"True but if we find him in Tranau we're already in trouble. I think finding Skreed will require a little luck on following up one of the other leads to draw us closer. It's not a great chance but now Sergeant Omast Frum has had a chance to- rest he might recall something more. It shouldn't take long to talk to him again I'd hope."
"That is a fair point. Let us find this Sergeant Frum and make our enquiries."
Zirelle goes and updates Halgra first thing in the morning, including the assassin attack, and then meets up with Agrit to magically remove the white markings all over town. She is planning on working on that all day unless they clean all of them off sooner, and then attending the funeral this evening.
Nakoma considers Acacius and Zan's words, then nods. "Alright. Let's check on Omast. I'd like to ask him if he could tell where the assassins were from, as well."
Nakoma grabs her things and heads off to Omast's room.
The assassins were all human. Three were female, one male.
Halgra goes to look at the assassins, and Zirelle can tell she is quite worried. "It seems the orc attack may be on hold till this Gorewillow finds what he is looking for. We just have to find it first, and use the time available to strengthen our defenses, without alarming the town." She hurries off to see about fill the granaries from local farmers before the gates have to be shut.
Omast Frum is in his room at the Longhouse. He answers the door, bleary-eyed and looking considerably worse for wear, but apparently sober. "Aye, Nakoma. I'll coom an' look at yer bodies if ye like. Killers in Trunau eh? Soonds lie bad bizness tae mae." He dresses himself as best he can, and follows the group to where the bodies are stored.
"Them killer are froom Freedom Toon an' nae doubt. Them markin's oon t'skin an' t' braids in t' hair give it 'way. Bad place that Toon. I'd nae suggest ye goo there withoot an armed band." Frum explains that Freedom Town is a village of escaped slaves, criminals, deserters, and other down on their luck rascals between Lastwall and Belkzen. Not a good place at all. "Get yerselfs kilt will yae! Now jus' what in blue blazes have yae got yerselfs mixed oop in, eh?"
Magic (like prestidigitation) seems to remove the white crosses but it is slow going. The crosses have been painted on the Barterstones, the Commons, the rock wall behind Hopespring, the rock face behind Sanctuary, and on the side of South Tower. Where do you begin?
We start (with the cleaning) at Hopespring, then do Sanctuary, then South Tower, then Commons, then Barterstones.
"We should cleanse the town of these markings, and in whatever order suits the group best. I can offer my eyes and arms in support."
Agrit and Zirelle make slow progress removing the white-paint, a kind of alchemical dye really, from the stones above Hopespring. Down below, soldiers are filling barrels of water for storage at the Longhouse, and grumbling about it -- unaware of the possible pending attack.
Zan, Nakoma, and Acacius look at the places where white is painted, but cannot find anything amiss in those areas except the graffiti.
Zan spends as much time as he needs to checking the perimeter of the settlement in case the attackers have prepared hidden entrances to bypass the defenses given how easily they have gotten into town.
Having walked around Tranau at this stage, Acacius draws upon his training to think about how best to shore up the town's defenses at this last stage.
Nakoma scowls. "Freedom Town. Hmmm..." After a moment she gives Omast a nod and claps him on the back. "Thanks."
After some contemplation, Nakoma wanders over to the Ramblehouse to find Cham.
"I know you were scared to help us, Cham. But you did, and it helped. Next time be up front with me. Yeah?" She digs out a coin purse with thirty gold coins in it. "This is to help with repairs."
Then she turns and leaves the Ramblehouse.
Nakoma spends the rest of the day wandering in and around town, trying to find any hidden entrances that may have gotten the dogs or the assassins into Trunau.
Cham nods embarrassed but takes the coins with a smile of gratitude.
The soldiers get ready as best they can, and Zirelle spends the day casting cantrip upon cantrip to remove the white paint from around Trunau.
Soon enough it is nearly sundown, the appointed hour for the funeral of Rodrik Grath. At the Flame of the FAllen, a pyre has been prepared. Kurst is there with his father Jagrin. Omast stands weeping loudly. Brinya Kelver stands alone, silently crying, but trying to hold it in. The aged half-orc Katreza leans on Sara Morningstar's shoulder.
High Priestess Tyari Varvatos officates the ceremony. After consecrating the Flame of the Fallen with sacred herbs, Tyari performs a traditional requenching of the deceased's hopeknife. Taking the knife you recovred from the Plague House, she heats it in alchemically infused flames causing the blade to turn pure black. Tyari hands the dagger to Rodrik's grieving fiancee, Brinya, who earns a dark look from his father, but a silent nod from Kurst.
"Thanks to your friends, we now know that Rodrik didn't disgrace himself with meaningless suicide at least," says the father with an eye toward your group as the ceremony ends, and the body is laid upon the flames. As the sun burns low in the western sky, the smoke and flames of Rodrik's body curl up and join the air over his home of Trunau.
The ceremony is terrible poignant but honors the life of a brave man who died as part of a conspiracy aginst the town. As the group breaks up, Kurst approaches you. "You have given us much peace with your findings. I know that Trunau may be under threat, but the guard is ready and we plan to spend the rest of the day celebrating Rodrik's life. The attack won't happen until the saboteur's signal for it surely..."
No sooner are the words out of his mouth, when the peaceful evening is shattered by the brazen calls of signal horns. Shouts and screams from teh town's lower quarter join the general clamor, followed by a crash as an airborne boulder smashes into one of the guard towers below. Trunau is under attack!
Zirelle wonders what she can do. Where will people be safest?
She starts moving around the crowd, touching people who are frozen on the arm and telling them to get indoors. (Hopefully the guard is already in motion.) If they live in the lower quarter, she suggests the longhouse... she doesn't want anyone gathering in the commons because that area had been marked in white previously, and she doesn't know how much the attackers know about the city.
If Halgra is there, she asks her what else she can do to help.
As signal horns ring out and the shouts and crashes begin, Acacius shouts out:
"We are under attack! Warriors of Tranau, to the lower quarter!"
And he begins to sprint in the direction of the lower quarter. His heavier armour means that he must begin moving straight away.
I was born for this! Time to do my duty.
Zan moves up beside Acacius, slowing his pace. In all that heavy armour he wouldn't want someone to mistake Acacius who was still relatively new to town as one of the attackers. "At least we had some time to prepare for this..."...just not as long as I would have liked.
Nakoma stands stoic during the funeral, but by the time Rodrik's blade burns black a few tears have slipped down her face. Rodrik had been her close friend for so long, and she had yet to take the time to grieve. When this was over she would head to the bar to drink with her fellow guards, and honour his memory, then she would find a quiet corner and sob until she had no more tears.
She listens to the stories of her friend, and gives Brinya an encouraging nod. As soon as the funeral is over she approaches Kurst, and gives him a big hug, then she presses her forehead against his for a long moment before parting.
"If you need me, I'll be here."
She approaches Jagrin and does the same. "I'm sorry. I did what I could."
After parting she turns to the guards, ready to accept their invitation, when the horns sound.
No! Not now!
Acacius is silent throughout the funeral. While he is of the blood of North Lastwall, he himself is a stranger to the land and to Tranau. He does his best to present himself as a straight-backed and respectful sentinel, watching the pyre of a brave man who was cut down before his time. His armour and blades all gleam, as he spent additional time polishing them early in the morning before breakfast.
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With the sound of the warhorns, the solemn atmosphere at the Flame of the Fallen transforms into a chaotic race to prepare Trunau for the attack and to protect its citizens. Patrol Captain Jagrin Grath and Omast Frum immediately rally the nearby guards and take command of the town militia to repel the invaders. Residents capable of fighting stop what they are doing and head to the walls, while the town leaders hurry noncombatant townsfolk into the Longhouse for safety. The Battle of Bloodmarch Hill has begun!
Kurth Grath immediately approaches your small group. "I will need you help defending the town. You have proven your worth with complicated problems. If we are to have a chance in this fight, we must have light. The orcs have the advantage in the dark." He motions a hand at the sun which is nearly set. There are three beacons kept in readiness throughout Trunau: The Commons Beacon, the inner gate beacon, and the Hopespring beacon. The Flame of the Fallen is already lit, but we must have the light of the others as well."
"Your secondary objective is to secure as many areas inside the town as possible while traveling to the beacons. Killing orcs and their allies is helpful, but rescuing townsfolk and getting them to rally back at the Longhouse is ultimately more so. Send any townsfolk you run into up here, and we will put them to work."
"Gods go with you! Be safe but get the job done!" he rushes off to the Longhouse to prepare townsfolk who are not active militia.
With determination on his face, Acacius replies:
"We shall do it. Companions, there is no time to waste! Let us push to the commons immediately!"
Unless someone objects, Acacius will shortly start sprinting for the commons.
Zan nods in understanding of Captain Grath's words "Alright let's run to the Commons Beacon while we are still fresh but sticking together. Acacius armour will slow him but no isn't the time to go pulling it on an off. Once we have that beacon lit we should slow our pace as orcs might have breached the perimeter as well as to preserve our stamina for the long term."
Nakoma nods. "Be safe." she says quickly before drawing her starknife and rushing off to the Commons Beacon with the others.
As they travel she keeps an eye out for villagers who might need help or direction.
While Acacius holds his glaive-guisarme in both hands, he still also carries his heavy shield and two pilums on his back, with short sword and sling at his sides. His right hand has a spiked gauntlet.
Not hearing anything from Halgra, Zirelle goes along with the rest of the group to help the town by lighting the beacons.
She keeps directing townspeople on the way, making sure that people are getting to safety.
Halgra, who is quite busy with preparations, nods to Zirelle to continue to work with the others.
As they rush off to the Commons Beacon, the group can see the pyre built on the far side, but the scene in front of them, stops the group.
A cleric named Baseil Sabask from the Countinnghouse of Abadar, is leading a lynch mob of townspeople against none other than Brinya Kelver, Rodrik's half-orc fiance. "It's because of you and your people we are under attack!" hisses the cleric in as hostile a manner as you can imagine. "I am tired of your kind always attacking our town. We never get a moment's peace or respite because of your kind, and I think it's time you pay!" The crowd cries out in agreement, some folks brandishing makeshift weapons at the confused young girl.
It is clear that if you don't act, Brinya (and possibly others) will be hurt by the riotous mob.
"Sabask I'm surprised to see a priest of Abadar promoting mob justice. I don't have time for this stupidity so back down now before I show these people what a priest of Abadar looks like beaten unconscious." Zan snarls, being in no mood to molly coddle the preacher.
With polearm held high, Acacius turns towards the priest and locks eyes with his. Unless the priest is quite tall, Acacius will be looking down at him, using his height to his advantage.
"We are facing an attack on Trunau and its citizens. Anyone attacking citizens would surely be in league with the invaders. Anyone who wishes safety and is not fighting should withdraw to the Longhouse. *Now.*"
Zirelle walks right up and stands with Brinya.
Basiel, you're wasting time. There are real enemies outside the walls and Brinya had nothing to do with it, and you know it. Get your racist backside out to the walls if you want to fight an enemy.
(Attempt to assist)
The rest of you... maybe Basiel is too greedy and cruel to listen to me, but you are smart enough to stop following him. You aren't racists like he is, are you? You are loyal to the town and everyone in it.
She holds up her hopeknife.
This means something here. It means that we are willing to give our lives for this town. Don't destroy it from within by attacking innocent civilians. Take care of the people that live. Face the enemies without if that is your job, and if it isn't, go to the longhouse and help them get ready for the wounded. Help the town, don't tear it apart.
Nakoma growls in anger at the sight of the foolish priest and runs right over to Brinya, interposing herself between Brinya and the mob.
"ENOUGH!" She growls at the priest and mob, points at them and she says forcefully. "YOU all have a job to do." She looks around at the crowd, looking each civilian in the eyes with disappointment. "This is TRUNAU, and we protect our own. BRINYA is a citizen, just like all of YOU. SHE is going to help just like YOU are going to help. Now quit this nonsense and get to your posts. DO YOUR DUTY! Warriors to the walls. Healers, non-combatants and children to the Longhouse, there's plenty you can help with there."
"NOW GO. Before this town burns down around us from YOUR stupidity."
The priest of Abadar laughs at Zan's attempt to coerce him. "Threats! Listen, threats from this orc-lover. An attack against me is an attack against all true Truanans. What say you people?'
The crowd is still riled up and shout their agreement that any attack on Basiel is an attack on the town itself. "Now step aside, sir," the priest says his voice dripping with derision. "And let us deal with this green-skin the way we should."
He steps forward, but right into the intimidating size of Acacius, his face looking into the big man's chest. Nakoma and Zirelle go to Brinya's side, interposing themselves between the mob and the girl. They both berate the crowd, causing heads to drop a bit.
Acacius words are quiet, but carry significant enough menace, that the priest wavers, stepping back. Blinking he says, "To the Longhouse, you heard them. We will take care of our own trash later. For now, get yourselves to the wall or to safety." And he waves his hands at the group, dispersing them. As he stomps off to the Longhouse himself, he casts a baleful glance back at Acacius, and mutters under his breath. "This isn't over. Better watch your back, big man."
Turning his back to the priest, Acacius speaks just loudly enough for him to hear, and flatly says:
"The troll we put down last night made less noise. Think better of rash action in future father."
To the others:
"Let us leave."
And will resume jogging towards the Commons.
After Racist Idiot #1 leaves, Zirelle gives Brinya the key to her house in case she needs someplace to stay for a while, since she shouldn't go to the Longhouse with that crazy guy, and her house is in the lower quarter.
It'll be okay. He's just an idiot. Kick back at my place, and if anything at all goes wrong, run for Halgra's. It is really close.
After making sure Brinya is okay, Zirelle sprints to catch up with the party.
"If anything happens to her you'll be sure I'll be investigating and even a terrible priest of Abadar like you knows how badly that will go for you. Keep your mouth shut and read one of your holy books, maybe a bit about justice and judgement." Zan storms off. Idiots... I'd love to loosen his teeth.
Brinya, already grateful to the PC's for their efforts investigating Rodrik's death, is even more grateful after being saved from the mob. Brinya reaches into her belt and produces the hopeknife that was consecrated in the fire and now has a black blade. "Take this," she says insistently. "When the time is right, Rodrik's spirit will help protect those who laid his soul to rest."
The item begins to glow, emanating illumination equal to a Lightspell. The inscription "my love" stands out in stark silver against the blackened blade.
The 10' wide pyramid of wood and kindling stands next to the Commons, and should illuminate an area in the Upper Quarter enough for the defenders to see as the battle rages.
Zirelle casts Spark, makes sure the kindling catches, and then moves onward towards the next beacon.
"A good start, let's press on to the next."
Nakoma accepts the dagger from Brinya, bids her stay safe, then hurries off with the others to the next beacon.
As Nakoma tucks the hopeknife into her belt, Zirelle ignites the upper beacon with a fiery spell that gets the kindling and wood burning quickly. Soon, the light from the beacon creates at least dim light all over the upper section of town. As the heroes rush down to the Inner Quarter, the warning red glow of firest seem to already be burning down there.
They come up on a portcullis, which the guardsmen in the tower raise for you to enter. Conditions on the other side of the gate, however, are starkly different than those in upper Trunau. In the short time between the start of the raid, and your arrival here, the orcs have already wrecked much of the Inner Quarter, utterly destroying the woodpile that was your target as well as setting fire to multiple buildings, toppling fortifications, and slaying as many townsfolk as possible.
As you stare at the inferno and destruction before you, Kurst Grath and a squad of militia appear behind you. "Going to need our aid securing the inner quarter before you head off for the last beacon," Kurst says, his jaw set with anger. "The Inner Quarter may fall without your assistance. My men will make a sortie against that rock throwing creature below, but meantime as you head for Hopespring, do what you can here. We're all counting on you!" He and the soldiers trundle off double-time headed fro the outer gates, bypassing this scene of chaos which they have left to you.
A makeshift barricade has been hastily constructed before the inner quarter's southern (inner) gate. The barricade is already covered in the spilled blood of the raiders and innocents alike, and several victims of the bloody fight are strewn about the ground north of the barricade.
Acolytes from the Sanctuary and the Trunau Countinghouse have set up a small medical aid station behind the barricade and are busily tending to injured militia members and townfolk, and have no time to talk with you, other than saying you should bring injured folk you find back here for assistance.
The situation is horrifying to Acacius.
He turns to the others:
"How could such a large force approach Trunau with any element of surprise, darkness or no?"
He swiftly gathers himself together:
"I say we press forward, find survivors and get them back behind this barricade. We can take care of ourselves out there - they can't."
He then walks over to the barricade, ready to move when the rest are.
Zan put's his shield on his back. "Let me range a little ahead, not far say thirty feet. I can move more swiftly than Acacius. If I can spot the enemies we can catch them off guard as a group perhaps. They orcs have provided plenty of smoke to shield my advance."
Moving ahead of the group Zan checks on one of the buildings to the west.
Zirelle activates her Ioun torch, and then moves forward across the barricade until she comes to the Well.
Nakoma clenches her fists as she takes in the scene of carnage before her.
With gritted teeth she mutters something under her breath in a foreign language.
The starknife clenched in her hand begins to glow brightly .
Nakoma steps over the barricade and follows the others.
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