The men steer clear of Ludwig out of respect.
Instead, Abbot explains the strange brass creature to Pengaal. "Aye, when we first arrived here there we a few of those things outside of the cathedral. We found out that getting to close would aggravate them and they're fierce fighters, so we've stayed away ever since. That one there we found all thrashed and torn up in the mud. My guess is something got knocked around inside its head because its pretty docile. With the rest of it torn up like that it can't do much anyways, so we keep it by the gate to let us in."
Felicia dutifully sets to bringing in new wood for the fires, just in time to find Ludwig ceremonially placing Yuria's body atop the pyre. She comes to stand beside and places a few logs carefully at the foot - a small symbol of her gratitude - before the pyre is lit.
"Thank you for doing that Ludwig - she was a wonderful companion. I hope she's beyond these dark times now."
She stares solemnly at the fire for a short time before bowing her head, giving a short salute from her days as a Knight of the Twilight Order and continues about her small duty of helping to build and tend fires.
While Yuria's body slowly burning at the pyre, Ludwig, as Felicia, helps in the camp for a while.
"Have anyone went inside the Citadel?" he asks Abbot after some time.
|
During Yuria's blazing funeral, Siegschwert removed his helmet and knelt before the pyre...
The Librarian knight weeps silently, not ashamed of such display of emotions, and grabs one of the burnt pieces of wood.
Sieg stains his right hand with the charcoal, painting three horizontal lines over his scarred face with his fingers.
The Librarian Knight starts humming with his deep vibrant voice as he rythmically hits his chestpiece. This goes for a while before he starts singing a slow tone.
"Lo, there... Do you see your father?
Lo, there... Do you see your mother?
Do you see your brothers?
Do you see your sisters?...
Lo, there... Do you see the line of your people?
Back to the Beginning?
Lo, there! They do call to you!
To take your seat!
To do your duty!
In the palace of the Light!
...
Where the brave... May live... Forever!"
Siegschwert stands up, never wiping his tears or the charcoal, and places his helmet back on. Walking with measured steps towards the rest he simply say "We'll enter the Citadel... For Yuria... And for the rest of Souls living... In this nightmare."
Abbot shakes his head "Our troupe stays away from that place as much as possible. At night, sometimes I've heard cries coming from the inside."
"Yes, we will enter the Citadel. After all, that is why came are."
Pengaal nodded. "Answers will not come without risk. Perhaps we can quiet whatever's inside while we are there."
With nothing more to do in the camp the survivors slowly make their ways towards the citadel. The barren ground gives way quickly to overgrown vegetation. The structure itself rises solemnly from the earth, seemingly defiant to its own decay.
Standing before it you see the main door, an obvious entrance. You also notice a huge hole has been blown into the foundation - easily large enough for you to pass through. There are also several large windows on the second floor; some broken, some intact. No doubt you could find attempt to scale the wall and find your sway inside through there.
Ludwig examines the main door and carefully and slowly opens it.
"I suppose it would be more polite to take the door..."
|
|
"I don't know if it would be polite... or it would be smart... I don't trust the hole to help our advance... And climbing may leave enemies surrounding us... from lower Floors..." says the Librarian Knight as he approaches the main door and draws his humongous blade.
"Yes... The main entrance... Will be."
You open the door carefully, stopping as soon as you can get a good look inside. The entrance hall is huge, large enough to accomodate a column of parading knights as they left the citadel. Now, though, it has been left to ruin with the rest of the world. Tattered remnants of tapestry hang from walkways on either side of the hall. On the fire end, a set of stair heading upwards framed by a broken stainglass window. The stairway on the left has been badly damaged. Flanking the base of the stairs are two wooden doors. A faded purple rug runs the length of the hall, covered the shattered and dirty stone floor.
You spot two of the armored guardians, both are standing motionless in random spots in the hall. Columns on the left right of the hall could provide concealment and cover as you move forward.
Pengaal darts immediately towards the columns, trying to stay out of what might be the construct's 'sight' as he moves forwards.
Ludwig also tries to hide behind a column, and at first everything goes well, but then he stumbles on something and steps outside the column, right in front of the guardians' field of view.
The first two survivors do their best to slip inside unnoticed but find the worn floor to be far more problematic then they had anticipated, with crumbling stone cracking beneath their feet. Entering the hall you see the destroyed remains of half a dozen other guardians scattered around.
The two active guardians stand up straight. One starts to move towards where Ludwig is hiding while the other moves in Pengaals direction. They move slowly with their heads rotating on their shoulders, searching the area.
Ludwig stand motionless, but ready to defend himself if the guardian attacks.
Similarly, Pengaal shrinks down and freezes to try and make himself as small a target as possible.
Felicia tries to carefully move into a flanking position as the guardians begin to move and close in.
With the survivors staying put the guardians quickly close in on Pengaal and Ludwig. The first near Ludwig stops when it finds him and starts emitting a high-pitched screeching sound.
Ludwig unleashes a series of thrusts and slashes on the guardian, looking for openings in its armor.
Ludwig lunges out with his scythe but only manages to find an opening in the things metallic body with his first two strikes.
The other guardian that was searching near Pengaal spins around and starts to stomp to the aid of its companion. Ludwig is attacked by the other guardian. Its arm spins and transforms into a sharp blade that it swings at the knight. Both blows are inhumanly strong and cleave right through armor, leaving deep wounds behind.
Guardian 1 43/64
Guardian 2 64/64
|
|
Siegschwert launches himself towards the guardian shadowing Ludwig, his sword flashing as it strikes.
The Librarian Knight continues his mighty assault, rising his blade to attack with a powerful horizontal strike that could push aside even giants.
"Twilight Order! To me! To battle!" he yells as he strikes.
Ludwig thanks Siegschwert with a quick nod and continues his fight with the guardian. He also activates his barrier to defend himself against the guardian's blade.
Leaving the whip for the moment, Pengaal lunges for the back of the closest construct and leaps to slam both feet into its joint.
Felicia moves in quickly once the fighting breaks out and slams her shield into the closest construct to her.
Siegschwert moves into the hall with a roar and swiftly hacks apart the construct that attacked Ludwig.
The remaining guardian is attacked by Ludwig, Pengaal, and Felicia in near unison. Quickly the thing is battered into a pile of scrap by the veteran survivors.
Just as soon as the fight begins, its over. The hall falls silent once more.
"And now they know we are here. Let's hurry." So saying Pengaal steps quickly towards the closest door.
Ludwig utters a short prayer and the miracle slowly begins to restore his vitality.
He then follows Pengaal, taking a peak inside the room.
Ludwigs wounds stitch themselves together in short order.
The closet doors are the two at the back of the hall beneath the stairs.
Listening first for any noise, Pengaal opens the door on the left if he doesn't hear anything.
Opening the door Pengaal finds that there is a room wrapping around the back of the stair case and connecting to the other door. There are several weapon and armor racks in the room and a few chests on one side. There is a third door in the back of this room. It is unassuming and simple compared to the faded opulence you've seen in the rest of the citadel.
Before examining the rest of the room Pengaal will move to the plain door and crack it open to peer through; if he doesn't see anything he'll check the weapon racks and chests before moving forwards.
Without going beyond the door it looks like a kitchen.
It seems there are no enemies to alert with clanking armor, so Ludwig enters the room and joins the search.
Among the racks is plenty of basic gear. A good amount is decayed but there is still some usable. You can recover any steel martial or exotic weapon from the store along with most kinds of armors.
Searching one of the chests Pengaal stumbles upon a bundle of vials.
Among the racks something catches Siegschwerts eye. A sturdy looking spear with a crimson band and dark metal tip. Something about the weapon draws his attention and as he examines it he can tell right away that it is of far higher quality than the other equipment. Its forging is subtle yet elegant.
"Hmm." Pengaal stowes the vials in his pack to examine later (or, more likely, look for someone else to examine), before moving into the next room.
The next room is a large kitchen with stations for multiple cooks to work at simultaneously. There's another door in this room that has been torn partially off its hinges. You can see stairs leading downwards behind the door.
Hm. That's strange. What's below a kitchen? "Sir Siegschwert, you are more familiar with the Twilight Order than I. Up or down?"
Felicia carefully moves the torn door and looks down the stairway, to check for enemies as well as to see any signs of what might lay below.
"The last time we went down, we didn't return." Points out Ludwig. "Maybe we should check the upstairs?"
Felicia sees the stairs go down about 10 feet into a cellar or basement of some kind.
The only route you've seen to get upstairs is the staircase in the center hall.
Nodding, Pengaal helps shift a chest before backtracking and moving carefully up the stairs.
Heading upstairs you find that the interior of the cathedral has badly deteriorated. Parts of the floor and ceiling have collapsed, blocking your way. There's one closed door you can reach.
Then, taking his time to watch for unstable footing, Pengaal will move through the door.
You enter a grand hall, the heart of the Twilight Order Cathedral. The roof has been mostly torn away along with a good chunk of the rear wall. The cool night breeze flows into the hall and washes over you. A massive tree grows outside the rear of the cathedral, its roots flooding through the crumbled wall and spilling across the stone floor.
The hall itself is as dilapidated as the rest of the cathedral. The floor sags towards the center where a massive, massive hole sits in the center. Beyond that is a throne on which a man clad in dark metal armor sits. He's sagging into the throne and has his arms limply held at the sides - he could very well be dead. His face is old and hollow and mouth hangs open.