After a few seconds spent idly watching the crowd, Silvia realizes that the others have walked off without her, and she jogs after to catch up. The empty gatehouse setting off alarm bells in her head, her hand slowly moves to her hip, where her weapon waits. She scans the battlements and surroundings for any sign of activity, benign or malevolent.
"'Irregular' is putting it mildly," she mutters. "Even with the Festival, there ought to be someone here."
Darcy blinks at the change of subject as she shifts gears, then half-turns to check the faces in the crowd. "No...you're right, I haven't seen any of them, as it happens. Captain Sunstone might have called a meeting? On account of the festival? Octavius might know." The tall half-orc's tone indicates that's a complete guess, but Darcy doesn't seem overly worried about it. "I'm sure they'll be along shortly!"
Laesi just shakes her head at Garret's question, expression confused as she looks at you and back at the tower. She pulls her head away from Wallace's hand. "But where is everybody? Where's my dad?" When Garret pulls on the gate it rattles it doesn't budge. If Wallace or Silvia attempt, the same--it's been barred from within.
You step in the stirrup Wallance makes with his hands are are easily boosted most of the way up the wall. Pulling yourslef up and over the outer walls of Cofferkeep you scramble to your feet and peer around. The small parapet ringing the walls is clean but bereft of any of the guards who should have been patrolling it, so you lean over a bit to examine the courtyard.
It takes your mind a moment to process what you're seeing, as a cold wave of dread washes through you: four bodies, in the armor of Lastwall soldiers, lying still and contorted on the ground around the door into the main keep. Their weapons lie scattered in the dirt around them, but there is no blood, and no other bodies.
A look of horror flashes on his face as his worst fears have come true, though he hopes that somehow the motionless men below were just put to sleep by a spell and not actually dead. Steeling himself for a moment, Garret looks back over at his companions and says, ”Laesi, I need you to be brave. Run as fast as you can to the graveyard and tell the first guard you see that the fort Is under attack by unknown enemies.”
Garret will try and climb down the other side of the wall or, if it is too difficult, ask Wallace or Silvia to throw a rope over and hold it so he can descend more safely. Once he is on the ground, he will unbar the gate as quickly and quietly as he can.
Ketra mulls over the situation before her mix of curiosity and discomfort wins out. "Darce, Ailsa, I'm going to go quick and check to see what's going on with the guard. It's probably nothing, but the timing's weird. I'll be right back." She waves goodbye to her sisters and jogs back to the Sagely Goat. She pops in only a moment to grab her weapons before heading over to Cofferkeep to see what's going on with the guard.
----
Laesi's eyes go wider than seems possible at Garret's instruction. "A-attack?" The girl is visibly terrified, but straightens her back and tugs on Wallace's hand. "Please save him," she all but whispers to the knight, before kicking off her shoes and tearing back up the street as fast as her feet can carry her.
Ketra's is just leaving the Sagely Goat, weapons now belted to her hip, when she sees the little girl Wallace, Garret, and Silvia had escorted come sprinting up the way. "Ga--garry," she pants as she skids to a stop in from the youngest Driscoll sister. "Garry says the fort is under attack! My dad's in there please tell everyone!" She takes off again for the graveyard.
You don't see or hear anyone nearby, and whatever it is that's startled Garret you can't detect any sounds of battle or death or anything other than the gentle breeze moving across the town.
You feel a headache coming on, pulsing in time with...no, not with your heartbeat. It's too slow to be your heart, but that pulse...pulse...pulse is definitely real, and you think it's coming from inside the fort.
Back at the graveyard, Sanduro sees the same little girl who had been looking for her dad come running up to the graveyard. Tearful and short of breath, she relates that the fort was under attack. Alarm spreads through the gathered crowd, who begin pressing in to ask who the attackers are, this had better not be a prank, how many of them, is the keep still--
"ALL OF YOU, QUIET!" Octavius' bellow cuts through the noise like the drill sergeant he is, as the old soldier limps up the the press of townsfolk. "Back up, give her space!" Kneeling down to be level with the girl, Octavius says kindly. "It'll be alright, just tell me what happened." Biting her lip to keep it from trembling, Laesi answers his questions.
Face grim, Octavius stands and points to a few sturdy-looking individuals neaby. "Althrus, Tobor, with me. Madam Mayor, I'll take a few sword-arms to see what's transpiring and report back." Turning to go, his eyes fall upon Sanduro. "Can you fight, Varisian? If so fall in."
Sanduro listens to the girl's stammered story with growing horror. Orcs? he wonders. Or maybe another reaver?
Face grim, Octavius stands and points to a few sturdy-looking individuals neaby. "Althrus, Tobor, with me. Madam Mayor, I'll take a few sword-arms to see what's up and report back." Turning to go, his eyes fall upon Sanduro. "Can you fight, Varisian? If so fall in."
Sanduro shrugs his foster-mother's bow from his shoulder, nocks an arrow, and nods. "I can fight," he says, and steps up to join the group following Octavius to the keep.
Zsofia snorts. I can fight, boyo. You're gonna want to take a minute to let me loose before the arrows start to fly.
Silvia's gun does leave its holster now, and she holds it down and to the side, her free hand ready to help pull the gate open once Garret has it unbarred. "There's something still inside the fort," she says. "I can feel it."
Under attack? I hate being right sometimes.
Ketra turns her brisk walk into a run as she closes the distance with Cofferkeep. She catches up with Silvia and Wallace outside the front doors, not the least bit out of breath. "What's-" she lowers her voice in case there are foes about "what's going on? Laesi said the fort was under attack, but it seems - quiet." She glances up toward the walls, then listens in for any noises within or without.
Garret struggles with the beams barring the door, but is able to get the gate open shortly after Ketra arrives, and the group cautiously steps into Cofferkeep. Here in the courtyard, the strange, almost subsonic pulsing sensation is much easier to feel and Silvia thinks the pulses are getting over so slightly longer each time.
The courtyard of Cofferkeep is a mess of bootprints and hoofprints crisscrossing the dirt. You find no clawmarks, disturbed dirt, or anything else out of the ordinary. If an invading force overran the Keep, they don't seem to be monstrous or otherwise unusual.
However, there is half of a bloody bootprint--thin, harrow riding boots from a slight Medium humanoid--and a smear of mostly dried blood in the dirt right in front of the door to Captain Sunstone's office.
The bodies of Sgt. Arminos Eversteel and three guards--Jardim, Trensil, and Brenner--crumpled at the keep's door are contorted in agony, eyes and tongues bulging and bloody foam flecking their lips. They appear to have died without coming to grips with their unknown foe, their swords lying unbloodied in the dirt.
Their horrific injuries suggest a death by poison--but the complete lack of scent, residue, or other detectable remnants of the culprit suggest a magical origin. There exist several spells or other magics that can conjure toxic gasses, but one so immediately fatal could only come from a powerful mage.
As you examine the courtyard, you hear Octavius' voice behind you. "You two, post up here and watch the street. Varisan, you're with me." A hearbeat later the old militia sergeant and Sanduro step into the courtyard. Expression grim, Octavius' eyes quickly sweep the surroundings to take in the scene. "Have you found anything?"
Garret immediately goes over to the bodies to see if they are asleep, unconscious, or truly dead. If any of them are still alive, he calls for a healer.
Sanduro follows Octavius into the fort.
"Ketra? I'm glad to see you. Do you have any idea..."
He cuts off when he spots the bodies and hurries over to see if there is anything to be done.
The bodies of Sgt. Arminos Eversteel and three guards--Jardim, Trensil, and Brenner--crumpled at the keep's door are contorted in agony, eyes and tongues bulging and bloody foam flecking their lips. They appear to have died without coming to grips with their unknown foe, their swords lying unbloodied in the dirt.
Garret:
With the blood draining from his face, Garret closed Brenner’s eyes and shuddered, thankful at least that he sent the young girl away before she saw her father this way. ”Let’s move forward and find out who or what did this,” says Garret grimly.
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"Halt!" Wallace orders as the others begin to proceed deeper. "Mr. Black, these tracks are remarkably ordinary. 'Monsters' in the traditional sense likely aren't the culprits... And there!" he points to Captain Sunstones Office door. "Bloody footprints..." he whispers, drawing his longsword and shield.
"Formations, then?" he asks Octavius.
________
Garret falls into his typical place in the formation—towards the back—used when he goes on patrol, his spells primed and ready for the unknown enemy.
Silvia steps to the front, her eyes fixed on the door. Her free hand, clad in a thick glove, clenches into a fist. She says nothing, her teeth gritted.
Ketra places hands on Sanduro and Garret's shoulders as they inspect the bodies, at first to reassure them, and then to stabilize herself when she recognizes the faces. She murmurs "They... look like they suffered. A surprise attack, maybe something choking them." She closes her eyes for just a moment "May they rest."
"It doesn't look like orcs were behind this, does it?" She spots the same bootprint that Wallace did and adds "Wait, maybe that's someone who was injured. Octavius, who else was here today?" As she asks her question, she also reflects on how many people are usually stationed at Cofferkeep.
Octavius shrugs, and motions with his blade for Wallace to open the door. As it swings open, the smell of blood becomes sharper, and Wallance's gaze is immediately drawn to the blood tracking across the floor...leading to the twitching, moaning form of Captain Sunstone. A pool of blood stains the wood beneath her, and her uniform is dark and soaked.
"Captain!" Silvia shouts, abandoning caution and pushing past Wallace into the room. She comes to a skidding stop on her knees next to Captain Sunstone. As she searches the Captain's body for the source of the bleeding, she shouts back to Wallace and through the door.
"Medic! I need a bloody medic in here!"
Ketra follows right after Silvia, head filled with questions about where all the remaining soldiers are. When Silvia shouts, she takes two steps back. "Rosa..." With a shake of her head, she calls out "Sanduro, do you have any healing magic? We need you."
To the Captain, she asks "Rosa, can you hear us?"
Garret, having no healing ability of his own, hangs back and stays on high alert for any threats which might emerge, a spell on his lips ready to cast. He looks around carefully for any hidden enemies.
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Wallaces gives Octavius a nod and does his best to determine the security of the room. Better leave the healing to the Priest! Stepping inside, he sees they've come through the only exit on this level, but there is a stairwell down to what is presumably the basement.
"This is grim, to say the least. Once the Captain is stable, we need to secure the perimeter. Mr. Black, was there something kept here that someone would want to steal? If someone was out to simply kill the guards, doing it out on patrol would be the best time, yet the attacker chose to come here, where the guard is strongest..." he wonders out loud, running a hand through his hair before re-gripping his armaments. By the Inheritor, this is horrific! Is the Captain going to make it? Can she tell us anything about what happened? We'll need to send word to Vigil!
"Mr. Black, who is our swiftest traveler? We should report this to Vigil at once!"
________
Silvia gently raises her captain up, tearing the ripped uniform to examine the wounds. She sees five wounds from a dagger or small blade scattering along her neck, shoulder, and back. Several of them show signs of partial magical healing, but others have been re-opened by her continual twitching.
Curiously, the wounds don't seem to be poisoned, and while her expression is pained her eyes are clear and angry, flicking from Silvia to Ketra to Garret. She grasps at the front of Silvia's uniform. "St-st-strannnnge n-noble at-t-tacked usss," she manages as the muscles in her neck and face twitch uncontrollably, making speech a battle. "Uh, uh, uhpstairrs! He s-s-ssaid h-he...br-brings...a g-giffft..."
At this, Octavius pushes into the room and kneels down by Silvia's side. "We will, Sir Lundgren! Kill the foe in front of you before confronting the next." The militia leader reaches out and cradles the captain, hands glowing with healing energy. "I've got her, Silvia. The rest of you sweep the tower. We need a casualty count, and to know if anything was stolen. If that bastard is still in there do not engage." The captain's wounds close further, but the spasms are unabated.
Garret tries to stay alert, but his eyes are constantly dragged back to the injured captain despite himself. Lundgren's examination of the room doesn't turn up any obvious clues: several papers are scattered across the desk and floor, many now bloodstained. The captain's longsword is still sheathed and hung on the back of the chair pushed back against the wall. The maps of the area pinned to the wall don't seem to be disturbed...if something was taken from here it's not clear what.
Pulse. Pulse. Pulse. Pulse.
Sanduro is stunned into silence by the violence and gore before them. The duskwalker never considered himself to have had a particularly sheltered life, but he is no soldier; aside from a memorable bandit raid on the caravan when he was a child, the worst injuries he has ever seen on a person were those inflicted on a cousin who stumbled across a bear cub in the woods and was attacked by its mother.
"That is ... a lot of blood," he murmurs, his gray skin turning even more ashen than usual. He chokes back his rising gorge, and grips his bow more tightly.
He takes a breath, then answers Ketra with a shake of his head. "Nothing I can cast indoors. I can try to bind her wounds, but -" he steps back as the priest takes over.
"Sweep the tower. Right. Let's get going."
All right, I admit it, you were right. I should have let you loose on the way here. But it would take too long now.
Zsofia is quiet for a moment, then mutters, Yeah, kid, I think you should have. But you're right, no time now. Keep your eyes open.
Garret follows the others upstairs (assuming someone is familiar with this fort and knows where the stairs are located given Sunstone’s directions). Rage and frustration threaten to overwhelm him, but lend power to the spell on the tip of his tongue.
Silvia looks Octavius in the eyes for a long moment, before turning her attention back to Captain Sunstone. "Hold on, Captain. You owe me and Black drinks after this, and we can't collect if you bleed out on the floor, all right?" She stands, placing a hand on Wallace's shoulder. "I'm behind you, soldier. There's still people in here counting on us."
"That is ... a lot of blood," he murmurs, his gray skin turning even more ashen than usual. He chokes back his rising gorge, and grips his bow more tightly.
Hearing Sanduro's comment, Ketra releases a choked murmur of agreement. The blood doesn't bother her, at least not in the way it bothers Sanduro, but the agony inflicted upon the Captain is nauseating in its own way. Ketra didn't know much about medicine or healing, but it was clear enough that the healing Octavius was providing was struggling to actually alleviate her pain. As though the wounds were cursed, or something.
The mention of a strange noble sends a chill down Ketra's spine. She looks in the captain's eyes "Was he pale, with spectacles?" She describes the creepy stranger's clothes as well.
She sets thoughts about the potential culprit aside at Silvia's comment "Right, there may still be someone else we can rescue." As she follows Wallace, she listens in to see if she can hear any struggle from upstairs.
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Garret moves to the door of the main keep, but waits for the others to fall into formation and open the portal as is typical practice. "Let's keep moving and see if the culprit is still here," he counsels.
Ketra nods to Garret. "Right..." She steps to Garret's side and listens for any noises coming from the main keep. As she does, she tries to avoid looking at the familiar, now dead faces around her.
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"Of course, Mr. Black," Wallace says with a nod. Emboldened by Silvia's apparent faith in him, he heads for the main keep's door. Once everyone is in formation, he raises his shield and bids for it to be opened, then steps inside. "I am the first into battle, and the last to leave it," he recites quietly to himself.
His blood chills with the ramifications of Ketra's question. If it was, I was the ones who let this happened! I should have trusted the suspicions of my fellows and followed him! How could I have been so foolish?! His jaw muscles ripple with tension.
The mention of a strange noble sends a chill down Ketra's spine. She looks in the captain's eyes "Was he pale, with spectacles?" She describes the creepy stranger's clothes as well.
Sanduro starts. "Him? The man from the bar? Oh, gods. I saw him. When he left the Sagely Goat, I watched him, and he went in this direction. He must have come here directly from ..."
His voice drops as the realization sets in. "I could have done something."
The duskwalker takes a breath to steady himself, then another, and follows the group back out to the yard and the entrance to the main tower. "All right, I'm ready."
I think.
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She looks in the captain's eyes "Was he pale, with spectacles?" She describes the creepy stranger's clothes as well.
Recognition flashes in the captain's eyes, but all she can manage is a jerky nod.
The party moves to the main doors into the keep, and at a ready nod from Wallace Ketra heaves the ironbound doors open. Pulse. Pulse. Pulse. the sensation of thrumming power is stronger now--whatever it is, you're closer to it now. Stepping into the building you see more bodies, slain seemingly by the same force that felled Arminos and his squad outside.
Scanning the room, there are no signs of struggle or theft, just sudden inexplicable death and the increasingly powerful force you all feel.
PULSEPULSEPULSEPULSE
As the party marches up to the steps, ever closer to the source of the strange magic and it's nearly overwhelming. Wallace and Ketra grit their teeth and stagger up the steps, but the energy leaves Sanduro gasping as his chest feels constricted while Garret and Silvia feel a thin line of blood run down from their nostrils.
As you stumble to the top of the stairs you see the last two members of the garrison--both of them bearing expressions of absolute terror from where they are curled up on the ground, bodies already rigid in death. But just beyond them is the door to the armory, open just a crack and you feel certain that the source of this strange, intensifying magic.
The thrumming magic is no longer distinguishable as distinct pulses, instead being a constant pressure that feels as though it's building towards a climactic finish you're certain you don't want to see. Pushing open the door, your eyes lock onto to a fine leather satchel laying on the table, but you have only a split second to register it's presence when there is a sudden and the world vanishes in overpowering white light...and then you experience nothing at all.
Sanduro gasps at the sight of the bodies, soldiers who would appear almost as though they were frightened to death, if it weren't for all the blood. He positions himself to get the clearest possible shot at the doorway before raising his bow, arrow nocked. His hand hardly shakes at all.
"Everybody ready? Someone open the damn door."
A gnawing fear runs through Ketra as more and more bodies are uncovered and the pulses grow and grow. As the effects of the nightmarish magical pulsing, especially on the companions with her, Ketra considers simply turning back. This was obviously outside of anything she could handle. And yet, guilt over letting the stranger loose over the town, and reckless curiosity keep her moving forward. She eyes the door for any obvious magical dangers...
... and then opens it up.
Reeling a bit from the negative energy pouring out of the room beyond, Garret steels himself and prepares to attack as soon as the door is opened. He is actually able to finish the first gesture of his spell as he looks for the enemy within the room before the soundless white explosion envelops him.
Silvia, second through the door, dives for the satchel as soon as she sees it. She never gets close.
Sensation returns to you slowly, like awakening from a deep slumber though you don't feel tired or groggy. Your eyes blink open but you see nothing, the darkness around you is total. You are lying on your back on an uncomfortable (stone?) surface it takes you a moment to realize that you're wrapped up in some sort of loose cloth robe. With a bit of effort you free your hands and feel around...and determine that you are trapped in a stone box or tiny chamber, the walls pressing in to either side and the top a mere five or six inches above your body!
Sensation returns to you slowly, like awakening from a deep slumber though you don't feel tired or groggy. Your eyes blink open and take a moment to refocus on the blank stone a few inches above your face. You are lying on your back in a small stone box, or chamber of some sort, and you're wrapped snugly in a pale grey burial shroud. With a bit of effort you free your hands and feel around; the walls press in closely to either side, but there is a thin seam along the top indicating that the piece above you could be moved.
Sensation returns to you slowly, like awakening from a deep slumber though you don't feel tired or groggy. Your eyes blink open and you look about yourself in puzzlement. You are lying on your back in a small stone box, or chamber of some sort, and you're wrapped snugly in a strange & ill-fitting robe--a burial shroud, you realize suddenly. With a bit of effort you free your hands and feel around; the walls press in closely to either side, and the 'roof' is only a few inches above your face.
Sensation returns to you slowly, like awakening from a deep slumber though you don't feel tired or groggy. Your eyes blink open and you look about yourself in puzzlement. You are lying on your back in a small stone box, or chamber of some sort, and you're wrapped snugly in a strange & ill-fitting robe. With a bit of effort you free your hands and feel around; the walls press in closely to either side, and the 'roof' is only a few inches above your face.
Sensation returns to you slowly, like awakening from a deep slumber though you don't feel tired or groggy. Your eyes blink open...and blink again as you try to make sense of what you see. You are lying on your back, wrapped up in some sort of loose cloth robe. With a bit of effort you free your hands and feel around this strange stone box or chamber. After a moment of searching you discover a seam along the top corners of the "wall" above you. While you wouldn't exactly call it 'roomy' you have enough space to wriggle about or even turn over with a bit of work, since it seems to have been designed for someone larger than a halfling.
Bracing himself as best he can, Garret gets on his hands and knees and tries to brace himself against the ceiling/lid. Knowing he is not very strong, he takes his time and gets the best leverage he can.
What in the Hells? Zsofia, what happened? The last thing I remember is the fort looking like a slaughterhouse, Ketra opening a door, and then a light.
Sanduro scrapes his fingers along the sides of the box, then pushes against the lid.
Sanduro grunts in satisfaction as the lid shifts, and continues to push until he has opened it enough that he can see through it.
Ketra awakens in a panic, the tension from moments before she lost consciousness coming back to her in a rush. Thoughts of the guardpeople, of Rosa, and of the other people who'd been with her when she'd opened the door roll through her head. Wherever she is now, its not the right place to take action. She feels out the weight of the stone around her and then begins to push.
With an intake of breath she tries once more.
A stray thought of being buried intrudes. She quashes it with determination.
** spoiler omitted **
..and a few more tries...
...Garret can’t make the top budge at all, and he decides to take a rest and calm himself before trying again.
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As the door swings open, something registers in the base of Wallace's head. He couldn't ever explain it, but this feeling has always been followed by danger. "" is all that manages to escape his lips.
Sliding his hands up to his chest, they only make it to his stomach before they catch in the clothing. Regardless, he tries to give the stone before him a push, but the angle simply isn't conducive to leveraging strength. Inheritor, grant me strength!
After taking the time to untangle his hands, he is able to bring them near his chest and pulls his elbows in tight. I will not be taken prisoner by my free will... Matched with the combined might of the steel coils that are his arms and chest, the stone can't help but to shift. "...I will not surrender " he roars, rising if he can.
________
Silvia falls forward for an eternity, then wakes into confusion. How did I land on my back? She tries to push herself off the ground, but finds her hands are bound. Frustrated, she begins working on freeing herself, at first slow and methodical but soon becoming frantic.
She tears her hands free and tries to push herself up again. This time her head bounces off the table she's lying under. Wincing, she grabs her forehead and tries to push it off of her. It doesn't budge. Silvia takes a breath to call for help, but suddenly feels the weight of the stone above her pressing into her chest, and the words don't come.
Her breaths come faster and shallower as the coffin gets smaller, and the walls seem to shift from stone to a mass of blood and meat and rain filling into the spaces between. Move it soldier, you'll drown if you don't get out get out get out get out GET OUT
The slab crashes to the ground and Silvia follows after it, choking and gasping for air.