After the group left Heldren:
Linge took her signal whistle.
"Just one second, please. I have to call a friend. It won't take long..."
She blew a whistle, and waited. A few minutes later, a white baby bear came out of the forest, running to her. She smiled, and knelt down to stroke its fur.
"Welcome, big boy..."
The sight of all these corpses was starting to make Linge nauseous. Slaughtering people like that... It made her sick.
How horrible... Who would do that?
Alerted by the noises, the young druid took her sling. Was there any danger?
"Horn, sniff!"
If he senses that something isn't right, he'll let me know...
Horn growls at the bodies, and seems to be more preoccupied with them than with the carriage.
The druid got carefully closer to them, and knelt down to examine the corpses.
Ugh... But if there are some clues of how they died...
Asta looks around uncertainly. Growing up in the streets of Oppara, she had seen bloody violence, but the sight did not please her.
"This was grim work," she says while unsheathing her sword. Its familiar weight gave her comfort. She glances at Linge. "Your beast doesn't like the bodies."
After pulling out his sling and loading up the cup with with a bullet, Torval moves in after the others in the group towards the carriages and the evident signs of a battle which had been sorely lost.
"Perhaps he senses something that we do not," Torval notes in reply to Asta's statement "animals often have keener senses than most people do. Personally I'm more concerned about whatever it is that is making the sounds from that carriage." he finishes while pointing directly to the carriage in question.
Most of the bodies lie pierced with tiny needles and shards of ice. All of the bodies appear to have been stripped of armor and weapons.
The doors of the upright carriage appear to be blocked shut, with splintered pieces of wood thrust through the handles. When you get closer, you hear muffled voices - perhaps gagged? There are no windows to peer through.
Kristophe checks the bodies laying on the ground.
Kristophe takes a look, and also sees tiny needles and slivers of ice having pierced the bodies. Their sightless eyes stare at the sky, their mouths gape as though howling in pain without end, and their skin is turning a dark and blackened color from the cold temperatures.
Kristophe frowns and shivers Sven, this is bad. Really bad. he says in a low voice and then louder Guys, this is really bad.
Harsk looks on the corpses with a deep sadness filling his eyes, so many lives were ended without a clear point or purpose...
His voice cracks a slight bit when he says, "open the carriage"
Asta hefts her sword over her head, ready to threaten anything that steps out of the carriage. "I'm ready."
Harsk brings his weapons to bear, standing a step beside and behind Asta. he lifts his deities holy symbol and briefly kisses it. "Farthen Aruna."
Shards of ice... So, something humanoid. Could it be...?
"I think that the wounded man mentionned something about a "winter touch"... And these poor guys were struck by shards of ice," Linge said slowly.
It could explain why Horn growled. He senses something abnormal.
"Let's try to talk to them. They may be survivors."
The young woman walked towards the carriage, and knocked at the door.
"Hello? Is someone in there? Can you answer me, please?"
The door SLAMS open suddenly, as a great force hammers into it from behind the doors, bursting the piece of wood holding them shut. You are able to hop back as two forms stumble out of the carriage landing on the snow below. Their skin is blackened from the cold, and their eyes are lifeless, but they lock onto the closest of you and prepare to attack!
(10 Max)
(10 Max)
(10 Max)
(10 Max)
Most of you recognize this immediately for what it is - a zombie. A lifeless husk of flesh that only retains a human semblance. They tend to ignore stabs and blunt force damage, but slashing weapons can take them apart.
Linge screamed in surprise as the zombies suddenly attacked them. She quickly retreated, to stay out of their reach and be able to use her sling.
"Horn! Here! Defend me!"
With a terrible roar, Horn charged one of the undead to protect the young woman.
Horn Status:
Sven! Help them! Kristophe cries
Sven lowers his head and charges the Zombie
Sven draws his handaxe and moves to help also
Harsk will attempt to get as close to both of the zombies as possible, trusting in his metal shell to offer him protection, trying to move between the undead and the other members of the party,
Harsk lashes out with his warhammer, but the ice beneath his feet makes his foot slide and causes his normally stable body to shift unexpectedly and his strike is worthless.
Linge took several steps back, and then took her sling to help Horn with the zombie.
Zombies! It's too crowded to risk throwing a bomb or vial of acid at either of the creatures without hitting any of the others, but my spear and sling will be nearly useless against them.
Torval moves over towards Linge in an attempt to find a clearer line of fire towards one of the zombies before quickly loosing a shot at one of them.
With a battle-cry, Asta brings her sword down, intending to chop the undead in half.
Horn's teeth can't quite connect, and his presence makes Linge fire her sling over-cautiously.
Harsk does indeed slip up on attack, his warhammer flailing about.
Asta's greatsword hits the zombie, but its necrotic hide rebuffs the blade.
Torval, too, aims wide with his bullet, hitting the wagon behind the zombies.
They groan and retaliate - one striking at Asta, the other at Harsk...
...but each punch goes just wide.
Sven's charge can't quite penetrate the zombie's defenses, but Kristophe's handaxe connects well, opening a rent in the zombie's torso.
Horn growled. Apparently, missing his target has angered him.
Linge hesitated, but finally put her sling back into its place.
The battle is too confuse. I risk to hit someone.
She drew her scimitar instead, but remained unsure of what to do.
I'll help them if they can't kill them, but I'm not an experienced fighter...
Horn's bite misses, but his two claws find purchase, raking across the zombie's leg.
Bringing his hammer around in a deadly curve at the zombie's knee, Harsk utters a swear, "Just fall down and die, blasted thing"
Asta grunts as her sword bounces from the zombies flesh. She thought of her father critiquing her swordplay, Don't overswing! Look at where your feet are at now!, especially against something as simple to hit as a walking corpse. Her next attack would be more precise.
The zombies look like they are raising their arms to attack!
Dropping his sling to the ground with a grimace for his fool-hardy next action, Torval pulls his spear off from his back and moves in to provide further distraction and support for his allies.
Note to self. Must put more effort into improving my bombs.
The zombie reacts to Kristophe's cutting axe with a heavy blow...
...but slips on the ice!
The other returns fire on Harsk...
...smashing into his shield with tremendous force, but not delivering any damage.
[ooc]Initiative Order: Kristoph, Linge, Harsk, Asta, Torval, Zombies
Kristoph attacks the Zombie
Kristoph impores Sven to attack the Zombie as well!
Sven gores the Zombie
Horn attacked one more time.
Apparently, he didn't like zombies. At all.
Linge tried to help with her scimitar.
Kristoph's axe cuts into the zombie's arm, but Sven's horns appear to just poke ineffective holes in the undead's bloated torso.
Horn roars as he bites and claws, with his teeth tearing a large chunk out of the creature's leg, dropping it, and giving him a chance to step forward and rake claws down the second's torso.
Both zombies are dropped by his onslaught, and he gives a victorious - and vicious sounding - roar!
Your surroundings are still, unbroken by bird or other beast, and there is no further movement or sound from the carriages. A cursory search of the "unoccupied" carriage unearths three sets of fine women's clothes, such as courtiers might wear.
The "occupied" carriage (the one the zombies spilled out of), seems to hold nothing...
...until Linge spots a small jewelry box underneath a carriage seat. You flip it open, and find a signet ring, a pair of earrings, a set of pearl-inlaid bracelets, assorted gold and silver necklaces, and one sapphire pendant.
On the south side of the clearing, the mostly ice-encased corpse of a Taldan captain stands as a gruesome memorial of the death and destruction. It appears that pieces of him have been carved out of the ice and tossed to the side - he is obviously dead. Beneath the layer of ice, you can see that he is still wearing his heraldry-emblazoned breastplate, and his raised arm is still holding a very finely crafted longsword.
To the south, there is a trail that leads deeper into the woods.
Harsk looks at the jewelry Linge has discovered, and the fallen bodies of the dead.
"I know the money looks tempting, aye, that I know, but I'm certain the families of the ones who passed away could probably use it more."
Looking up from his inspections of the ice-encased corpse of the Taldan captain in confusion at Harsk's statement 'Frostbite like the Ulfen in town I can understand, but this?' Torval begins to ask him to clarify what he means before he catches a glint from the jewelery currently held in Linge's hands.
"Perhaps Master Harsk, though I believe it would most likely belong to the noble lady that we have come out searching for. In either case it will be easy enough to carry until we decide what should be done with it."
Guys I think I've found where the attackers went... Kristophe says as he and Sven search around the area
Asta walks over to the frozen Taldan captain and tries to pry the sword loose.
Looking up from his inspections of the ice-encased corpse of the Taldan captain in confusion at Harsk's statement 'Frostbite like the Ulfen in town I can understand, but this?' Torval begins to ask him to clarify what he means before he catches a glint from the jewelery currently held in Linge's hands.
"Perhaps Master Harsk, though I believe it would most likely belong to the noble lady that we have come out searching for. In either case it will be easy enough to carry until we decide what should be done with it."
"That is likely true, but I doubt that will comfort the families of the dead, either way it is not ours." Harsk says simply, and then watches in a sort of horrified fascination as Asta attempts to steal from the dead guard.
"What in the name of the forge are you doing?" he hisses as he walks over to her.
Linge nodded.
"I agree with Torval. This box must belong to Lady Argentea... We could give it back to her when we'll found her."
She closed it, and put it in her bag, until they'll find its rightful owner. She also gave a piece of her ration to Horn.
"You've fought well, big boy... I'm proud of you."
She gently stroke his head, but frowned when Harsk walked up to Asta.
What's happening there?
Asta shrugs, focusing on working the sword loose without damaging the man's frozen fingers. "This is good steel."
The ice creaks, cracks, and shatters. Not only does the sword come loose, but a fair chunk of the man's arm as well, and after a bit of warming the severed hand falls limply to the ground.
Asta's stomach twists a bit as the man's arm snaps off. She had not intended to desecrate the body, but there was no use in crying over spilled ale. Her father had told her that once.
Harsk pulls his beard as he exclaims "Have ye no respect? The steel is his, and it obvi..."
The creaking of the ice and then the shatter causes Harsk to blanch in disgust... "What were ye thinking, Asta? How do ye think the gods look upon such an act?"
looking at the woman and the results of her greed, Harsk shakes his head and moves to walk towards where Kristoph shouted from.
There be a fool, and a greedy woman, Torag grant me patience to help their souls
Asta quickly scoops up the sword and follows the dwarf. "It's not like he's using it and if we can save his lady with his sword, I think he'd be happy," she argues. "Besides, I didn't mean to break his arm like that. My father tells me I don't know my own strength."
You set out into the snow-laden trees, with Kristophe and Sven leading the way. The snow is already rather deep, and it is slowing you down to half your normal pace.
After the trail enters the full expanse of the Border Wood, the trail passes through a small clearing among the taller trees before continuing uphill and out of sight.
Asta quickly scoops up the sword and follows the dwarf. "It's not like he's using it and if we can save his lady with his sword, I think he'd be happy," she argues. "Besides, I didn't mean to break his arm like that. My father tells me I don't know my own strength."
Harsk's voice quavers slightly as he responds, "That is not the point. You have a sword and if the sword was able to help, he wouldn't be a statue. Taking from the dead is wrong."
Seeing the chest, Harsk calls for a halt, "There is something half buried over here."