forge has granted me craft to mend the injured."
PSN: Boozer_777
He stops talking after this statement, and his voice becomes firmer as he excuses himself to make preparations. He points you to the town inn before he leaves but warns you that it is mostly full. There is a temple too to the Moon Goddess where the injured are mostly staying, and where you might be able to stay.
Questions for the group:
Has anyone passed through Elefsina in happier times? If so do you know anyone who might still be here?
What is the Moon Goddess' name, have any of you encountered her worshipers before? Or perhaps been one?
His name was Harren. He was getting on a bit, hence retirement.
Rurik makes his way forward.
'Well, friend, I don't suppose you have any ale here? I'd say we would be more than willing to help out, but it's been a long walk, y'know?'
PSN: TheBrayster_92
The wizard remembered too well his time as a boy in the service of the Lady of Final Measure, studying in the funerary crypts below the Temple of Debts and Death. The memory chilled him.
"I, ah... I do believe I'll check at the inn. Perhaps there is an extra room or two we might squeeze in to during our hopefully short stay." With that, Ovis takes off towards the town inn, doing well to give the Moon Goddess' temple a wide berth.
"I'll head to the Temple, to do what I can to aid the injured. Let's all meet at the Inn an hour before dusk, we shouldn't be separated when the dead strike the village again. See if you can learn more of the attacks." She told the group, before heading toward the Temple.
PSN: Boozer_777
At the Inn
The inn is crowded, but not boisterous. Many of the customers are nursing a smallbeer or similar drink, here at the Inn to avoid having to be alone or outside rather then any desire to be social. The exception is an older man who is loudly telling stories to a group of nervous looking young men and women eating dinner. The young people have bows and spears resting near them, recent additions to the towns watch. The older mans story is a violent tale about how he got a particular scar. Rurik recognizes him as Herren, a retired mercenary.
There is a sign above the bar that proclaims "Profiteers will be considered volunteers!" and indeed all the prices for food and drink seem normal, though if any of you ask they are out of rooms.
The temple is even less cheery. It is a fairly small building for a temple, with a single large room for worshippers and the walls are decorated with pictures of the moon and the other Seventeen Nameless Divines. There are no chairs and the injured are lying on makeshift beds. They are mostly tended to by family members. The Priestess is an overweight middle aged woman who introduces herself as Herra welcomes you, but explains she is too busy to chat right now.
Obelin changed back to a man before they approached the village, so as not to scare anybody. He makes for the inn, preferring less boisterous places. He uses half of his poultices and herbs to help treat the injured.
Freya tends to the injured using the spellcraft granted to her by the Forge.
When she gets a moment to speak with Priestess Herra, she asks if there is room for her friends to sleep here if the Inn is full, and if she can spare any holy water, as well as the following question(s):
What can you tell me about Baronet Donovan?
Did anything unusual happen in the village right before the undead attacks?
Anything else we should be on the lookout for?
PSN: Boozer_777
"It is awful isn't it? At first people just went missing, we don't know when that started. Some of the woodsfolk only come in a couple times a year, to trade furs or some such thing. The first time anyone here knew what was happening was nine days ago I think? At first we thought it was orcs, Thorvald, you saw him I'm sure he's headman of the village, he was attacked by an orc not long ago but killed it. But then people reported seeing the undead soldiers, and not long after that there were fresh undead, people we knew! It was horrible. They've attacked the walls for the last four nights, that's how most of the people here got injured. They say they are serving the Baronet, but we don't even have a baronet! The Duke is our rightful ruler and he just leaves us alone, I'm not even sure he would send help if he knew what was going on here."
"My kind of place"
Walking over to the bar, Rurik slaps down a single coin, motioning to the ale tap. As the barkeep carries out his work, Rurik takes a slow glance around the room, before his eyes settle on a familiar figure. Unless he was mistaken, that man over there was Harren, an old mercenary buddy.
'I haven't seen him in years'
Rurik spins rounds and sticks two fingers up to the barkeep, before taking the flagons and walking over to the other side of the room.
Slamming two flagons down on the table, Rurik announces his presence.
"Harren, I thought I could smell you. What's an old codger like you doing in a place like this?'
Rurik slides one flagon across the table.
PSN: TheBrayster_92
If I roll less than a 10 I'll get put in a spot.
Edit - oops
Freya helps herself to a vial of the Holy water, in case she gets an opportunity to see it's effect on the undead. The Cleric then heads to the Inn to rejoin her companions and wash some of the road dust from her throat with a proper drink.
PSN: Boozer_777
Meanwhile at the temple freya's invocation to the Forge has not gone unnoticed. A body has been placed in the corner until it could be buried slowly rises up. "You're presence here is loathsome dwarf. This is a place for humans, not for those who abbandoned us in our fight." As it speaks the body begins to rot rapidly, it's hands becoming clawlike as they reach out towards you and maggots crawl under it's skin."
Geth roll 2d6+1 to Defy Danger using Con
Edit- cue the portal to the underworld
PSN: Boozer_777
The creature shrieks at Obelin as he spring forward. "Fool! They shall betray you and you protect them! We are your shield, we must protect you all, even at the sacrifice of some!" As it speaks the rotting continues faster and faster before the creature is nothing but bone which collapse on the stone floor.
Several of the villagers in the temple have fled, and those that are left look at the two of you with fear. Herra slowly walks to the skeleton and shakily begins a prayer to put the soul at rest.
Preparing new spells: Magic Missile and Charm Person.
No, much more useful to stomp her way wordlessly over to the Inn, to drown her doubts with hard liquor.
PSN: Boozer_777
'Well that all sounds mighty interesting, and I'm more than willing to help out training the locals, but.... we seem to have a bit of situation here. What exactly has been going on, from what you've seen?"
PSN: TheBrayster_92
Where ever you are sleeping that night the screaming at the town wall is loud enough to wake you. One of the guardsman has been hit by an arrow, the wound is bad evidently judging by hisries. There is shouting outside the wall as well, dry voices barking commands, orders to bring something forward followed by a dull thump at the front gate. A few more arrows go over the wall, hitting the inn and a few houses but missing any people.
The village headman is standing in front of the tavern, trying to bring some order to the proceedings. Herra the priestess is there as well, saying some prayers for some of the villagers who are grabbing weapons.
"It's a major attack!" Herren shouts towards your group. "Something must have spooked them, they need everyone who can up on the wall!"
Too bad that roll isn't going to help!
Geth roll 2d6+2 for Volley vs. Undead issuing commands
"Sorry, this will sting." She warns the guard as she kneels beside him, before pulling the arrow from his stomach.
Freya's hands close over the wound as she prays. "Forge, mend this man, this town still has need of his protection."
Put myself in a spot for a 7-9 roll
PSN: Boozer_777
Rurik swings Sofia up onto his shoulders as he runs forward towards the gates.
"Just like old times Herren! I'll go up and take down any ladders they try to put up. I trust you're gonna behave as normal? If they breach that gate, keep the militia back and cone them in! We'll strike them from above in their blind spots!"
Rurik then begins his ascent to the top of the wall.
PSN: TheBrayster_92
"The power of the Forge is boundless, it's blessings are not to be hoarded like coin."
PSN: Boozer_777