As Hywel and Tobar approach the castle, it is clear that there is plenty of work being done. The sounds of grindstones sharpening swords and the dun of blacksmiths' hammers are immediately apparant. There are some masons repairing the crenellations, clearly damaged by some sort of battle.
By then, the horse is pretty exhausted, but it didn't look to be a sturdy horse in the first place. The guards bar your way in, but they don't seem very smart.
The witch is carefully carried to the church and the witch seems to be fine. There's a sound behind the altar.
As Braiden waits at the church, carefully watching the witch, he busies himself with barring the door and blocking any ground-level windows with furniture. After all, there's still a hag about, and he is scared to death of her. When he hears the sound behind the altar, he wheels his head around fast. He slowly approaches from the side, looking underneath it for what made the sound. His hand unconsciously rests on the crossbow strapped to his back.
Gyle stands back and allows those with a more keen bent on taking charge to decide the actions after the fight in the woods. Upon Hywel and Tonbar's departure, he heads for the church with the others.
Upon arriving at the church, he assists in boarding the place up, making it as defensible as possible before heading out into the town to forage and scrounge for any abandoned valuables.
Perception
The guards assume that you have personal business with the guard captain, but upon entering and calling his name again, you are informed by the new guard captain that the old one has retired. Why are you here? I am very busy.
Braiden approaches the altar, his crossbow in hand. His milky white eyes and poor perception make it difficult for him to see, as he gets closer and closer. As the table cloth lifts, a bald priest looks up at Braiden in fear, possibly interpreting Braiden's eyes as a sign of being a zombie.
Get back, fiend! I am a servant of god! The power of Christ compels you!
He starts throwing holy water at Braiden.
Gyle sees a baker's stand with cooling pies and tarts, as well as a pen of livestock. There are some houses around, notable ones being: the Jewelers, the Armorers, the Blacksmith, the Tanner, and the Banker. They are the most imposing and wealthy ones, made out of solid stone and with a strong oak door. The rest are general hovels.
Braiden drops the crossbow and shields his face from the water, though moreso out of surprise and to keep the water out of his eyes than because its doing harm to him. He says to the priest, "Ahh, would you cut that out? I'm no harm to you." He picks up the crossbow and returns it to his back. Then he asks, "Well, you're the first living soul we've seen in this village. How come you didn't leave like the others?"
The guard captain sighs. We've had reports that every town has sightings of witches everywhere. What makes this any different?
[b]The others were bewitched and tricked to flee into the forest. Luckily, I had the protection of god and this church to save me, so I was not fooled. Do you know what happened to the others then?
Perception to Search for Traps on the door:
Disable Device to open a lock if necessary:
Perception to Search the interior for items of interest:
Hywel speaks to the Guard captain.
"My Name Is Hywel Mawr. I am blood-kin to the king of Powyes. This day we rode through Hereford and saw its fields untended, its shops empty, and its hearths cold. The town was empty save for a horror which we struck down. Your Verderer on the Hereford woods can attest to what we have seen. And my friend speaks truth, the rest of our band of travellers holds a prisioner in the town church. This 'witch' is sorely wounded and requires skilled care if she is to be compelled to divulge the location of the townsfolk.
[b]"I suspect speed to be of the essence. A small guard of riders and a physic should travel with us to see what the woman can tell us. At the same time you will muster a force of foot to hold the town for the King."
Dougal assists with the litter, making short work of providing the wood with his axe. He follows the others to the church and sets himself by the door to watch.
Braiden turns to Dougal and says, "It seems as though at least one has escaped whatever foul happening occurred here. This priest yet stays in the church." With that he'll help the priest to his feet, if he consents to it.
That's strange. Here it is:
The others were bewitched and tricked to flee into the forest. Luckily, I had the protection of god and this church to save me, so I was not fooled. Do you know what happened to the others then?
The guard captain turns pale and backs up a few steps. There is nothing that my paltry guard can do. I will see what we can provide. Please wait outside. He scurries off, glad that he doesn't have to deal with the witches anymore.
Soon enough, a carriage pulls up along the roadside.
Gyle breaks into the jeweler's house and finds a variety of interesting loot.
Looties:
150 Gold Pieces worth of assorted coins
Jeweled Belt with undetermined properties
The carriage seems rather worn down and many of the ornaments have been removed or filed off, but it feels quite sturdy. The glass windows have been removed and replaced with metal bars resembling a prison, and a menacing siege weapon graces its roof.
A thin and wiry hand reaches out to help you up into the carriage. Much obliged to meeting you. Name's Puckml and this is my associate, Hmph. I've forgotten his real name. So tell me about this event of yours?
After Hywel and Tobar have entered the carriage, Puck starts the carriage on its journey back to the town.
My name is Humphrey. The dwarf's tone is steady and measured.
Braiden looks grim as he says, "We could not locate them, though we found their tracks leading to the mouth of a den of witches. We can only hope they are yet alive."
I...am an alchemist. It is certainly a new science in the kingdom and the king hired me to come here to establish a guild here. Unfortunately the English aren't that great at alchemy, so it didn't take off.
My partner Puck is using the new weapon of gunpowder to help combat these witches, and he needs an artisan like me to maintain and upgrade it.
Hywel makes no move to enter the strange carriage. He does however speak to the strangers.
"Well met in a dark time, tell me are you the physic sent by the Guard captain? We have a pressing need for one."
The stout dwarf plays with his beard a bit. Well, you could say that I am a physic. Healing is an art that I dabble in, but hardly my specialty. We hunt witches; this carriage is the product of that.
The windows are bars, not glass, so that the people possesed by the witches cannot break through. The bars are too small to easily fight through and we will usually be moving too fast. And this ballista is useful for shooting down fleeing witches.
The work of alchemy is very expensive, but the king funds us. He is very suspicious of witches and has devoted a large sum towards its destruction. Something that you might want to keep in mind if you're seeking his audience and attention.
Braiden helps the priest up and tells him the bad news.
Christ preserve us. His knees begin to sag a bit. The wars and now the disappearance of an entire town...
Hywel speaks to the two in the cart. His voice drips with dissdaign. "Two men. An entire town missing and the king sends two men. You must be mighty indeed that the great and mighty king places such faith in you. It will be an honor to watch you work.
I would have thought a brace of riders and a hundred foot would be needed to hold the town against bandits and landless men.
I look forward to learning how you two men will prevent the houses of the wealthy and the shops of tradesmen from being looted. I look forward to seeing how you two men will prevent an untended fire in a low hovel from catching livf and raging through the wooden town. Most of all I look forward to learning how you two learned men hope to harvest the fields and feed the livestock of the town for if we do not find the townsfolk and soon the great and wise king will have starvation and plague to contend with, far greater hazzards that some fools playing at witchcraft.
But of course I am but a simple welshman. I lack the understanding of the king or his learned and expensive advisors. So lead on in your strong wooden box. I look forward to observing your success."
With that Hywel mounts up and rides beside the carriage back to the village.
[spoiler=At the church]Braiden offers this as condolence: "We have men going to the castle to hopefully bring reinforcements. Let's hope we can bring back the village, eh?" He doesn't sound very hopeful himself, and that's because he isn't. Things look grim, and he doesn't think it likely that the villagers are still alive.
Pocketing the abandoned property, Gyle exits the jeweler's house. He looks around before melting into the shadows and poking around town a little more, seeing what is to be seen...
After delivering the message Rashun is now at a crossroads. Does he return to his post or help the village. The answer comes to him easily, he will help the village. His superiors will understand, and if not then they can question the people he plans to save, and tell them he was to allow them to die.
With that said Rashun ride to the side of the carriage.
Perhaps you have loftier goals than we do, but our job is to go in and kill these witches. The houses will likely be looted either way, but the king's soldiers or by passing bandits. The war is a much greater concern, and unlike the witches, the enemy camp only targets one side.
I can shoot a gun and my partner can make them. That is the range of our skills.
In the evening, a worn-down carriage arrives in town. It sports a large siege weapon on top and metal bars instead of windows. Aside it ride Hywel and Rashun.
Puck shouts, The reinforcements have arrived! as he and Humphrey the dwarf enter the church.
Hearing someone announce the arrival of allies, and the clopping of horse hooves, Braiden moves to unbar the door and allow them in. He looks to the two newcomers and remarks, "Ho! The fates are not friendly today, friends. Best to tread carefully."
"Braiden our new friends dabble in technology and science. I am sure they will be of use. Don't be so doubtful. Believe it or not our divine leader(deity) gave me a vision saying he will share a small portion of his power with me to help us on our quest."
To the hired killers in the coach
"It is good to know that the king values his people so. I am sure his reign will be long. Loved as he is by a people secure in his protection. Tell me since the war is such a concern where is the fighting now that the king is so sore pressed?"
Hywl, disgusted by the callous attitude of the authorities. Takes a moment to care for the two town nags, the carriage horses and his own mount. If there are stables or a carriage yard attached to the church he will install the nags and carriage hourses there. Making sure they have feed and water.
If there is no place to accomodate the horses at the church Hywel will tie them in a line and ride them to the nearest liverly stable. There he will care for them as said earlier.
His own mount he will bring into the church. She will stand just with in but not blocking the doors. Hywel will bring her feed and water and rub her down while listing to the 'experts' blather. He says a silent prayer for the so called 'witch' and the townsfolk doomed by fools.
Puck responds to Hywel's question. There hasn't been fighting yet, but the rebels have raised two armies, one to the north in Nottingham, and another to the west in Cornwall. There hasn't been any fighting, but anywhere that an army goes, the nearby settlement is ransacked for food. It is only the difference whether the village gets ransacked by an army or some bandits.
Puck lifts the witch's head while Hmph pours a cure potion into her mouth. Soon, she wakes up, hacking some blood and coughing uncontrollably. Her eyes are filled with fear and Puck raises his gun point-blank.
The witch begins to scream. I don't want to die! Please, I will tell you anything!
After nearly thirty minutes of intense interrogation, everyone is rather tired, but Puck has gotten all the information that he needs.
Puck stands up, sweat rolling off his brow, and wipes his forehead. So it seems that the hag will be hanging around by the river bridge. We have encountered witches before, but based on the testimony of this woman, none this strong. Can you tell us what you saw on your first encounter with these witches?
Aside from the market area and the prosperous houses, there are few things of note that you have not seen before.
Dougal rubs his chin thoughtfully. "Well, there was three of them, I think. One was ugly enough to stop a basilisk in its tracks. And these was this man, one of those continentals, you know? And they all went running off. Except this girl we caught."
"Aye, the man was a Frenchman, I think. He put some life in a couple a skeletons and set them to attackin' us before he made off. We found their coven by followin' the tracks of the townsfolk, an' them tracks stopped dead right at the mouth 'a there cave."
A Frenchman, eh? This is turning out to be a dangerous situation. It seems that you are capable of dealing with them, so perhaps you wouldn't mind leading the way?
I would plan this myself, but you seem to be rather expert in the local area, and that would be more useful than my prodigious talent at hunting witches.
It seems that he is trying to say in a face-saving way that he is scared. He leads the party to within sight of the town bridge, where with careful observation, it is clear that someone or something is living beneath it.
"'Fraid I'm no expert of the woods, but I can lead the way just the same." He gives a small smile, though with his tired eyes, unkempt appearance (and smell), and foetid breath it is more intimidating than comforting.
As Braiden is incapable of seeing underneath the bridge until he's closer, he continues obliviously (unless, of course, someone else spots it and alerts him).
@DM any reason we didn't notice this before when we were checking the town for survivors?
Shrugging at the empty town, Gyle rejoins the party.
"Where to now, friends?"
Initiatives:
Tobar:
Rashun:
Gyle:
Hywel:
Dougal:
Braiden:
Puck:
Hmph:
Hag:
Frenchie:
Puck raises his hand to signal the attack. Everyone on your side gets a surprise round. Since you have had time to position, you can start anywhere, though you need to be at least thirty feet away from any enemies.
Unfortunately still haven't gotten battle maps working, but basically, it's a 10 ft wide stone bridge crossing a 20ish foot wide river. The witch and summoner are near the river on the edge of the water under the bridge, on the "right" bank. Puck and Humphrey are also on the right side of the river.
Free Action:(in a low voice)Dougal take the witch's spell component pouch. They can't cast most of their spell without it.
Standard action: I want to start within 30 feet of the witch.
Dougal snorts angry. "I'm no pickpocket, friend. What say I twist her arms instead? A pouch is nothing if she can't lay hand on it."
"Ha ha ha. That works also, just be sure to twist both of them. She only needs one to cast.", Rashun says with a wink.
edit:I want to be set up so myself and Dougal are flanking.