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Siegschwert lets out a surprised exclamation as the watery creature bypasses his armor without problem. He doesn't let that fact stop his assault, and the Librarian Knight brings down his sword with a powerful scything strike before attacking again with an horizontal, neck-height backhand swing.
As he finishes his barrage of strikes, Siegschwert changes hid stance to lower it and more easioy defend against the creatures.
Ludwig lashes at the stuck creature, striking with all his might and ignoring the stench.
Yowling in pain, Pengaal tears his arm free of the corpse's mouth and kicks heavily at it's knee before chopping at its head with his machete.
(If the Trip attempt succeeds)
(+4 if Trip worked)
(+4 if Trip worked)
Felicia grits her teeth and brings her shield to bear against the spirit with all of her might.
With a mighty roar, Siegschwert leads a second set of attacks coordinated with Felicia. Powerful blows from the two twilight knights crash into the spirit, and even though they pass through partly and tear huge chunks out of the earth they still managed to banish the damned thing through sheer willpower.
Ludwigs scythe sings through the air, reflecting brilliantly in the setting sunlight. With a glint and a blur he finishes off the thing with a clean decapitation. The mangled head falls to the wet ground and rolls a few feet before the body manages to collapse to its feet.
Pengaal tears himself free from the other things still gnashing teeth and throws it to the ground. In a moment of sudden and unexpected savagery he hacks at it with his machete. Gore and chunks of flesh are spill across the ground and the thing squirms violently in protest. Eventually, though, it can suffer no more punishment and it falls still...
The water in which Yuria is still churning and you recognize an all-too-familiar crimson hue spreading across the surface.
Floodslain 1 0/52 - trapped
Floodslain 2 0/52
Riverswell Spirit -1/75
"Yuria! No!" Ludwig rushes to the bloody spot and dives shoulder depth into the water, trying to catch anything.
"LUDWIG! Stay out of the water!" Pengaal shouts, dancing around the edge of the pool but not dipping even a toe in. "It's not for the living...
Ludwig feels what he thinks is his companion within the pool, though he cannot see her to confirm. Meanwhile the things that the party had already put down begin to stir once more.
He tries to grab and pull it out of the water. Regardless if he can or can't do that, he backs off to the others.
Felica raises her shield once again preparing to attack. "We should get moving!" She yells, staring wide eyed at the beaten creatures.
Ludwig hauls the drenched figure of Yuria from the pool and onto the grass. Her face is palid and she appears unconscious. There is a deep wound in her abdomen, a tear in both armor and cloth through which you can see flesh and bone clearly. Blood spills rapidly onto the ground.
The two malformed beings from the swamp start to stagger back to their feet, one with great difficulty as it has been decapitated and its leg is still caught in the hunting trap.
Felicia yells savagely as she smashes her shield into the creatures.
Felicia crushes one of the things a second time, causing its body to burst open and throwing it to the ground a second time. The other continues to paw blindly at the trap holding it.
Pengaal ignores the trapped creature - for the moment - and stepped to Ludwig. "We need to keep moving. Please. Someone set these traps, and they will be by soon. And... soon she'll rise as well."
Ludwig wasn't new to the loss of his companions, but still, it's not something one can get used to. But he understands that they have to move. "Yes. Yes we need to keep moving."
He stands up, gives a last look at Yuria's body and lets out a deep sigh. "Lead the way."
Pengaal leads the group swiftly away from the area, fearing the arrival of some unknown party. Yuria is left where she lies. Perhaps it is just a trick of the eye, but you could swear you see her lift her hand weakly towards her companions just as you pass out of sight.
Pengaals fears may be confirmed. No sooner do you make your way back into the swamp then you see the distance light of torches floating among the foliage. If you listen closely you can even hear the sounds of men and animals from afar.
"Terrible place," whispers Ludwig slowly advancing forward. "I wonder what are we supposed to do here? Search for the source of those... undying things?"
"Perhaps they can tell us." Ordinarily, Pengaal would have just snuck past the group, or perhaps followed them at a distance to learn more - both impossible with his more armored companions. Instead, he set a course ahead of them - let them come to us, and meet us on their terms.
In tracking after the sounds the group has to double back through the swamp towards the area they left. When they get to the point where the foliage starts to thin out they slow. Approaching now will be tricky if they wish to remain out of sight.
"I'm not good at hiding. Unless you want to fight them right from the start, I'll wait for you to see what's going on."
"I had hoped to speak with them, but I can take a closer look." With that, Pengaal vanishes up into the trees again and starts making his way over to the group, only touching the ground when he absolutely has to.
Pengaal takes to the trees and quickly crosses over to where he can get a sight of the clearing they had left.
He sees a group of men working in the clearing. Two of the men are wearing old leather jackets and old gloves. They're both grizzled individuals, with old worn faces, greasy hair, and plenty of stubble on their faces. One is dragging the bodies of the creatures you fought earlier and rolling them back into the water (you note that he avoids the water at all costs himself, to the point that he is purposely rolling the bodies down the incline into the water rather than throwing them in directly). The other is working on resetting one of the hunting traps. the last, wearing a long coat and wide-brimmed pointed hat appears to be the leader. He directs the other two men as they work, ensuring that his hand never leaves the strangely elegant cane at his side.
There's also a dog joining the group. You note right away that something is clearly wrong with it. Its fur is ragged and spotty and it shudders violently between each ragged, panting breath.
Looking to where you all left Yuria behind you see the body has been covered by a heavy canvas. A large red stain has already bled through the material.
You watch for a while. These men work quickly, almost cautiously. They look to be wrapping up and the leader directs the man who had set the traps to collect the body of Yuria. You can't hear any of what they may be saying from your position but it is a safe assumption that they are getting ready to depart.
Trying to stay hidden behind what little foliage there is, Pengaal calls out, "Who are you people?"
The group all jump in shock as Pengaal shouts across the clearing. The hound begins sniffing the air while the leader slowly looks around for the source of the sound. He says something to the two men, one of whom takes a bundle from his back and unwraps it to reveal a long, strange device. The other man reaches into a coat pocket and produces a strange magical trinket that he holds shakily.
Eventually the leader raises his voice to where you can hear him:
"I could ask the same of you. What manner of fool are you, to speak so freely in a place such as this? This horrible, wretched place. Do you not know that a mere utterance is enough to invite evil upon oneself. Or are you another savage who makes their home among the dead? A spirit perhaps?"
Keeping his head down, Pengaal tries to throw his voice to disguise his location a bit. "Travelers, far from home," though not as far, I'm beginning to think, as I thought. "We're looking for shelter, and answers."
Felicia stays crouched down in some foliage, doing her best to remain unnoticed and listens in to the exchange with bated breath. She feels her shield on her arm, making sure it's strapped tight and ready.
"Answers? To what?" shouts back the man, still searching around as he speaks. "Do you really expect me to believe that any manner of simple traveler could have found their way into the Gelid Swamp and yet live? But, perhaps..." he stops to look at the corpse of Yuria, still covered in the tarp. "Perhaps, you may truly be a lost fool. Tell me, does *this* belong to you 'traveller's'?" he asks, poking the corpse with his cane.
"She was a friend. Tell me... the Gelid, did it melt?"
The man scoffs loudly before answering:
"Don't you know? The land's sinking around here, that damned river flooded this entire area."
He shakes his head "Enough of this! Show yourself!"
That... cannot be good.
Stretching slowly, Pengaal rises to his full height while motioning for Ludwig and the others to stay hidden. Should they fire, he's ready to drop flat and vanish back into the woods.
The dog starts barking like mad as soon as Pengaal appears and the man with the odd looking device immediately "points" it in his direction. Yet, neither of them act. They dare not do anything until their leader has a say.
The man with the wide hat regards Pengaal with something between contempt and disinterest. He stabs the cane into the ground in front of himself and rests his hands on it. "I'll give you a chance to say your peace before I decide what is to be done with you" he says without any other introduction.
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Siegschwert remains still trying to even breath not too frequently as his size and weight would make him easy to spot if the strange men decided to look...
... But the moment the leader, or who he thinks seems to be the leader, threatens Pengaal with a last chance he can't let his friend stand alone.
The Librarian Knight starts walking towards the group with his sword resting ocer his right shoulder and stops when his figure is noticed by the group.
"If you are... Enemies of the evil... That has taken over... The world... We shall not fight. We are survivors in a pilgrimage... Looking for answers... And you must understand... That we are wsry of strangers..."
With Siegschwert coming out of the cover, there is not much point in hiding.
"Very much so," adds Ludwig, stepping out. "Almost everyone we've met tried to kill us."
The man shakes his head "This place'll do that to you. This swamp is not meant for the likes of the living."
He stops here though, as if only now noticing something about Ludwig and Siegschwert. He scrutinizes them for a long while and then frowns eventually. "I don't know how it's possible, but you lot look to belong to the Order. If you be needing it, the boys and I can guide you the rest of the way out of the swamp and leave you near the Citadel. But no further, something powerful is at work there and we've already enough to deal on our plate without mucking about where we don't belong."
"Yes, some of belong to Twilight Order," nods Ludwig. "Are you a part of the Order?"
"And the citadel... is that the building in the distance?"
"No" says the man in response to Ludwig, shaking his head. "We're just hired hands. My name's Abbot and these two are Hank and Bartholomew. We're hunters."
Then, turning to Pengaal "Only building around for miles far as I know, so if you seen something it's probably the Citadel."
The other two men, Hank and Bartholomew apparently, are relaxing as the conversation. One of them moves to restrain the dog.
"Then we would appreciate a guide, thank you. If this is truly the Gelid, then it has changed much since I was here last."
Felicia had long dropped the pretense of hiding out as she stands quietly among the group. "If you don't mind, what is this place?"
"My name is Ludwig. Thank you for helping us, this place is hard to navigate."
"Then we'll make our way shortly. It is not wise to linger here. Who will be collecting that?" Abbot asks, indicating the corpse of Yuria.
"I'll take her," says Ludwig and carefully takes Yuria's body.
Abbot nods and motions for you all to follow, but stops. "Know that once we enter the depths of the swamp, you must do exactly as I say. That, and you must avoid speaking unless absolutely necessary. The forces at work here detest the living and will converge on us should they sense its essence."
With no alternative, the group follow Abbot and his companions into the swamp. You walk for about several hours in nearly total silence. The only times you hear anything from Abbot is when he stops to quickly guide you through a particularly treacherous portion of terrain or past a field of hunting traps. At one point the dog that men had brought along manages to slip away from its handler and runs into the swamp, barking. The handler goes to follow but Abbot raises his hand and he stops. The barking continues for a few minutes followed by a pained yelp and a return to silence.
Eventually you manage to reach the edge of the swamp. The trees and foliage thing out and the men all seem relieved. You can now clearly see the structure you had glimpsed before. It is a massive structure, easily three or four stories tall. Gothic architecture sprawls along its surfaces but it is clear that it has not been maintained in some time. Stained glass are either broken or missing entirely, masonry is crumbling, huge sections of wall have collapsed away, and plant life has overtaken large parts of the structure. The entire citadel seems to be leaning, likely it is sinking into the ground as a result of the flood. Despite all this you can clearly see the faded remains of the Twilight Orders insignia above the main entrance.
No sooner do you take in the sight than Abbot leads you away, down a hill and into a shallow valley. "This is our camp" he explains as you round a bend and see a hastily constructed wooden gate and walls. He puts his fingers to his mouth and lets out a shrill whistle and the gates swing open in response.
Inside the camp are a handful of tents, a dying fire, a couple of dozen barrels and crates, and not much else. It is clear these men have been here for some time. The whole place stinks and the ground has been beaten into bare earth. Near the gate their is some kind of metal statue, brass or bronze by the looks of it, but it has been badly beaten and is missing its entire lower half.
Abbot and his men forget about your presence as they set about rekindling the fire.
Ludwig lowers Yuria near the wall, so her body wouldn't get in the way.
"Considering that dead rise in this swamp, we should burn her body. Will there be enough wood?" he asks Abbot
Pengaal steps away for a second to examine the statue; it seemed to be the oldest part of this place not inside the tower.
"I will help with the funeral as well"[b/] Felicia offers, having cast a look about and seeing that fuel might be low. [b]"Is there a place nearby where we might gather some more wood?
Abbot looks up from the fire "There's a whole swamp full of wood just over the hill."
He laughs at the thought and then sighs "Most these crates are empty, you can break 'em down to build a pyre"
When Pengaal approaches the statue he is shocked to see it stir to life. With a cacophony of whirs and clicks the helmet rotates to look at him while the body shudders, failing to move on account of its missing limbs.
Pengaal scrambles back, shocked. "A guardian?"
Ludwig starts breaking the crates to make a pyre far enough from anything that can catch fire. When everything is ready, he places Yuria's body on top of it and sets it afire.
"May her soul find peace."