Wallace stands from his kneeling position gripping his newly aqquired wound and giving a smal smile. "Do? Why I paid for knowledge in the oldest of currency.." The human pulls a few linen wraps from the healers box on Tim. Moving his clothing to access the bleeding wound.
"I feel the cost worth it. and to use an old bar saying, you ought to see the other guy. But my babble serves no point except my deciding what I share."
The human seems to decide something and nods
"knowledge is a burden as many times as it acts a torch. This unfortunate soul was a twenty year seasoned huntsman of these lands. Sent as part of this group to hunt down a creature that had been terrorizing them for some time. A bear double the size of any normal, cloaked in the broken spears and axes of those who failed to take its life. Strong enough to ignore any trap a skilled hunter could lay. If I am to believe my vision this man thought the beast to be divine punishment from Old dead eye himself for a mystic of his home village treading land sacred to the god of hunt and hearth. That same mystic was found torn asunder on the road a few days later when they banished them."
With that the human gestures to the mountain passes and the bloody icicles.
"If my vision is correct that vengeance might be headed for the village they came from. But with this grizzly place at least three days old I fear that any help we might deliver would come to late. Never mind delaying our advance through this mountain by a day at least." The human states casually as he finishes his wrap and returns his winter garb to its proper position.
"So, what do you feel is the best course of action? Do bear in mind that my vision is shakey at best in the way of true facts. so much of what I said could easily be wrong."
Tidis grimaced. "Angering Old Deadeye... That sounds like a feat in of itself, normally hes a teacher I thought?" He ponders for a moment before shaking his head and cracking his knuckles before patting Firebolt. "I'll follow whatever you wish to decide."
In the silence, disrupted by only the mountain breeze, its easy to tell that your mounts dislike remaining in this area. They shift about as if spooked by something, even Rhavenna fills an unnerving chill running through her equine frame. It isn't readily apparent as to what is causing it though.
"There's definitely an apex predator about. I can feel it in every fiber of my being. As much as part of me is screaming to get the hell out of here, if left unchecked that thing could tear it's way through half the column before anything stopped it." Rhavenna says a shudder passing through her frame.
Wallace looks to the mangled corpse and back to the centaur. "It is very true that were such a creature to hit our new recruits that many of them would break before we could feather that thing. Though arguably it could be eating innocent villagers right now we could pass right by and.. Hrmm. Hawk's just going to say we need to deal with it anyway."
Wallace says with a flat note of annoyance.
"I've always wanted a bear skin cloak though, so there is a bright side I suppose. I'm going to attempt to figure out what it is, Rhavenna, Tadis. Do either of you think you can pick up a trail if we found a site that survived the storm? Livain, Maiathreen do you think you can spot the town?"
With that the human draws out a scroll made from a pressed rabbits hide, spikey runes in a seemingly random pattern covering the skin.
The skin flares, blackens and curls with a pitiful shrill noise. Wallace looks at the former scroll after a moment of contemplation and rubs his temples frowning. "Well that didn't work."
The human then puling out a second similarly marked scroll. glaring at the hide before concentrating again.
"Sure why not." Maiathreen says as he flies up out of the trees and looks around for the town.
Mai doesn't see anything over the frozen trees that would indicate a village of any sort...
The creature is a throwback to another age, divine punishment or some other form of rage fueled destruction. Scholars refer to creatures such as this as Dire creatures, This one in particular appears to be a Dire Polar Bear of legendary proportion. Based off your memories the creature was larger then a bear by a great margin. It was as fast as their horses and able to grab opponents smaller then it and annihilate them up close.
Its reach is as long as a longspear and its claws and teeth are like greatswords in sharpness and length. A straight up fight with it will be rough and Rhavenna will be by far the most mobile and most vulnerable of the group as her speed is easily matched by this beast.
The only advantage you might have is that it is injured, so if it hasn't had time to rest and heal it may be easier to take down.
The second scroll makes no noises and burns completely, the priest looking at those in the area. "Well the good news is that it actually is a bear. The bad news is that it is a bestial throwback. Larger than any bear I've heard of outside legend. Fast as a horse and unimpeded by the snows, claws like greatswords and just like a normal bear once it has hold of you you are good as dead. If this battlefield is any indication it might still be injured, which is the only bright spot I see i this. I expect were we to face this creature in close range at least one of us would die."
The sound of the approaching caravan is more apparent, the central column is moving at a steady pace and the sound of the secondary forward scouts are fast approaching. No sooner then Wallace had finished his speech Yolanda appeared at the head of three other mounted warriors. Seeing you all paused in the roadway made her rein in near you. She was about to speak when she saw the carnage. "Desna be merciful! What happened here? "
The warriors who with her looked around suspiciously as the sound of the still distant column droned from some distance away. ..
"A massacre..." Maiathreen states netrually.
"An unnaturally large bear slaughtered these men in the storm that hit us a few days ago, but Maiathreen sums up well. There was no contest. I have reason to believe that what came here is seeking to kill more, there is a village somewhere in these mountains and this creature apparently hungry and bored. There is a high chance that the beast that did this will be done with its meal sooner rather than later, this scene is at least three days past. It's killing for sport as well so I doubt it is going to take long to find more prey." The priest informs as he points to the collection of gorey spots in the snow.
"I suppose we can't have that thing just butcher some poor unsuspecting village in good conscience can we?" Rhavenna mutters, the apprehension in her voice quite evident.
Yolanda nods cooly and shrugs. "Probably not, but I doubt it'll reach the main column with all the forward scouts. Better keep moving forward unless you want to take it up with Hawk. Otherwise lets get moving the column is catching up." Yolanda taps her horses lightly and her and her fellows ride off ahead of your group...
Tidus nods then. "I will take this to Hawk then." He rides off then and returns several minutes later, the droning march and sound of wagons were now more distinct. The main column was still some minutes behind you.
Tidus looks grimly as a pair of riders tear past your group, their tall warhorses were as distinct as their Gourmite armor was. The teiflings salute riskly as they pass you by. Tidus wheels in next to Rhavenna and looks to the group. "They'll replace us until we ascertain the location of the creature or choose to return to the column. However Hawk isn't stopping the column early, he will leave us behind if we don't move quickly and is deploying more scouts in response."
Wallace nods to Tadis and then looks out to the forest. "Well onward then I guess. Tadis, do you think you can find a trail here? The village isn't visible from the air so we are going to need to follow the creature if we want any chance of catching up to it. Even a beast big as this one is but a needle to this forests haystack."
Tadis nods to Wallace taking up a lead position and dismounting so he could track on foot with his borrowed steed trailing just behind him.
Tadis makes decent time and the distant drum of the marching column could easily be heard some distance behind you as your group made its way through the thickening trees and brush that clung to the side of the mountainous landscape. It was still near an hour before you all came upon the edges of what could pass for a hamlet bordering on a village in size. The canopy of trees was thick here and not a single light could be seen from anywhere in the hamlet, doors stood closed and the central fire pit was nothing but cold ashes appearing to have burnt out some time ago.
Not a creature was stirring, only the wind that stirred the branches of the trees was the only noiseyou could hear and after about a minute of standing there you noticed thick snowflakes starting to fall betwixt the tree branches above.
A snowstorm was rolling in hard and fast, bringing with it what cold only be a powerful flurry of flakes and reducing visibility to almost nothing for fliers. The full storm would be on top of the village in the next ten or so minutes...
Several buildings are visible to those on the ground, not so much for those above the tree line. However those on foot see the village was built from shallowly dug out plots and reinforced by heavy timbers to create robust and partially submerged homes for keeping the warmth in despite the mountain chill. Not all of the buildings are only partially submerged, one appears to be built straight into the bedrock of the mountainside, appearing to go some distance in before the distance and the darkness make it all but impossible to tell how far in it goes. Natural caves abound around the silent village and aside from the six buildings and fire pit there wasn't much else to see.
From where you all were situated tracks were in abundance, though all were quite old, freshly blown snow obscured quite a few of them. Among them though human, dog and other humanoids were easily discernable...
You notice that here a part of the mountainside juts out of the forests and it appears to be peppered with multiple cave opening's like that of a sparrow nest in a rock wall.
Out of the buildings that are visible a single one, furthest from where you all had first ran into the village, appears to be made of stone instead of stout timbers. Built in a sturdy manner and appearing to be akin to a longhouse or some other more centralized structure for the main gathering place of the village...
Wallace gives the village a look over, a frown on the priests lips as he looks at the deserted village. "Be cautious, it wouldn't do for one of us to get murdered by a frightened lumberjack by opening the wrong door." The human chuckling once "Though I suppose it might be at least a little bit funny. Knock on wood."
"The stone building further off looks promising. Though I wonder how long the snow will hold off so we can actually have a chance of looking." With that wallace looks over to Tadis, the priest having lashed the mans horse to one of Tim's pack straps so he could concentrate on searching."I see plenty of footsteps around here, do you spot any fresh markings." The human asks, glancing between Rhavenna and Tadis.
Mai
You spot a dim light. No more then a flicker in the midst of the dark caves that sat above the treeline. However that is all you can make out at this distance...
You also see a break in the tree line, like some sort if clearing except for the fact their are a multitude of trees that appear to have fallen over. Laying against other trees to firm this crude clearing.
Wallace
Only the longhouse appears out of sorts its weathered stone sides are smooth and dont show any indication of being worked upon compared to the other buildings which were made from felled logs.
Tadis shakes his head. "Nothing fresh, at least a day old from what I can tell. if they are hiding then they are the best I have ever seen..." The scout flexes his hands and narrows his eyes at the quiet village suspiciously.
Maiathreen and Livain both land displacing snow as their wings snap open arresting their descent. "A flicker of light from the caves up ahead also a strange clearing in the tree line." He says as he lands his voice muffled by the scarf he has wrapped around his face.
Tidus nods to Mai and Livain as they land and rises to his feet. "Most likely they retreated into the caves, sadly we lost the bears tracks awhile ago and this storm is going to be an issue especially for the main group. More then likely Hawk will be forced to make camp before the fury of the storm rolls over the main column." He rubs his grizzled chin as he turns to look between Wallace and Rhavenna. "If you wish, I can scout ahead of us in case there are some in hiding. Perhaps I can find a place suitable for us to bunk for the night as well."
It wasn't long after Mai and Livian joined the group that the falling snow began to increase in size and density, in another couple of minutes even this dense tree canopy would be completely covered with the coming snowstorm. The falling snow was already beginning to block out what little light fell on this village already and casting it into a dim shadow.
Wallace nods as the information rolls in.
"Maiathreen, Livain. Could you fly over and take a look at the damaged treeline and the light in the cave? It would be good to know if that is the path we ought to be taking. Tadis, Rhavenna we should go over to the stone longhouse, it looks like it will be the best bet for villagers still being there. And possible answers" The priest somewhat commands, somewhat asks as he looks about the village.
"We should keep our eyes peeled for others though, also traps."
Wallace says as he spurs Tim to walk forward slowly
EDIT:
"I believe the longhouse ought to be suitable, though it is going to be a cold night. If you see any firewood outside the homes it would be wise to grab it. It is an obvious enough landmark that even if we end up separated by the storm we should be able to regroup."
"Scouting ahead couldn't hurt, and if we come up with more than one option to spend the night in we'll have a fall back in case of an emergency. Just advancing on the longhouse may just result in us being attacked should they panic." Rhavenna responds, her bow still held in hand.
Tidus nods and remains on foot, snapping off a long treebranch with a mass of pines at its end so that he can sweep the ground behind the group and obscure their tracks further. He uses the time at obliterating traps to allow him time to observe the area around the group.
With their tracks removed Tidus jogs ahead, barely armed as he seemed to prefer and starts scouting out the buildings between the group and the longhouse. Due to the small size of the buildings he is able to quickly move in and out of each in a few short seconds. Each time he ducks into one its a tense moment before the relief of him reappearing. Wallace and Rhavenna peer into the open windows of a few homes and find them deserted, plates of food left abandoned and frozen in place and nothing but burned out ashes in the small clay fireplaces within each dwelling.
As they group approached the longhouse they started to notice other dark dwellings intermixed with the trees and the rocky terrain. THis village was built to be hidden and yet there was still not a soul in sight as the snow began to fall. The thick flakes made visibility on the ground difficult and it was getting worse by the minute. Despite this the group noticed dim light from the front windows of the stone longhouse. Its heavy wooden door's stood closed against the winter cold and the metal banding that reinforced it appeared fairly stout indeed.
Tidus gives the snow covered ground a once over before nodding it was safe to proceed. He jogs back to the fallen branch and starts to clear the groups tracks throughout the village. with the falling snow it would only make his branch sweeps appear like wind swirls...
[b]"They left this place in a hurry. Organized, but it wasn't a planned thing. They were running from something." Rhavenna says, her tail flicking back and forth, a rare sign of nervousness.
" Possibly a nigh unstoppable manifestation of rage in the form of a bear? Seems strange I'd figure that even without much training I'd be able to spot some of that creatures tracks if it came this way. Never mind that none of the buildings seem to have been touched by that things claws." The human asks with a small degree of black humor leaking into his voice.
"Snow is starting to come in thicker as well. At least we won't have to worry about Hawk leaving without us, though I suppose I could call our dragon ally if it gets too terribly far. We'd need a good reason for that though, doubtless a dragon does not appreciate being called like some hound." Wallace says as he glances to one of his parka's pockets behind the darkly tinted goggles he wore so often these days.
Some can be leashed though. But what to do with you now, telling the others of your masters attentions will just drive them to distraction. It would be a shame to throw you away as you are, how to tap those desires you represent now.
"I'm thinking we will need to discuss a plan for once we find this creature. We will die if we face it in a contest of strength."
The snow was falling thicker now, sticking to Rhavenna's fur and turning her a frosty white. It was clinging to Mai and Livain as well making their scales appear a mixture of their natural colors and pure white. As you stood their discussing the doors to the Longhouse flew open, swinging outward and letting more light to spill out. A warrior clad in the heaviest armor you'd ever seen stands in the doorway like Gorum itself, weilding a battered greatblade in their hands. They stare out at you through their visor before speaking in a masculine but gravelly voice. "By the ancestors. Who the bloody hells are you and you! He points at Rhavenna while setting the blade back in its sheath. "Horse. Watch ya hooves or lose ya leg!" As he speaks he tosses a heavy looking pouch from his belt, it lands a few inches from Rhavenna's front leg followed in the same instance by the snapping of a metal on metal and the falsh of sparks as something hidden revealed its deadly self...
It was a bear trap, a large one and as it appeared the armored male raised their visor. The wrinkled face of an aged man glared at all of you with his remaining eye. A bloody injury revealed the empty socket where the other had been and the fresh claw marks of what stole it away from him. He spits in Tidus's direction before eyeing Rhavenna suspiciously. "Theres a beast on the prowl in these lands. Best you move on or are you here to kill it too?"
Taking a step back at the pouch lands, an arrow nocked and ready to be released, aimed at the armored figure before the trap had even revealed itself.
"Throw something at me again and you lose the other eye before it lands." Rhavenna hisses in anger. "We came here to save your worthless assses from this monster."
Seeing the confrontation brewing the human gives the elder man an empty grin. "Well if by beast you mean oversized arctic bear associated with old dead eyes wrath then yes we are here to deal with it. Your hunters failed and we came to deal with this creature before it smashes into our company marching line. So regardless of our appearances know we share a common goal. Wallace of the Blades of Death mercenary company. A pleasure" The priest responds as he gives the man another grin and a flourishing bow.
"Tell me is the entire village holed up in there or are they hiding in the caves above?" The human asks obviously providing a direction for the conversation other than threats between an old man and an angry centaur.
Maiathreen watches the old man warily his hands ready to draw steel or fire as needed.
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Livain winces when the man calls Rhavenna a horse. She remembers a man needing new teeth once after an incident like that.
He chuckles, followed by a wheezing cough as he looks at Rhavenna's equine flank. "Worthless asses? Funny, I abandoned that fools quest long ago horse. So fire ya arrow or give me a name. Ya choice. But I have traps to fix and I ain't waitin'." The aged man seemed unphased by Rhavenna's nocked arrow and merely watched her as he stepped down from the open doorway and moved towards the sprung trap.
As he did so he responded to Wallace in his deep and gravelly tone. "Falldirk Grenalf, Elder of Stonhedge. Tis a pleasure to meet the famed blades." He says this as he reclaims his pouch and snaps open the wicked looking trap, forcing it down into place once more. His armor jangling as he did so. His tone was as cold as the empty socket where his left eye should have been. He stood up fully again and brushed the thickly falling snow off his armor as he answered Wallaces questions. "Aye. Twas a bear. Bigger than any I ever saw, quiet too. Left few tracks but the ones it wanted followed. So those fools left without permission, died and their fight is over along with the damned Mystic. Fairy tales, the beast bleeds. If you are here ta fight then come inside." He turns his back on all of you then, obviously not content to stay outside longer then he needed to.
Tidus was taken aback by the scene and proceeded to brush off sections of the area around Rhavenna and winced when he found six more of the traps, spread irregularly across the entrance of the Longhouse. Some had been purposefully buried and covered by the fresh fallen snow, leaving Tidus shaking his head in wonder. "How did I miss this?" He gives Rhavenna an apologetic look along with the others. "We can pick our way through them but we best make our choice quick..." The blizzard was bringing with it an unearthly chill that hung lazily in the air across Stonehedge. An icefog was forming, as thick as the snowflakes coming down.
Her eyes widening as Tidus discovers multiple hidden traps that could have severely hobbled her, Rhavenna's assessment o the old man rises substantially, though his attitude does little to calm her ire.
As Tidus gives her an apologetic glance, berating himself, she shakes her head slightly. "Not your fault." she says quietly.
She'd heard tales from some of the old war dogs of village hunters with skills that exceeded all but the most seasoned military scouts and farmers who could out-shoot a king's best archers. Clearly this was one of those cases.
"We go in." she says with a slight hint of exasperation, beginning to step very carefully through the path Tidus was navigating to the longhouse. "But if he calls me horse again I'll kick his @#$%ing teeth in." she mutters under her breath.
Wallace nods to Rhavenna then turns to Tadis I call it more telling of his skill with traps than your lack in sight. Not to worry."
With that the human looks back to the retreating armor pile.
"Should I take that you are alone here old one? I see no one else, the closest I'd guess being the rest of the village retreated into the caves. You can see the fire light from above the tree line. As to us would I be correct in guessing some of those freed from the hobgoblin's cells lived here? I cant imagine that you would know of a foreign company otherwise. "
Stepping past the traps was a bit dicey, they were fairly large and appeared to have a hair trigger when it came to pressure. Surprisingly though...
None of you set them off as you make your way through the open doors of the stone-crafted longhouse in Stonehedge. As each of you escape the winter chill the rush of warmth from a hearty fire greets you and the snowflakes start to melt away. Tidus closes the doors behind you and avoids the old man's gravelly bark by placing the bar across the doors. Securing them from within. The aged warrior sits wearily upon a large round stool, more like a tree stump, before the burning fire before answering Wallace's other questions. "The Hobs passed us sometime ago..." He smirks viciously for briefest flash before continuing. "Aye, alone. As for the villagers... Hard ta say. If they were wise they are in the caves, for they are small and the bear is too large. If they are foolish they would have run farther and by now there is nothing to mourn but their children. though the fires make it sound like some listened." His words are harsh and tinged with bitterness as he throws another log upon the fire, looking away form all of you momentarily as he does so. Sparks dance in the chimney with the logs addition and Falldirk coaxes the burning logs to surround the new addition.
"So the Luckless Blades come to the cursed town of Stonehedge to kill a beast." He chuckles as he continues to prod the fire. "This storm will keep ya company bunkered down, better hope dem harpy b*#@@es don't come prowling but I doubt they will. The lord of the mountain is about and they have much to fear. However the oddness of ya group strikes me amused. A Centaur, a pair of... fliers and a pair of men banded together, never thought I'd see the day."
The small amount of smoke coming off the log makes your sense reel momentarily. Your limbs itch and your scales crawl, you want to stamp your hooves in aggravation but for the most part you control yourself. However the source of your annoyance is clear.
Several more tree stumped like stools are set around the chamber a massive table has been shoved to one side and a large wooden throne like chair sits near the wall furthest back. Though it looks to have been unused for sometime. If the cobwebs and dust were any indicator anyways. The few shutters that allow a slight draft into the place are all closed tight to prevent the heat from escaping and only one of the three great chimneys is burning. Allowing the shadows from everythign and everyone to dance and cavort across the walls.
Wallace gives the elder a grin of his own. "Fairy tales. Between fighting a dragon, entreating ghosts, uncovering relics, surviving a harpy storm and following the trail of this destructive hunter now I'd say that I'm going to be disappointed if my next job turns out to be something simple like court politics." The human walking over to one of the stumps, blowing off the dust and picking the sizable thing up."One can only hope on the state of the villagers, little point until the threat is dealt with though. I am interested to hear more about the harpies of the region though. Restov lore has the last clutch of those breed getting slaughtered by a group of warriors. The brood mothers skull still hangs over their graveyard. Anything on the mountain lord would be nice to know. We march on the Maw and I have not yet heard of this Lord.
The priest obviously straining a bit but managing well enough, though perhaps talking while doing so was unwise. He tips forward and stumbles toward Falldirk.
The human landing with his face on the floor and a hand on the elder's armored leg his body hiding the @#$#-eating grin on his face.
Maiathreen's skin crawls as he inhales the smoke from the fire. It puts his already unstable temper of full boil.
Wallaces antics pay off and as he stumbles Falldirk starts to rise to his feet, his previous slowness apparently a ruse. Though Wallace approaching his blindside pays off and for a briegfest moment his hand contacts Falldirk's armor...
unlike before you are cast into the darkest reaches of the library, one where no light reaches. You carry with you a single lantern to light your way and with each step can hear the muffled voices and whispers of something or others you cannot see. Your skin crawls with the sensation of the lightest of brushing fingers, yet nothing is there, and yet the feeling isn't just on your exposed skin but underneath your clothes as well.
Several books lie before, an entire lifetime of information. Where do you begin to look into the life of Falldirk Grenalf?
Wallace, failing to stop himself on the way down takes a blow to his forehead and appears to be unconscious...
Falldirk appeared to be about to say something but grunts in anger as he rolls Wallace over onto his backside. "It appears ya are an idiot... Asking questions and not watchin' ya feet." He rights the Stump seat and leaves Wallace on the floor, not even checking if he is breathing. He moves over to a iron pot and hangs it over the fire, it appears to be holding some sort of liquid substance. As he does that Tidus steps up and recovers Wallace, settling the unconscious priest off to the side near the fire as he introduces himself.
"Tidus is my nam..."
Falldirk doesn't let him finish, turning and facing the scout with a fierce look in his eyes before berating him for his failures. "Servant of Lord Whitefields son. I know you Gladiator, next time keep ya eyes more on ya feet eh? Or else the Maw will eat ya. Now step off." Tidus's eyes narrow momentarily before he steps back to tend to Wallace.
He looks at Mai and Livain, squinting at them. "You, fliers, best watch the skies. The Lord of the Mountain doesn't take kindly to other creatures in its skies. It leaves us be only because of the canopy over our village, but the bear has destroyed some of that now..."
Looking to Rhavenna he begins to speak and smiles at her annoyed look. "What tribe do you hail from eh?"
You know of it well, remember its all too sweet smell back when you and Livain were locked away in the cells by the one who made you what you were. Though it is not an uncommon wood in Iobaria, it is a type of tree that only grows in those regions. Muskwood, a bitterly sweet smelling log when burnt that causes animals to react in a variety of different ways. However it works well against nonhumans as a means of torturing them as it makes them extremely uncomfortable or hot depending on the species.
For you it made you unbearably hot, which made your scales itch oddly enough...
Wallace grips his mace tightly as the depths of the unending library plays with his mind. The human managing to resist the urge to shudder for the first twenty minutes.
Image supplied by myself or not it is good to have Livain's finely crafted weapon with me on this path.
He removes his anytool and the device turns into a stand for the lantern so he might read the books in question with both hands.
"Now let us see your life in grand view oh elder." the human says as he picks up the first book and begins, using the provided library shelf as something to put his back to. The human keeping a cautious ear to the surroundings as he reads.
"Dvezda." Rhavenna replies looking him in the eye and refusing to give in to the discomfort of the smoke.
"What did ya say?" Falldirk turns to look at her, appearing at once to be surprised and unable to hide it. He looks away from Rhavenna mumbling to himself. "A Lost Dvezda, here of all places... Gods damn me." He looked back towards Rhavenna then his lone eye narrowed. "So ya are heading to the Maw then. Why are ya going back to Iobaria?"
Tidus looks back and forth between Rhavenna and Falldirk looking a bit uncomfortable with the exchange.