Gii nods at the woman's request, adjusting the grip on his longspear that is serving as a makeshift walking stick. "I will gladly do what I am able. We are told the Winter Fey are involved, and it is possible that this may be their doing."
Jamarcus throws his hands into the air in exasperation.
Firs' we gotta beat-down these fey, then rescue dis' Lady Argentea, an' now you want us to walk into the g%~-d$#ned woods lookin' for snowflakes? Watchu wan' us to do next, pick up yo' laundry!?
He closes his eyes, stands still and massages his brow for a solid fifteen seconds.
Apparently a bit calmer, Jamarcus strides off down the path, purple coat fluttering, hands motioning, while speaking animatedly to himself in some foreign tongue.
κώλο μητέρα μας λέει στο φορτηγό γύρω στο δάσος . ίσως φέρει και λύκους και σκατά . Όταν ένας αδελφός πάτε για ύπνο ;
There was a sudden flinch in Lars' features as the mayor spoke her request. It seemed like all of the muscles of his face came to a halt as they were partway towards forming an expression, but the only thing to escape his frozen facade was two quick blinks of his blue eyes She's serious He exclaimed to himself as he stared at her, while Doctor Gii and Jamarcus replied to her, both in his own fashion....and he found himself liking the latter's answer, not only that, he actually felt the need to inform her in someway of how ridiculous she sounded. He could not believe that she would request of them to stop the weather! What did they appear like to her eyes? Last he checked they would pass as a motley group of mercenaries at best.
As Jamarcus walked off speaking in a language he could not comprehend he felt the desire rising; how satisfying it would be for him to let her know just how utterly unbelievable her request sounded, but that urge was wrestling with a foe he was all too familiar with...his own willpower. Long has it prevented him from doing things that would gain him no benefit, long has it held his tongue from speaking words that would only harm him and long has it kept the rider called civility with a firm grip on his reigns. It made sense not to do anything to insult her his logic argued; after all they were pressed for time and she did hold a very important position in the village, and all that was very convincing but by then Lars had began feeling the prison of rationality and reason crumble around him.
"I'll get around to it, but first I'll transform into a flock of ravens find these bandits and fey, kill them all with one swing of my axe" He patted the weapon as if it was a kitten "Fly back to Heldren, be hailed a hero, begin walking to Kalsgard, collecting beautiful women and coin along the way and finally be crowned the new Linnorm king" A satisfied grin appeared on his face before he walked off, his hand holding one side of the coat swung over his shoulder.
Grimkell looks at Lars with curiosity when the man takes away his hand form his shoulder. Afraid of me? Ha, most amusing.
Grimkell's face becomes more stern upon hearing Theora. He leans slightly forward before speaking:
"Too old. No! My father fought beasts of incredible strenght until he was more than a 100 years of age. So no, you are not too old. If anything, it is your heart that has gotten old, and if our mission is not enough to reignite it, the tales I will tell you and your son will." he says, dead serious.
Upon seeing the head of the council, Ionnia Teppen, approach them, Grimkell had saluted her with a nod. However, before he could properly greet her, the others had chimed in into the conversation, and potentially damaged their reputation.
After hearing Jamarcus' and Lars' response, Grimkell started laughing, a deep and contagious laugh.
Once done laughing, the ulfen approaches the mayor, wraps an arm around her shoulder and walks her a few steps away from the group.
"Do not worry, my companions are jesting. They may lack confidence in their skills, but I am sure they will learn to trust themselves. Now, while rescuing Lady Argentea, we will make sure to look for any clues that might betray the cause of this unnatural cold and bring news to you. That I swear." as he finishes, Grimkell gently motions miss Teppen away.
Grimkell chuckles a bit while thinking back on Jamarcus' and Lars' comments.
"You two are amusing... and this reminds me, once we rescue lady Argentea, I will introduce you all and present your deeds to the lady. When I do that, what name would you like to be indtroduced under? I already know madame Theora here, but not the four of you." Grimkell asks, seemingly certain that their rescue attempt will succeed, and that non one would object to be introduced by him.
Theora chuckles, patting Grimkell's upper arm a few times and smiling her usual wrinkled smile. "Your father is a warrior, son. I am but an ageing midwife with a bow. But, you're right. I suppose one is never too old to do great things." There's a flash of gratitude in her eyes as she pulls away.
Rejoining the group with a new quiver of arrows, their dull cold iron heads clattering against each other as she walks, Theora stands at her full height, standing slightly taller than Lars. She smiles warmly at Ionnia as she approaches, about to chime in with her own response, before falling silent as everyone interjects - some with more confidence than others.
With a sigh, she adds her voice to Grimkell and Gii's. "We cannot promise to stop the weather, dear. But this is unnatural, and must come from an unnatural source. If we find the cause, we shall be sure to return any information we find."
As the group departs, she resists the urge to club Lars with her willow staff. "That's no way to speak to a Councillor!" she exclaims, instead prodding his shoulder with the instrument. "Regardless of how ridiculous you think her words are!"
Mirri listens to the councilors words before replying, "I was already here for this I think, fulfilling your request most likely will remedy what drug me here so I can leave for someplace more comfortable."
Ionnia glares at the two men, then pauses as Theora and Grimkell add their own agreement. "Yes, yes. I understand. I honestly don't expect you to be able to change anything. I just meant if you can do anything about it." She laughs shaking her head. "I don't even know if you'll find anything. But we're beyond the edge of desperation at this point." She spreads her hands as if to say "What more can we do?" "Go on now. And let us know."
The road seems quiet as the band moves south. The summer heat beats down on the packed surface, but seems to lose its edge. Before too long the heat diminishes to a mild warmth and then to downright chilly. A mile from the attack, the first snowflakes can be seen fluttering through the air and by the time you reach it, you are walking through a thin layer of snow. The road turns to the East and you see it.
The road ahead is littered with debris and the corpses of the slain--humans and horse alike. A carriage stands in the roadway, its team of horses missing, while another overturned carriage lies sprawled and broken next to the tree line. To the south, more bodies have fallen around what appears to be a statue of ice. A snowy trail leads farther into the woods.
Gii gives Jamarcus and Lars sideways looks as Theora gives them a lecturing, but chooses not to join her in the scolding. At Grimkell's request, he introduces himself to the others. "I apologize for not doing so earlier. I am Gii, a priest of Nethys, and this," the dark-haired man says, gesturing to his wolf companion, "Is Matias, sent by the All-Seeing Eye himself to aid me." At his side, the wolf barks once, before nuzzling into Gii's flank.
Regret began seeping through the cracks of the wall of shallow satisfaction Lars has built. While he felt no guilt for what he said, on the contrary it felt refreshing, he did know that mocking someone of a notable position of power was a terrible idea...most of the time. He thought he'd learned this after being on a number of pirate ships, but he just couldn't help himself, the mayor was particularly asking for it.
How did she get in charge of this village anyway? I don't think it'll be as amusing as she killed the last mayor in mortal combat The locksmith pondered the idea as the rational side of his mind and his urges began yet a second war, this time over just how badly he burned his bridges and whether he should consider letting his tongue loose once more if he truly had no hope of salvaging the small temporary place he had in Heldren. The sole sign of this conflict taking place was a small frown on the blond Varisian's face, as he surveyed the path they started on.
"You two are amusing... and this reminds me, once we rescue lady Argentea, I will introduce you all and present your deeds to the lady. When I do that, what name would you like to be indtroduced under? I already know madame Theora here, but not the four of you." Grimkell asks, seemingly certain that their rescue attempt will succeed, and that non one would object to be introduced by him.
"Lars" Replied the former pirate, glad for the distraction of conversation "Your going to have a lot of work to do after that little talk" He gave Grimkell half a grin.
"So what name do you go by? Cause calling you pretty boy for the entire trip may not be good for my confidence" Lars let out a small chortle...
"That's no way to speak to a Councillor!" she exclaims, instead prodding his shoulder with the instrument. "Regardless of how ridiculous you think her words are!"
Which turned into a short annoyed snarl, as Lars almost lost his grip on the coat that was slung over his left shoulder "Yes, it wasn't the cleverest thing to do" He turned half his face towards Theora "But you have to admit, what she said sounded daft and mad" His smile melted into a more relaxed but expressionless mask "And I've been around men who thought taking on three cut throats while drunk and on a rickety old peer was a good idea" He shrugged his free right hand.
"Daft it may have sounded, but she still deserves respect," Theora reminds, her tone gentler this time. "Just remember, she's desperate. This is unnatural weather, and must have an unnatural cause. We may not be able to stop a snowstorm, but if we find the cause..." She trails off, shaking her head. "Ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself, dear. One thing at a time, I suppose. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other."
A loud caw of agreement comes from overhead, and the aging woman looks up, peering against the sun. "Ah, there you are!" she exclaims, holding out a hand in time for a large raven to perch on it. "Thought you'd come see what all the fuss was about, eh, Sootfeathers?" Chuckling, she shifts the bird to her shoulder, where he perches proudly, watching Lars with his beady black eyes. "Well, he may not be as fierce as your friend, Gii," Theora smiles wearily, glancing at the priest, "but he's almost as loyal, I'd wager."
As the group comes across the carriage, Theora frowns, her lined brow wrinkling further. She pulls her feathered mantle tighter around herself, shivering slightly in the chill. "Goes right through my bones, it does," she mutters, before sighing. "Well. Shall we see what we can find here?"
As they proceed out of town and into the cold, Mirri finally finds herself becoming truly comfortable for the first time in months. When they reach actual snow she gives a squeal of delight and is about to kneel and pick some up when the ruins of the wagons appear ahead of them. Her enthusiasm dampened, Mirri proceeds with the group cautiously.
The large man stops next to Theora and Lars, expression grim, and quietly surveys the frozen carnage in front of him.
Just as he was putting on his coat in response to the descending snow, Lars' eyes fell upon the theater of carnage that was before them; an abandoned carriage lay on its side to his right, abandoned by its beasts of burden...but not by the men who directed. Their bodies were lying on the carpet of snow, motionless and in their midst was a statue of ice. It stood there like a grim monument to the death and destruction that has befell this road.
The former pirate directed his eyes ahead, while he appeared unfazed by this morbid sight, his left eye brow rose up in surprise; for little of this made sense. Yes he expected the dead bodies and the wanton destruction after they were dealing with bandits but the statue made little to no sense Didn't know that there bandits that were interested in sculpting...maybe it was the feys idea With that thought in mind he began scanning the area from where he stood for both tracks and anything that appears out of place.
Secondly, as you get closer to the "statue," you notice that it is actually a person who had been frozen solid. He is a taldan man with a ornate uniform. A few blocks of ice lie at his feet. Contained in each is a piece of this man, carved away from the rest of him.
Lastly, you can see that there are many prints following the trail to the south. The trail is fairly obvious, as it begins to track into deep snow, leaving whoever left them no way to cover their tracks.
Upon being asked his name by Lars, Grimkell responds with a proud and boastful voice:
I am Grimkell, son of Ogmundr, keeper of the Lore and History of the people of the Linnorm kingdoms.
As the approach the pocket of coldness, Grimkell starts wiping his brow less and less, to finally stop, and let out a barely perceptible sight of relief, once they enter the snow covered area.
Grimkell stands with the others, looking at the scene that lays before them. While doing so, he also digs through his backpack to draw out a helmet, straps his shield on, and draws his sword.
"Gii, Jarmarcus, Lars, spread out around the place. Mirri, Theora, stick to the center and keep your eyes peeled. There might still be some feys around." the ulfen says with a commanding voice before moving in.
With a quick swipe at his belt, a throwing axe was unhooked and in his hand "Something's inside that carriage, spear's keeping it in there" He said to the group, motioning towards its direction with his edged weapon before turning towards the "statue" once again, and for the first time since they arrived to this morbid painting of a battlefield, one could notice a disgruntled look on Lars' face.
I remember one of Clancy's crew ending up like this He looked about the scene of chaos and cruelty that lay before him once more Glad he didn't mention any women in white slinging spells
Jamarcus smirks and strides forward to the carriage.
G&+-d+$n, even in dis' strange-ass world, white man gotta tell a brotha how to wipe his ass
He turns back to the group for a moment.
You all jus' make sure I don' get jumped, let a real man handle this
He takes a close look at the carriage, peering into the windows (if any), sniffing the air, and listening for any strange sounds.
"Be my guest" Replied Lars earnestly as he waved his right hand in the direction of the carriage "We'll be sure to remember your bravery" A snicker escaped his lips as he moved towards the bushes that lay past the fallen tree and took cover behind its leafy walls.
I heard dat'
Replies Jamarcus as he examines the carriage.
If this wagon's full of gold, I'm taking yo' share
Grimkell watches as Lars goes into hiding, and calls out to him:
"Coward, this won't sound so good when I retell your deeds!" he says, more teasing than angry.
"Also, make sure no one walks up on you." Grimkell finishes.
The ulfen than walks around to side next to Jamarcus, shield ready and sword lifted.
"Is anyone in there? Were you part of Lady Argentea's entourage?"
Grimkell taps on Jamarcus' shoulder with the pommel of his sword.
"I've got your back. Ready when you are."
"Stay close now, girl," Theora murmurs softly to Mirri, making her way to the center of the camp as directed. She slides her bow off her back, nocking one of her cold iron arrows, her staff balancing in the crook of her elbow. "Is someone in there, dear?" she calls to Jamarcus.
Drawing my longbow. Posting from my phone, can someone move me to an appropriate location?
Gii follows after Jamarcus, Matias close at his side. "I doubt they'd have barred Lady Argentea in her own carriage and left her here, or left their men and ran," he states in a worried voice. "Who could possibly be inside?" The white-furred wolf beside him sniffs at the air, seeming uninterested.
I hear noises, something's inside, maybe they tied up n' gagged
Jamarcus cracks his knuckles loudly, takes a deep breath and draws out the spear barring the carriage doors.
He tosses the spear to the side and flings open the carriage doors, purple coat-tails a-fluttering.
Mirri moves in and stays near Theora, laughing lightly at the woman's words, "Of course Theora, as you say." While Mirri seems slightly perturbed at being called a child she doesn't seem to take offense, even to be pleased that Theora is showing her concern.
The doors burst open, two creatures with loose skin and blackened limbs break out and begin to attack those around the carriage.
Gii gasps as the carriage's doors open forcefully, his attention immediately drawn to the things inside. At his side, Matias begins to growl threateningly.
Grimkell frowns, surprised, and lifts his shield in protection.
"Draugr?" he spits "Dead warriors risen by sorcery. We must keep them contained!" he yells to the others as he steps forward, and places himself right in front of the carriage's door.
Fending off the creatures grabbing hands with his shield, Grimkell lifts his sword to slice the closest limb.
5 foot step to the green square on the map (drawn by me), in order to block the creatures.
Standard action to fight defensively (-4 at, +2 def).
"They're zombies," the Nethian gasps. Gii switches the grip on his spear, readying to stab past his companions at the undead. Matias' sinks into a low stance, growling loudly as he protects his master's bad leg.
| HP: 11/11 | AC: 18 T: 13 FF: 15 | CMD: 15 | F: +2 R: +1 W: +2 | Init: +1 Per: +1 | 1st: 4/4 |
Effects: None
===
Matias:
| HP: 13/13 | AC: 16 T: 12 FF: 16 | CMD: 14 | F: +5 R: +5 W: +1 | Init: +2 Per: +5 |
Effects: None
Mirri moves around to get a clear line of attack on one of the creatures and then says a few words, a ball of snow rising and then flying at the creature.
As the zombies try to spill out, Grimkell steps in front of them, blocking their path and slices, catching the nearer one across the forearm.
Gii readies himself, but then notices that he could reach one of the zombies. He stabs, piercing the creatures leg. Oddly this does not seem to hurt the creature as much as it should have.
Corpses that walk...because fey weren't strange enough Lars exited his leaf covered safe haven and began dashing through the snow filled ground, leaving boot marks as he went forward.
When he reached the fallen tree that was blocking his path, he jumped over it, upon landing he didn't stop and continued towards their rotting enemies, but upon reaching suitable range he pulled back his throwing arm and with a wild swing he let loose his axe. Not bothering to look whether it landed on it's intended target or not, Lars unhooked his battle axe with his right hand, while left manipulated the small leather straps attached to his glove, causing his shield to slide into it's battle position.
σκατά!!!
Yelps Jamarcus as the two corpses stagger out of carriage, but a hard life on the streets of Harlem had taught him never to hesitate. Without missing a beat, he cocks his arm back and lets loose with an explosive right hook, putting all two hundred and ten pounds of his weight behind the punch.
Lars comes running through the snow and tries to jump the log. His feet slip beneath him and he trips, stumbling slightly as he lands. He manages to keep his feet, but his throw turns to the side just enough that his axe makes a thick chunk sound as it buries itself into the opposite wall of the carriage.
Jamarcus swings for the nearest zombie, but his fist seems to slide right off the creatures damp, rotting skin.
Theora steps quickly to the side and pulls her longbow up and the fletching of an arrow to her cheek. She lets the arrow fly. Snow swirls around the missile as it flies through the air and strikes one of the zombies. It sticks into the creatures shoulder, knocking him off balance.
But it seems that the zombie was not as affected as he should have been. He starts forward as if to push out of the carriage but seems to register that he is blocked in. He brings his arms back and strikes at Jamarcus with surprising strength. His arms come down against the side of the carriage making his blow easy to deflect, but a large dent is left in the frame.
The second zombie looks around in confusion. He pushes out at Grimkell who easily dodges the strike. The zombie stumbles nearly falling out of the carriage, but seems to keep his balance.
Embarrassing...but I still have my head so... Lars' face formed a surprising grinning mask, as he studied the situation they were in We have the numbers, but we aren't using them...nice to see we aren't getting in each others way, but we're all strangers here so that's not weird He turned to his group quickly before returning his focus towards the walking corpses.
Some morale wouldn't hurt, something like those silly speeches the men in charge of boarding the enemy ships used to give...Clancy used to love giving them He trapped a side that almost escaped his mouth and stood up a little straighter At least it won't be as embarrassing as tripping on a log...
Without any explanation or coherent reason Lars began pacing in his place, as if he was an angry mountain cat "These bandits are bloody pathetic! Can't even keep the men they killed in the ground?!" He began his voice loud enough to be heard by his group but not loud enough to be disturbing "I say we show'em how its done then follow the trail they left and let those morons joining these shambling sods" It was at that moment he remebered Grimkell spitting, something a lot of the captains he worked under loved to do, so without further hesitation he let a glob of spit fly from his mouth and land at the feet of these undead How do they even take themselves seriously?! "Gold and glory await us me lads and lasses, and we are to earn it by spilling blood and cracking skull...so what do ya say we start with his?" In an instant Lars lunged like a viper towards the corpse that assaulted Grimkell moments ago and let loose a wild horizontal cut with his battle axe.
Mirri moves a couple of feet to get a better view of the zombies and then conjures snow from the ground into a fair sized snowball which then goes flying at one of the creatures.
The zombie growls as Lars steps in, but it seems an empty gesture as Lars' swing severs the creature's head from his shoulders. His body topples out of the carriage landing at Grimkell's feet. At nearly the same moment, a snowball flies into the carriage and hits the back wall, splattering snow on to the moving corpse.
Limping over near Lars with Matias in tow, the dark-haired doctor stabs out at the remaining zombie with his spear.
| HP: 11/11 | AC: 18 T: 13 FF: 15 | CMD: 15 | F: +2 R: +1 W: +2 | Init: +1 Per: +1 | 1st: 4/4 |
Effects: None
===
Matias:
| HP: 13/13 | AC: 16 T: 12 FF: 16 | CMD: 14 | F: +5 R: +5 W: +1 | Init: +2 Per: +5 |
Effects: None
Unperturbed by the apparently lack of effect of his first blow, he dances back into a boxers stance and explodes outwards with a left uppercut.
Grimkell barely even watches as the zombie in front of him falls to the ground. Instead, he immediately switches his attention to the one still standing. Focused, he starts humming to himself to the rhythm of the swings of his sword, as if entering into a trance.
Free: Drop out of defensive fighting
Standard: Attack standing zombie
Gii, Jamarcus and Grimkell all turn to the last creature. Gii's spear takes it in the side, while Jamarcus' uppercut glances off the creatures skin again. It growls and is about to charge over Jamarcus when Grimkell slices into its gut, spilling the creatures remaining innards out into the snow. The zombie teeters for a moment before following. It does not get up.
S@!~, son!
Shouts Jamarcus, he turns to Grimkell, eyes wide like saucers.
These f$#$ers are DEAD. How come dey' be shufflin' around and tryin' to hit us!?
Gii wipes the blade of his spear off in the snow, before using it to once again take the weight off his bad leg. "Necromantic magics, no doubt. The power of evil arcane energies are not to be underestimated," the doctor explains, patting Matias as the wolf continues to growl at the twice-dead creatures.
Word, Doc.
What the hell are necro-whatever magics? They never taught us this s@$@ in school, man
Jamarcus glances at the large wolf uneasily and back to the Doctor.
This dude's got a pet wolf.. I guess I shouldn't be surprised
Shaking his head once at the insanity of his current situation, Jamarcus quickly composes himself and gets back to the important business of looting the dead.
He pats down the clothing of the corpses and zombies with practiced professionalism and inspects the inside of the carriage.
"Yes, Jamarcus, the good doctor said several words," Theora sighs, breathing heavily and leaning on her staff. What an odd young man. He speaks so strangely. "Gracious, I haven't had to do something like that for years. I believe I feel younger already!" she laughs wryly.
"Lars, did you see any sign of where they may have gone?" she calls, making her way over to the odd statue and the bodies around it.