Patricie continues making her way through the city, trying to find any of her companions, and making sure Trilby doesn't eat a scared meat-cart owner's wares.
Crystal rolls her eyes in frustration as she keeps having to call out and guide her escort and fellow ruler, Marcello, towards the sounds of combat and resistance. Seriously, did the man not have ears or something?
Meanwhile, her horse makes things surprisingly easy on the priestess, the crowds on the streets parting before her steed with little resistance. Even en route to possible danger, she tries to cut a fine figure, her white gown hugging her curves, portraying a paradox of innocence and sexuality.
Garroth sees a disturbing robed man dash around the corner as he himself turns to flee. He moves away from the sentinels, but they follow him with mechanistic determination.
Setting off at a run, Garroth skirted around the spot where the stranger had disappeared.
Another barrage of utterances follows from the same spot the man disappeared in, spoken in a raspy, hollow tone, void of emotions or haste. Then, at once, the voice trails out and nothing else is heard.
The crowned blonde woman and her hulking escort come upon the scene to find a shattered sentinel lying on its back, a group of four more bumbling about chaotically as if searching for something. A scholarly-looking woman comes from the other direction, also appearing as though she has come to investigate the disturbance (Feth).
Crystal ignores her, instead turning to some of the cowering folk around her. "You there! What has happened here? Out with it!" Her brow is furrowed, and her blue eyes narrowed. She appears rather confused, and does not like what she is seeing.
"He killed one!" declares a young man with an apron, apparently an apprentice to some local shopkeeper or artisan. By the expression on his face, you'd guess he was impressed with the deed.
"He ran off down that way, I think." adds an older woman, still holding several uprooted flowers, her work with them apparently forgotten for the present. "A strong-looking man with orc blood."
Melaphi comes around the corner upon the scene, overhearing the last of the words from the commoners. Seeing Crystal astride her horse and her companion, his expression wrinkling just slightly. That's all I need is to spend another weekend in jail because of hot tempers. He pauses only briefly upon seeing Feth, giving her a look of concern, tilting his head slightly in the direction indicated by the onlookers before moving that direction himself.
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Letting Crystal do the talking, Marcello went to give the sentinels a proper look. Obviously, it was a sword cut that had done the damage to the downed one. A mace would have left bulges and cracks while an arrow or spear would have left more holes than gashes.
The sword was not the same as his own... That much he could see, but that only left a small myriad of other swords to think about, so he decided not to.
Getting back up in full height, Marcello let a quick look over the group of people assembled. Trying to discern if any of them could be the culprit and he was just hiding among them.
It was fruitless tho, and he knew it. All of them looked interested at the mayhem of sentinels, so he wouldn't know if any of them was just good actors at hiding their intent.
Looking at the first man who had answered Crystal, the shopkeeper, Marcello walked up to him with a bit more rage and hate than the man deserved... But if anything, Marcello needed answers about who had done this and the discomfort from the fire in his insides was put to more use here. "This wouldn't be a local would it? Trying to cheat his way out of taxes?" Locking eyes with the young man, Marcello allowed some of his anger to seep into his voice making him sound a lot more threatening... Which would be better than asking nicely. "Can you describe him? Point him out? If not, we will need to do an extensive search and some less than... polite, you might say, questions..." Smiling like a madman, Marcello follows up with a quick remark and put his hand onto the man's shoulder: "You do want to follow the law like a good citizen, right?" The hand on the shoulder would turn into a practical grab as Marcello squeezed hard and then let go.
Fethryth watches from the fringes of the crowd. "Someone really walloped that sentinel good...I'd love to get some sketches for my notes." She watches Marcello go from looking at the sentinel to scaring the life out of the shopkeeper. "Yeah, well, there's no way I want that guy's attention. That is a scary, angry guy. I bet all that armor chafes, that would make me mad too" Fethryth chuckles to herself.
She's working her way through the back of the crowd when she spots Melaphi. She nods to him and takes up a parallel course.
The wild girl and her packhorse and bear arrive at the scene as a big burly man is shouting at a young man. One quick look at the downed sentinel, and she smiles, recognizing her comrade's handywork. Looking around, she doesn't see the half-orc, but does see the newcomer Feth, and decides to catch up with her, as stealthily as possible, and let the sorceress know what she learned.
"Feth," she whispers, "It's as we feared, the sentinels came from the Keep; they're probably powered by something inside. We should head that way, we'll never defeat them head on. Have you seen anyone else?"
"Melaphi. He went that way" She gestures after him. "I'm not sure, but I think it was Garroth who killed thr sentinel. Someone in the crowd said he had orc blood." Feth keeps steadily moving
Her brow crinkles in further irritation as she looks at the sentinel. Well that was just great...a sentinel destroyed by a slashing weapon wielding half-orc. It could just as well be Sarcon, for all Crystal knew. It didn't seem likely, but the brute didn't play by the same set of rules. He might have destroyed one just to prove he could, for all she knew.
Her eyes catch movement, and she sees the nature woman and her bear from the encounter a couple of weeks before trying to slink around the crowd in the general direction of the pointing fingers. Intrigued, she turns her horse on a course to intercept.
Patry sees she's being tailed over her shoulder, and tries to pick up the pace. As she does so, however, she casts Virtue on Trilby, and brandishes her crossbow.
Fethryth increases her pace to match Patry's. She eyes the woman on the white horse. "I'm guessing that's trouble coming over" She whispers to Patry
"I had similar thoughts," the druid answers.
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Noticing Crystal riding away, Marcello made another sweep of the crowd in the direction she was going.
Noticing the bear that comically tries to hide behind the flock of peasants, Marcello gets sight of the woman walking in front of it. She was part of the Half-orcs crew! Could it be that Half-orc that had broken the sentinels?
Having heard enough from the Shopkeeper, he follows Crystal, gripping the handle of his sword. Just in case that pesky Elf was going to jump out from nowhere and flash his lights again.
"I share your sentiment, my child." The line is spoken in a raspy, hollow, maliciously and highly amused tone; and yet it is dripping in malevolent intent. It is quickly followed by another moment of methodical chanting, seemingly coming from everywhere and nowhere at once, shifting in volume and speed in a nearly chaotic manner.
For a fraction of a moment in reality, but far longer in her mind, Fethryth's vision is filled with a worrying sight. Gnashing forms, with too many mouths, too many limbs and too much and yet too little flesh, wiry human figure, pale and hairless with cavernous eyes., They are grotesque mockeries of reality beyond comprehension whose disturbing otherness cannot be encompassed by a mortal's frail mind.
A shrouded figure, clad in an all-encompassing black robe materializes roughly ten feet away from them, appearing out of thin air; effectively putting the heroes between himself and the enclosing villains. The robe hangs strangely on the figure, making it look nearly sickly thin. It bears the grim visage of a mask, a mask showing a elderly face; twisted and destroyed by age.
The crown upon the blonde woman's head flashes with a pale light before dimming once again. She rolls her eyes in frustration, noting the suddenly queer look on Feth's face, along with the theatrical appearance of Victor.
Fethryth lets out a shriek and takes off running.
Crystal's look grows more confused at the recent turn of events as Victor suddenly appears and the scholarly woman starts shrieking and running away from him. Perhaps the wizard would have an explanation when all was said and done.
Milley bolts away in the same direction of Feth. Patry is overcome by a new feeling that she can't seem to shake which compels her to flee as well. Trilby follows after, also frightened.
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Crystal, still confused by the turn of events, dismounts on the side of her horse opposite the bear. She had merely been trying to figure out what was going on, but maybe Victor knew what was going on better than she did. Regardless, the wild woman had drawn a crossbow, so that was suspicious enough.
The scholarly woman seemed terrified, and Crystal had not seen the lovely wild woman in action. She HAD seen the handsome man cast a spell on Marcello in their previous encounter, so she decides to target him. Her arms go through the motions of spellcasting as she chants.
Melaphi gets a mischievous grin on his face, "So what exactly did you have in mind with that?"
F&#%!
"Just something to keep your handsome face free of blemishes while we sort this out!" The blonde's returned smile is somewhat marred by the small horse between the two.
"High Priestess, Mister Wintrish. Arrest and detain the red-head in the keep; the law and her Ladyship demands it! The figure's speech seems to soften noticeable, almost betraying a small tinge of affinity towards the two villains.
That small tinge seems to vanish instantly as he figure's head twerks towards Melaphi; blasting him with sights of the abominations and horrible visions of dread and doom.
"Sorry old man." Getting a closer look Melaphi does a double take, "You are old indeed. She's better looking then you and I didn't succumb to her charms either."