Cultists..!
Flynn scrambles around frantically for the blade he left hanging in its scabbard at the end of his bed. With trembling hands he eventually finds it and rips the blade free.
He shallows hard and pushes down the rising tide of fear.
If I'm to go please let it be an arrow or a blade I don't see coming. Don't let it be Walkers, please don't let them take me...
He can't help but imagine being dragged down by a zombie, it's cold, dead fingers pressing into his skin, its broken rotting teeth tearing chunks of his flesh away, all before he knew it was even there.
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Lives moves quietly through the evening, a large, calloused hand on Flynn's shoulder as a guide. His normally stony face shows a troubled expresssion, and on his occasional glimpses at Flynn, he grimaces with something like pain. Several times he opens his mouth to say something to the halfling, but always breaks off, shaking is head at failing to find comforting words.
As he helps Flynn bed down, he mutters "I am two feet to your left, if you need help." Then he wraps himself in his cloak, leaning against the wall, and waits for sleep.
******
The young Shoanti's head snaps up, painfully colliding with the wall behind it. In an instant, he is one knee, echoing Lenneth's calls of alarm. HE makes a grab for Flynn as the halfling tumbles over his outstretched lower leg, but misses, wincing as the halfling collides with the flagstone. He gains his feet as Flynn arms himself.
"The alarm is sounded outside, Flynn. Here - my hand on your shoulder. I"ll lead. I'll put your back to a wall when we get out there..."
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Despite her strange dreams Lilith wakes with clarity and purpose. She understands that the keep is under attack and also that its defenders are either not awake or simply gone. Her first thought is of Flyn. [i]I have to get to him and fast.[/b] Racing out of her room and into the common area she catches sight of Lives leading the halting away. Lives, wait! she cries as she moves to the pair. Flyn I, I think I can help with the blindness. There is a chance anyway. Let me try. With no more fanfare she begins chanting the words to the spell she had so recently mastered.
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Lives! I can't see anything! If it's bad out there just leave me, ok? You can't risk your own life for mine..! Flynn shouts, his hand grasping Lives' arm desperately tight.
A wry grin passes over his face;
But I'll still show those flesh-bags even a blind halfling is more than a match for them! Lead on, friend.
They begin to move out of the common room, Lives half leading, half dragging his smaller companion, when Lillith comes rushing up.
She takes hold of Flynn's shoulders and leans down as she shouts for them to wait. The blindness was sudden and absolute. The reversal was anything but. He started to see colour at the corner of the darkness and then more, and then shapes and movement like a veil being lifted away and then, as he squinted against the sudden bright light, he could see Lillith's pale, concerned face fill his vision.
He blurts out something in comprehensible in gratitude, the words not coming easily but the tears flowing freely.
I will owe you for this for the rest of my life. he says, simply and quietly to the wizard. By Sonna's Spirit you're a beauty, Lillith! he adds with an almost manic laugh as he plants a huge kiss on her forehead.
Now let's see what all this fuss is about! he calls over his shoulder as he takes off toward the courtyard, small arms and legs pumping madly.
he screams. and from above, a gleeful screech answers.
Skyfall swoops down from her perch to land besides Flynn as the party stumbles out of the front doors to the keep. The wagon is still in place, though there is no sign of the guard that should be posted there.
There is some light on the other side of the wall which at first you take to be the first rays of dawn, but the moon is still high in the sky, it wil still be night for many more hours. As you peer around the stone your stomachs drop, lit by the occasional torch-wielding figure, arrayed before you is a sea of undead, formed of several large groups that seem to encircle the hill the keep is on. Oddly they are simply shuffling from foot to foot and not moving forward as yet.
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As his diminuitive friend's eyes clear under Lillith's magic, Lives' face is split by a broad grin. Then he appears, for a moment, playfully angry.
"Not risk my life for yours..." he says in mock-contempt, lightly smacking Flynn upside the head. "That is what freinds DO, Short Flyer!"
Then he joins the party in running to the courtyard, nodding his thanks to Lillith long the way.
Regarding the sea of the dead before him, his face resets into its typical stony blankness, though his big, scarred hands twitch occasionally, anticipating violence to come.
Euron runs down to the court yard with the others while casting spells on himself.
Outside he quickly scans the area, only hearing Mallis inside trying to wake up the keep. But also seeing no one at the gate he quickly rushes over to it. His stomach sinks as he see's the horde. "Oh Pharasma... give us the power to send them to your Boneyard." He then turns back to the others. "This is bad. We can't hope to hold out against them, but the hollow below... there is power here we can use, now we need to speak to the council and tell them what we know or this entire place will get wiped out."
Flynn fairly leaps atop Skyfall, barely before she misses a wingbeat. In an instant he is careening through the air once again, high over the walls of Solace. As he swoops back down he shouts;
There's hundreds of them! If we don't think of something they will swarm over this place in no time. he grits his teeth at the thought but follows it up with; I think Euron's right. Whatever is going on below this place, it's the only chance we've got now!
"I feel it was only a matter of time Lenneth, but that cultist could have followed us all the way back and decided while we were injured to push the attack. We need to wait for everyone in the castle to wake up."
Spotting Flyn swoop down Euron pauses a moment surprised at Flyn agreeing with him. "Lets make sure the defences are set then we have to move on this hollow."
Don't let her go off on her own! Flynn shouts down to the gathered heroes.
As Lenneth moves inside, she passes by the common room Lives and Flynn left moments ago. Inside you can see Danel led on one of the cots, he appears completely exhausted and is barely breathing. The disease/poison has hit him hard. If he is anything to go by, the others you saw yesterday morning that were sick are likely in the same bad way, you'll not find much in the way of a force to defend the keep at this rate.
There is a sudden loud smacking noise and you whirl in place prepared for danger... but it is just Mallis, who jumped down the last few steps. He freezes as he sees you, then his face splits in a nervous grin
Thank the gods you're here at least, half the place is asleep, we've got to shut the doors, no way we can hold the walls! he implores you.
"Flyn! Have a quick scout make sure their only coming for us from one way! And make sure the door gets closed and the wagon gets moved to give us some cover i'll go with Lenneth." He shouts out as he runs after Lenneth.
"It's the poison, they knew when to hit us and it's coming hard. We'll get the door shut but that won't stop them for long! Where Radek and Nikolai, There's something here that saved you all before now's the time to tell us about it!" He flashes a face of anger, as everything begins to catch up on him.
Flynn lands and begins taking a look at the door, ready at a moment's notice to leap upon Sky's back once more.
I don't know what the hell I'm doing here! he curses
Lives looks around at the chaos, nods to himself, and moves to the open doors, staring out at the for-now unmoving Groaners. He stands a the very edge of the threshold, staring impassively about, looking for any sign of a leader in the horde.
In the meantime, he squares his stance, standing loose and ready, and sending a clear message; anything attempting to cross the threshold will need to go through him...
He turns his head a bit, not taking his eyes off of the horde, and says over his shoulder, 'Go. Seek what you can. What can be done here will be done."
Euron and Flynn go to close the doors, only to find someone has sabotaged the hinges.
It looks like the only way to close the doors is to manhandle them in to place, and even then there will be issues keeping them shut.
Lives' has good tactical awareness and can see the horde seems organised in to groups around the cultists in their midst, but his human eyesight hampers him and he cannot see everything out in the darkness, certainly there doesn;t appear to be any obvious central figure.
Lenneth is very sure Mallis is genuine, he seems scared, his usual humor fled. Lenneth gets the impression he's been pleasantly surprised to have lived this long, but now facing death he's mustering his will to do what he can for the others here too.
Flynn runs to one of the doors and puts his slight frame against it. Despite his size he is wiry and lean and cords of muscle run along his shoulders and slim chest.
Come on... you ... swine! he grunts as he shoves the door.
Lives, Azmerai - help me!
Euron watches Lenneth as she starts to take command, he nods as he follows her to the council room. "Lenneth, i'm sick of playing these games we get to the bottom of all this tonight or there won't be a tomorrow." He hesitates for a moment then.
"If something goes wrong i want you to run to the others, I can't watch you... or the others die. I'd rather give up my own life to save you then let that happen."
What follows in his mind is a string of the blackest, harshest curses in this or any tongue.
ummmm... Sorry if you heard any of that.... This door is heavy as Hell.
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You owe me nothing Flyn. You did me a service right after we met, risking your life to give mercy to a friend. Lilith says, letting her hand slide over a knife at her side. Let us not count debts to each other and only take pleasure in helping one another. Lilith casts Mage Armor on herself as she moves outside towards the gates.
Seeing Flyn struggle with the gate Lilith quickly understands what has happened and, using her bonded object casts grease on the hinges. before she puts her back into the door to help close it.
There is lumber, just there, that can be used to shore up the gate once we have it closed. She points to indicate the lumber.
Lives, seemingly reluctant to take his eyes off of the horde, turns to help with the doors.
He digs hsi shoulder in, but picked a patch of sandy, loose earth for footing, and his feet slide under him.
Flynn heaves against the door with a mighty shove, but despite it creaking loudly and even with Lives' assistance, it won't... quite... budge... until Lilith's magic causes the hinges to free up some, and with the slender mage adding her slight bodyweight to the task finally the doors shift and get to within a few feet of closing. The nearby lumber will take time to move inside and shore up against the door, but at least you know the whole thing can be secured with a few minutes notice.
As you pass by the common room, you realise that Azmerai's blanket is empty, yet you haven't seen him since you woke up. The barbarian appears to be missing...
Lenneth and Euron pound upstairs towards the council chamber, and swiftly hear the groans and moans that fill them with dread... only to realise that the sounds are being made by the people huddled in the women's dorm room. The women inside look very sick, and unable to defend themselves at all. You realise that the same may be true of the men's dorm as well. Hammering on the door of the council chamber you find it unlocked...and empty...
Flynn begins doing what he can to bolster the defences with the lumber
Lives will also busy himself with the doors.
Euron cracks a slight smile at the words. She is kind, she will get us all through this.
As she points out Azmerai disappearance Euron pauses for a moment "I.. I haven't i just assumed he was outside, but when we woke he wasn't there." He nods in agreement with her, not dwelling on it to long, Azmerai would be somewhere helping.
Euron steps into the room along with Lenneth, slowly moving around looking for any signs of the council. Placing his hand over the brazier he feels the heat. "The ashes from the brazier are still warm, someone added new wood chips recently we saw no one on our way up here." He then looks towards the fireplace... "Another way out. Lenneth you're on to something, why aren't they using the fireplace?" He rushes over to the fireplace and begins to inspect it.
"There has to be something hidden here." He franticly feels about.
Within a few minutes Flynn and Lives have a rudimentary barricade, that only grows in size and strength the more time they spend on it. Spotting the hefty oak table that sits next to the door, they also use that to bolster their work.
Lenneth doesn't initally find anything, despite fingers feeling all around the mantelpiece. She gets the very eerie feeling of being watched, as odd shadows lurk in the mirrored glass hanging above the fireplace, and a shiver runs down her spine like the fingers of an ice demon.
Euron has more luck it seems, thinking to reach up inside the chimney and feel around, a brick moves suddenly against his touch. Pushing harder the witch and oracle hear a 'click', the entire fireplace pivoting slightly as they feel a small gust of cold wind escape through the gap in the wall they have just discovered. Glancing through they can see a small shaft with a ladder leading down in to the darkness. A handle on the other side of the fireplace allows it to be pulled back in place behind you should you wish.
Euron steps back as the fireplace opens up to show a ladder leading down. "It's seems we've found it.." He looks at Lenneth uncertainty building up inside him, he can't stop to think if he does he'll be lost.
"We go get the others. We all go down and find out what's happening here, our best hope is what lies below in the hollow." He waits to hear what Lenneth has to think before acting.
Are the council there, what the hell is going on?
Wherever it leads it can't be worse than this. If you can't wake the rest of Solace there's nothing we can do for them above ground.
With the gates now barred with whatever means they can, Flynn and Lives exchange a glance. The two have been together longer than the rest but they find themselves in a position as precarious as anyone.
Lives, they found a secret passage but the Council have gone. If we weren't surrounded I'd say lets get the hell out of this place. But.. we are trapped here. We've thrown our lot in with them, whether we know it or not and so we should follow. Skyfall, ha! he calls, waiting for the bird to land and then, when he mounts, hopping along with it.
With Lilith's assistance, soon the barricade inside is as secure as it can be, Skyfall swoops in to the hall from the upper door and lands next to Flynn, making her displeasure about being inside very evident to him as she tries to chew on his ear in an almost playful manner.
As you all meet back up in the hall, there is a scuff on the staircase leading up from the kitchen to the first floor, Mallis stands there looking a little shifty, moving his weight from one foot to another and openikng and closing his mouth several times without speaking. Eventually he just shrugs and shakes his head.
No way to say this without sounding dodgy, but I promise you I'm not up to anything!
he holds his hands out placatingly, they are empty and the only weapon he has is the spiked mace shoved through his belt.
Whilst you were out yesterday and everyone was abed sick, I spotted someone coming towards the keep. Now no-one else was around, the council had disappeared off somewhere, so I had to hop down and meet them, that is 'him'
his gaze flicks to each of you nervously
Now I know it's crazy but you'll just have to take it with a bit of salt eh? I knew the man from a long while back, saved my life before he has, couldn't leave him out in the dark
he beckons to the side, and down the steps walks a clean shaven blond young man, carrying a trident and a shield and wearing tattered red and black armor, the remnants of a Chelaxian soldier's uniform.
I stashed him in one of the tents outside till it all calmed down inside here and the sickness has gone, but I had to get him, can't let him be eaten when he can lend a hand eh?
he looks imploringly at you all
He saved my life years ago when we was in the army, he's not a cultist, I'm sure of it!
The young man looks at Mallis with an amused smile
Me, a cultist? Sure I don't play with dead meat, and even less worship it...Mallis. Man, can't even got a good night rest these days. But it's better than to never awake and be food for rotting wandering corpses. So what's the situation, truly? I don't know the place, as I came here yesterday. I'm open to any suggestion that can keep us alive. All I can do is fighting, but I try to do it well.
He touches his cheeks, checking their smoothness.
The name's Lachen, if ever you care.
Flynn eyes the newcomer with some suspicion, but realises that if the other had treated he and Lives with the same skepticism they would still be wandering aimlessly.
Besides, he trusts Lenneth, who in turn said that Mallis was trustworthy. And this is a man Mallis knew before the world went to hell.
There was a lot of 'if' and 'but' and 'maybe' in there but he supposed there was little else to lose by letting this man help them.
Flynn, Skyfall. the halfling says abruptly, pointing at his own chest and then the massive bird beside him. Listen, you picked just about the worst time you could to pay this place a visit. But since you're not out there with them and you're not asleep like the rest in here, we may as well help eachother. Lachen, was it? If you can fight you'll be of use, who knows what the hell is beneath this place.
Let's make sure there is a later first. Then, after our war duties, we can maybe have the time to be civil.
The man speaks with a slight Chellish accent. He turns to the halfling
I'm not sure Hell has something to do with that, slip. Never cared that much about Asmodeus and his cohorts. I just wanted to get a few days rest when I saw the place. That was not my first bad choice in life, hope it won't be my last. Luck is my middle name. Mind you, my first name is Bad...
He rolls his shoulders
Let's check this trapdoor quickly. Or do you want to wait for Azmerai, whoever that may be?
Flynn is half turning away, about to ask Lenneth to show him the secret entrance, when the human addresses him.
He turns back and meets the bigger man's eye, unblinking.
I'm as new here as you any these people barely know me any better. But you and I are going to get one thing straight right now. If you address me as 'slip' again then we are going to have a serious disagreement. I don't care if the hordes of Hell are about to smash down our door, my people didn't break free of the indignity of slavery from those Chelish whore-sons for you to call me that now that they are all dead.
The muscles of his jaw work reflexively for a moment before he turns away and starts toward the council chamber.
Euron eye's up Lachen. "Mallis you must know how this seems.. It isn't the best of time to spring this on us." His gut screams out not to trust the new man. "But i suppose we have no choice we need people who can fight and with most of the castle sick you just signed up to help, but don't get me wrong you show any sign of turning on us and you will be put down."
At the mention of Azmerai, he turns to Lenneth. "I hope Azmerai is ok... he has been more quiet over the past few days... but we can't go looking for him now." He sighs. I hope nothing bad has happened to him.
"This is not the time!" Euron barks out at both of them. "We're thrown together we have a purpose, anyone wanting to slow us down can leave out the front gate." Looking back at Flyn and Lachen. "Now lets move!" He then begins to lead the way to the council chambers.
He pulls the lever again and shows the others the entrance. "I'll go down first, if anything bad is down there i'll shout out for you not to all funnel down." Before he makes his way down the ladder Euron pulls Lenneth aside and whispers. "This new guy just showing up, i don't like to point fingers but we need to watch him" Finishing he moves towards the ladder and begins his descent.
None of them will understand what it is like to live by another's beck and call. Flynn thinks grimly as he heads toward the council chamber, suddenly feeling like he wants to hit something. Hard
With the door as secured as it is going to be, Lives follows the rest of his new colleagues inside. He is a bit surprised at the appearance of Lachen, but spares no more than a raised eyebrow. He enters the council's chamber, and glances around expectantly.
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Lilith joins the others moving calmly and efficiently. We have secured the front gate but should have a look at the back stairs before we venture below.
When she meets Lachen she smiles and greets him formally in a strange tongue.
ترحيب جندي وطني. سوف المهارة والانضباط يكون نعمة لهذا الكثير في الغالب غير المنضبطة.
Welcome soldier of my homeland. You skill and discipline will be a boon to this mostly undisciplined lot.