Looks like the rest of our group has arrived.
"Glad to be in your care Mister Goodlight." William nods politely at the barkeeper while interrupting his meal.
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Bart snorts, "Vincent is long dead, His skull sits over there" he says, pointing ti a trio of skulls on the barcounter. "Him and his two brides. We have the custom here of removing heads from the leaches and burning their skulls with seals... Keeps them dead, and makes sure none of their followers can bring them back." he sighs, clearly stressed and tired. "I have seen your typical Moroi, the spawn at least. Pretty sure a real vamp would have torn my head off!" he laughs, seems making a joke of the situation helped him cope with it. "other than that I've seen the odd ones.. folks have been reporting what they call Lampray vamps... Whatever that means. Reports if the bloodsuckers with no faces and twisted bodies... Been coming in the last month. Palidans say they are just romours... But more of the sightings have beem reported every day...
"Thank you friend. We will keep on the lookout for such creatures."
She turns back to her food and then the others, "You think these vampires are responsible for the attacks at the embassy? I've heard stories that they are capable of controlling the minds of creatures, and frankly I am wary of intelligent undead." She takes a sip, "So where do we start our investigation tomorrow? I would like to plan it out so that I can be best prepared for what is to come."
Vanessa turns to the elf, "You seemed learned Mister..? Did you and Pinkie find anything out on your way over here?"
"Well the lady that welcomed us did say that supposed werebats were responsible for the attacks on the embassy. The paladin did add he has hunted down some of those himself." , William sighs " So I would hope that we won't come into conflict with any vampires yet." . The druid frowns at the thought of having to deal with these undead abominations, he hardly knew anything about those foes.
Hopefully fire will do the deal on those monsters too, if we are unlucky enough to run across any.
" I think our mission was to look after the oil fields and find out why the ones responsible weren't responding to any communication attempts. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think we should place our priorities there first." , leaning back in his seat he was curious of his companions' thoughts on the matter.
Vanessa looks a little upset at the prospect of doing what was expected but she nods. "You're probably right Will. Let's not get in over our heads." So looks wistfully at the vampire skull of the vampire Vincent, "... You're probably right."
"Not much, found one of my lot runnin' a shop, look carefully at what you buy there 'e ain't fussy about what 'e sells ya, if-f you know wha' I mean. An' we swing past the church, learned a little about the lady, got me one of these and tha' was about it. I need about an hour to make up me bombs an' stuff, so i reckon we get a good, non-rockin' nights sleep an' set out for the embassy in the morning. Seems a propa' place to start."
As his stew arrives he then sets to, devouring it hungrily.
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(Pushing through the night)
That night you all sleep restlessly. despite the beds being well made and very comfortable there lays a dark gloom over the night.
In the morning, as soon as the sun rises you hear soldiers and such patrolling the streets. a horn blares in the distance every now and then, but otherwise no-one seems concerned.
The bar is handing out cream and wheat for breakfast, the oats flavored with sugar but not much else. The tavern seems not to carry many customers, as not many other folks are around.
Having slept restlessly, Srik-Srik is only too happy to see the first ray of light creep through the shutters of his window. Rising quickly his mood soon changes as he bustles about with his flasks and test tubes for an hour. Once he has prepared his things for the day, Srik-Srik heads down to the bar for something to eat and to join the others.
"So, where do we start, the posh 'ouse or the bodie fields?"
The night comes with its share of horrors, but she manages to sleep fairly well. Waking up she looks around the room, checks to see who is around then pulls out some candles, chalk and begins to meditate.
We will need strength today, and you don't want me dead. So give me what I desire.
A chill goes through the room, and if one was nearby they would swear that they heard echoes of a laugh and a deal struck.
Starting downstairs she almost seems like a new person, standing tall and proud, her hand ready for danger.
"Pinkie, how are you doing this fine day? I feel we should go wherever there is the most overt danger, kill what needs to be killed, banish what needs to be banished, then move to investigate immediately after it has become stable."
As William awakes from a horrible dream the first light of day was already to be seen. Wiping his cold sweat of his forehead the druid heads for a barrel of water to wash away some of the nightly distress along the perspiration.
After he regained his cool, William takes a legged position on his bed and starts to meditate. Finishing his daily prayer to his goddess he hopes for her protection in the times to come.
Showing up downstairs William notices his companions. " Mornin' Pinkie. How was your night?" , after hearing out his fellows , the druid starts eating his breakfast, answering them after a short pause. " Well. You sure seem determined for some action today Vanessa. While I commend your vigor, extemporaneous zest for action leads to an early grave..." William goes silent.
Looking down at his meal, he slowly starts nodding and then finally speaks up " The oilfields are most likely to be a dangerous place, located outside of town I would not be surprised if we get attacked by some monstrosity on our way there, since inside of the town walls seems to be no save place either with undead roaming the night."
" But there is truth in your words and I agree. I think taking a look at the oil fields would give us a good grasp of the situation at hand. The be honest I would also like to test if those Black Reach monstrosities burn like the ones we have back home do. What do you think?"
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The Bartender comes to the table, a bit more grim than before. Morning, folks. Hope last night wasn't an issue for ya, luckily none where lost... Its always a tragety to loose someone. Thanks to our tules though everyone keeps safe. I heard ya where gonna head to the oil fields? Best be hurrying, two days ago they requested a group to help defend the towers, apparently one had been destroyed. he says, trying to be helpful.
"If you folks need any help, or information, I'll do my best to help. " he says, smiling.
"Having no zest means someone else will be sitting there instead." She gives her head a shake but takes the words to heart, as much as she can at least.
"It seems the oil fields call to use then, are we ready to move out? Won't take me much time to finish this food and go." She eyes the others, "I feel if we do need to engage, you can rely on me; I'll take up the front rank."
The druid smiles apologetically at Vanessa. "I just meant we should proceed with caution. If push comes to shove I can support you up front if need be, after all I am quite used to swinging around my quarterstaff once in a while."
Turning his head over to the bartender, whose statements caught William's attention "The towers were attacked? Did you happen to catch by what or whom they were attacked Mister Goodlight?"
As the others arrive down at breakfast Srik-Srik greets them with his usual enthusiastic manner, spilling his oats as he waves his spoon in greeting. Talking around his mouthful he agrees "I'm alright wiv that. Peeps tend to get annoyed when I blow stuff up near their houses!" With breakfast finished it doesn't take long to grab his gear.
"Any information at all will help us, you can imagine how dangerous going in blind can be." She faces the druid, "No need to look so upset, I know what you're saying is right, its just hard to consolidate it today."
She laughs at the ratfolk's comments, but pauses to consider how much truth there was to the joke.
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Bart Huffs, "no, just that they where destroyed, don't know by what... You folks have a good day, may the lady smile apon you." he says
As you head through the docks to the southern portion of the town you notice the farther south you get the more people you see. The number doubles when you cross the river separating the north and south cities. People greet you kindly, and some folks even offer you directions.
You pass by a large bulding with a sign labeled "SWIFT SWEAPERS GUILD", noticing quite a few ratfolk milling about here.
However you're determined to get to the oil fields and make it to the southern edge of the town within the hour. A few gaurds are posted here, and they wish you luck innthe road.
Once outside the city the trees of the Southern Reach seem almost inviting to you...
You come to a fallen tree about 2 miles from the city. A little while farther down you can see a wagon on it's side, but none of you are able to spot the men before they jump out.
Roughly five men, armed with crossbows or muskets jump from the shadows, two behind the log, two around some trees behind you, and the last one can be seen by the wagon, crossbow in hand.
"Oi! This is a toll road! Y'all want t' pass, y'all gotta pay." says one near the log. "ten Copper a person" he demands, cocking back the hammer on his musket.
"Now now, no need to be so jumpy. How about this, I'll even give you a little extra if you pass us some information about the area. You all seem to be distinguished survivalists, and might know a thing or two. What do you say?"
Fighting the fiend's desire for bloodlust today, she attempts to sweeten the deal, though the words don't quite come out right.
Not only the undead, but now even bandits... Well I guess a rough land makes for rough people...
Seeing themselves outnumbered and at a disadvantage William would like to avoid any bloodshed and supports Vanessa's methods.
"My companion is making a fine point here. No need for violence. You see I am a healer, I could have a look at some wounds and illnesses that may inconvenience you. With the undead lurking around a small injury can become a lethal wound in no time."
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One of the men behind you moves over. His crossbow kept aimed at Vanessa's head. He apreaches about 5 feet away, and comes to her side. "You look quite lovely... " he says, "If I was an unreasonable man, Ida shot your friends, and taken you to camp... But I'm the reasonable sort" he Huffs.
His men lower their weapons and he takes his aim off of her. "four silver we let you pass, ten silver I give you what you want... We don't need a voodoo doctor working our wounded... Last man of the wood that offered help ended up turning luciel into a monster..." he raised his crossbow up to aim at William. "you don't look like one of them black woods druids... But if you come one step closer I'll make sure you don't take another"
The man sighs, "now, pay up, or we turn you into pin cushions."
William understood that any wrong move could be his last, so he keeps quiet and avoids unnecessary attention.
Trusting in Vanessa to diffuse the situation he tries to keep his calm.
"4... or 10, do us f-fink we are made of money. An' with two of ya empties an' all. I reckon this 'ere bomb is more of your concern, if I was to let it go bokm. 'ow about 4 and you give us the info?"
Oh... No...
"Ha just a little ratfolk joke you know. They're always being so rambunctious."
"It's a good thing you aren't unreasonable, you'd be far less well off if you were." She pulls a gold coin from her purse, "Wouldn't you?"
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The man sees the gold coin, and licking his lips he snorts, "now, I'll accept your apology... But my friends here might want something more to help... Soothe their nerves" he says flicking his crossbow sights at the rat.
"you filthy trash-eaters need to learn how to hold your tongues, or you'll all end up rugs" he says, taking the gold, "we'll let ya pass... Now, one question and off ye get" the bandit takes a step back, making sure of any if you took a move he'd have time to retaliate.
The man has an obvious distaste for ratfolk, and any further threats from Srik will probably not end well
Understanding that he hadn't managed to carry the threat across very well, Srik-Srik holds himself in a non-threatening pose and clamps his mouth shut.
Looking at Will and thinking about the druids, Vanessa speaks up, "Actually what can you tell us about these black wood druids? You see, we hunt monsters that turn fine folk like you against each other, set curses and turn friends into monsters."
"Any help at all, you know what they say about the enemy of my enemy."
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the man huffs, and signals for the others to get out of the way. "not locals, eh? figured, don't talk like locals... them black woods druids say they are men of the wood, but act like filthy witches. they say they love all life, but what they think life is must be something quite monstrous... I'd bet my life that they are the ones responsible for most of the towns troubles... undead alone are easy to deal with... lycans and undead? not so much.... now get gone, we'll be kind enough to not ambush you on the return..." he huffs.
Venturing towards the oilfields, the bandits' wagon no longer in listening range William states "Not quite the warm welcome... I wonder if we will have more encounters like this along the road." he pauses.
"Thanks for keeping your cool Vanessa and getting us out of there in one piece. They didn't seem to take all to well to healers or ratfolk. I guess I owe you a few meals."
Going onwards William seems deep in thought, trying to make sense of what the bendits said about the local druids. After a while he breaks the silence.
" Though I wonder what's the deal with those black forest druids. They state to love nature, but act like filthy witches... That's what the men said. I do hope there is more superstition in these words coming from those bandits than truth... After all druids are supposed to keep the balance between nature and society, at least that's what I believe in."
Vanessa looks at the druid and forces herself to stuff down the arrogance of the champion, "It was nothing, we are in this together and my gifts are best used to help each other." She looks at William and Pinkie, "You owe me nothing, I'm sure your medical knowledge and your veteran expertise will balance out in the end."
She listens to William and crunches her nose at the thought, "I asked hoping you would be interested enough; I know enough about the bonds of an order and what corruption does to oneself."
"Yeah nice work Ness, they didn't take too well to my attempt at persuasion. What they said, don't sound to good neither. Look how about I take point, then if we trip another ambush, we won't all be i it an' I am pretty small and hard to spot."
Checking his bomb items and his crossbow are all ready to go, Srik-srik heads out about 20 feet ahead of the others. Trying to stay aware, he also moves stealthily through likely ambush spots and chokepoints.
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The rest of the journey goes smoothly, ans you arrive at the oil fields only an hour later. Some men approach, covered in black grime and dirt. One shouts at you as you approach, not spotting the ratfolk.
[b]Howdy folks, what brings ye down to the fields, quite dangerous here" he says, pulling a dirty towel out of a sack and wiping his hands futilely ti make them cleaner, likty to shake the hand of whomever offers...
Vanessa extends her hand out, "We've heard of the recent troubles around here and would like to help with the problem. Could you take us to someone who can inform us of the situation?"
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The worker(it was hard to tell what race he was covered in all that grime) nods and points to a set of buildings. "Yeup, Captians over there, in the main buildin'" he says, "I wouldn't go too far into the oil fields though, we're cleaning up a spill caused when one of our towers fell" he Huffs, slogging away with the other workers
" What do you think of that? I have to admit that I am concerned about the impact an oil leakage of that size will have on the surrounding environment and people... Though nature around here seems quite unique. From what we heard of the Dark Forest Druids it would not surprise me if they are behind those attacks..." the druid looks to the sky checking for any signs of soon to happen precipitation.
Knowing that a strong downpour is likely to mix the oil into the groundwater, he hopes the workers will be able to clean up the greatest part of this mess before a significant rain occurs.
" Well, shall we head to the captain then? Or do you have something else in mind we should check upon first?" , he asks while hiding his concerns behind a soft smile, trying not to worry his friends with what is likely to be an anxiety of him alone.
Not really used to bluffing, he does a surprisingly good job at that, for his standards.
Vanessa doesn't notice that her companion is worried about the situation and gives a smile, "Let's talk to the captain here and come up with a plan of action. We need as much information as possible to begin our investigation anyway."
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The sky is grey, however given the time of year it's getting colder, if the weather turns sour it will most likely hail.
As you approach a dwarf spots you and comes over, he is much cleaner, and is wearing a suit of light armor. "Watch it! Your commin' quite close t' the fields ." he draws a pick from his belt. "got a chance of sludge beasts commin'out." he Huffs, "now, if ya' have the paperwork, I'll gladly see ya, otherwise I suggest gettin' somewhere else "
"First off, sludge beasts? Second, we are here to deal with the recent misgivings in the area. Vanessa Asergale." She eyes the dwarf down, "I've heard there's been some attacks and damage recently in the area and we would like to know what and why."
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the dwarf Huffs "Aye, Sludge beasts. Ooze and the like... And if ya wanna know more about the damage, I need to see some paperwork... Although knowing how often the Lords like to send folks without it, I'll happily let you know what you want... So long as it isn't about the finances, I've gotten in a heap o' hell last time I let our finances leak." he sighs, waving at you. "okay then, what is it?"
Tipping his hat as a greeting "William Deschanel, a pleasure."
Taking a look around he starts speaking "Well good Sir, I think we are indeed missing the documents you are looking for, but I can assure you we are here to help. We have been sent here from the northern main land of Vilerdan. Arrived by boat just the other day.
"Can we get an overall status report, number of attackers and the frequency of the attacks? How much of the equipment was damaged in the incident?" stating all these questions with a grim face.
As the druid realizes he is probably to straight forward since they do actually not have any documents at hand he tries to win over the dwarf in front of him with a softer tone "Most importantly... Did anyone get injured? How many wounded are there? I am a skilled healer, maybe I can be of help." he ends the last sentence with a feint smile, clearly being ashamed that the thought of wounded civilians or workers has crossed his mind only just yet.
"Yes, what William speaks is truth. We may not have papers but we can prove our worth here if you need us to."
Vanessa gets antsy when she's talking, making the conversation a little more difficult. "We only want to help this blackened land, let us help, it wouldn't hurt you or your livelihood one bit."
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The dwarf snorts and shrugs. "Not doughtimg your here to help, My issue is giving ya info without proper papers, But call me a fat gnome if I'm not gonna tell you it was Roots and such that knocked over one of our towers, Growing right before your eyes. Swear t' my mother that them black druids do more damage to the environment than heal it. Sure, they take out us civilized folks, but we been doing this for years, Us dwarves know ext how to extract black gold without messing with yer trees and animals, But you knock over a tower and all that sludge gonna get all over... Heh the Dwarf scoffs but a man approaches, whispering something to the dwarf, at which he looks perplexed. "speak of the devil, some of those druids are harassing my workers now... I'll be going to deal with them, sorry I couldn't tell you more" the dwarf grumbles, Drawing his weapon and heading off.
"Now we're talkin', a propa threat. Let us come an' lend a hand an' see what you are f-facin'. Maybe even bag a few. I'm guessing I shouldn't use any explosions round 'ere though."
Bringing his crossbow up to the 'trail arms' position, he prepares to move out at a jog, following the dwarf.
William nods. " I think I'd like to have a talk with one of these so called druids. Maybe not all is lost and we can come to an agreement... Though I doubt it from what I have heard so far."
Lets hope I am proven wrong and am able to speak some sense into those druids.
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the Dwarf shrugs, "no objection here" he huffs.
the dwarf leads you through the oil fields, and you pass by a few towers. it's clear the dwarf was honest, alot of the equipment shows the shine and quality of Dwarven engineering.
you hear some shouting ahead. As you approach a single man... or at least it looks like a man. the figure stands a bit taller than most men, in his face sits a deer skull with huge antlers swooping up from the rear. how the skull rested on the figure's head without falling off was a mystery. His robes are pitch black and he carries a huge scythe. a few men stand to the side, yelling at the figure. "you been wrecking our site, terrorizing our town, and what in the lady's light makes you think that any of this gives you the right to kill innocent people!" yells one of the men.
The figure chuckles, his voice whispy and light. "I't is not your lady who guides the will of the Reach, you know this quite well. Now quit complaining before i decide to show you the power of the Reach's real godess." the figure threatens, to which the air grows cold, and something sinister fills the air.
Moving up quickly, Srik-Srik stops about 50ft away from the menacing figure. Putting a crossbow bolt close to the figure's feet he yells out in a snarl. "You must be pretty ugly to reckon tha' mask is an improvement. F-feth off back where ya came f-from an' leave this lot in peace, else I might 'ave to get in some target practice and i won't miss next time!
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The figure glances at the bolt, and the eye sockets of the skull light up, twin flames bursting from them
"oh, how lovely, a rat looks apon a lion, dreaming that it could slay such a beast, how pittiful. If it wasn't for your pittiful size I might uave been convinced you're a threat, but look at you... Almost cute, I say" the figure laughs, I don't wish to fight, There are many of you and only one of me. I came to warn you that the work being done here is a crime against the mother's will, and if you insist apon continuing to work here you will all suffer her wrath..."
Undaunted and mildly annoyed by the figure's reaction, Srik-srik responds through laughter. "Sorry, did I hear that right? I thought you said lion, but I think you meant rotting deer corpse, I mean I can smell you f-from 'ere. Some lion, hiding behind a deer, too af-fraid to show your f-face, I just keep my mask on to stop decent f-folk f-from throwing up. Go home or bring it, then we'll see."
Loading another bolt, Srik-srik raises his aim.
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The figure I growls, and the air grows cold, several if the observers shiver, backing away from the figure. "you insolent cur! I have restrained myself this far, But your making quite the attempt to draw my wrath." the figure swings its sythe and holds a hand out, the three fingered tallon pointing to Srik, the flesh gaunt and taut ovet the bones. It's clear now this creature wasn't human...
"you will regret your words... So help the mother..." with a florish the figure shoots into the sky, vanishing over the treeline as it fled.
You managed to get the creature to leave, however the methods you used may result in some issues in the future...
As the figure flees, Srik-srik relaxes his aim and starts making obscene hand gestures and shouting insults at the figure's back. "OH AN' A COWARD TOO, I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU WERE A LION. OFF-F YOU GO, HOME TO CRY TO MUMMY!" reducing his volume to a normal speaking voice, he carries on. "Well that worked well, scared it an' pissed it off-f. If it does come back it will be too angry to think cleverly. Right lads, nothing left to see 'ere." and he strolls off to collect his bolt.
Well. That was quite the spectacle...
Will stood nearby watching the situation unfold, too stunned by both the supposed druid's appearance and his companions display of courage to act.
As the creature flies away William shakes his head with a confused expression on his face. He had hoped to resolve the situation without resorting to violence, though the druid would have wanted to exchange a few words with that... thing.
"Atleast no one got hurt. Good work Pinky!" , he paused looking after the now gone cloaked figure. "To speak frankly, that thing had quite the eerie aura to it."