"Stop talking. There is someone coming to the door." Konrad said, his sword now in hand. He didn't hold it up in a threatening manner, but it was firmly in hand should it be needed, a clear sing of how on edge he was.
The gangster in the young man took its queue from Konrad, the blade originally taken from the horseman, was drawn as well and held nervously... unsure of what he'd face next.
Fortunatly, it seems its a friendly face: the resident of the temple, Father Lothar Schmidt.
he freezes as he sees your swords unsheated
Oh, you're still here? I thought you would be back in the street by now. Beware, Hallt seems stranger than ever.
A small hand tugs at his pants, and a little voice says
Can we come in, Father?
Sure.
You see twenty or more women, of all ages, all in various state of fear, with too many children to count, entering the Temple. Soon, there is not enough room for everyone.
I'm sorry but I must ask you to leave. I have to tend to my flock. I hope your stay here helped you and strenghten your resolve. I bless you one last time.
A woman speaks to Felver, and it takes you a few seconds to realise it's the woman you saved from her abusive husband in the barn.
Felver then comes back to you, and says softly that he has just been informed there was light in the old windmill,outside the town, even if no one should be there.
Konrad mumbled an acceptance as he stepped back into the cold night air. His plan on “patrolling” their way to the tavern still stood.
The light in the old windmill sounds promising... the damn horseman wouldn't be lighting candles being half ghost, half devil and it's a great excuse for why we aren't on the streets eh?
"Works for me. Let's get going before we all catch cold standing around."
You start walking the silent street.
Shadows of houses seems odd, as if they didn't quite match the architecture.
It's cold, and dark outside, darker than it should be. It's not the night yet, but it looks like the evening, even if it should be mid-day.
As the windmill is outside the town, you go toward the town's gates.
You see no guards at the gates, fortunatly, even if there is some light inside the guardhouse.
Well... that ain't right. Let's duck in for a look here at the guard house. Who knows? Maybe they left the kettle on and the tea out and we can grab a cup before heading into that snow.
"Not a bad idea. And if anyone asks what we are doing there? Well, our job, right?" Konrad said, gladly walking towards the welcoming light.
The door of the small guard's house opens silently.
You would nearly expect it to creak open.
All is silent inside.
The few guards usually here must be on patrols in the street, or checking the tavern, just to be sure.
Some might even have stayed at home, to protect their own folks, and you wouldn't blame them, probably.
But at least, the guard's sergeant should be here, Bertille, should be there, ready to scold and berate you.
And in fact, she is sitting on her favorite chair, near the table she uses as a desk.
Too bad her head is put on her knees.
Konrad walked forward. "Sergeant!" He said, relief in his voice. "I am so glad to see you here. You see, we are new at this job, you know? We could really use some advice on-scheisse!" He cursed, leaping back as he saw her head on her lap.
Well don't lose your h... , he scolds Konrad before seeing their employer and giving an adolescent shriek that in years to come he'll be embarrassed to remember.
Imrik does one step back and get even paler, but thats all.
Brunhilde slips, probably on wine, or blood, or a mix of both, and tries to crawl out of the house on her backside
Felver screams until his voice breaks and runs away.. again.
Could it be another heinous act of the Dullahan?
Asks the still pale elf, while trying to regain his composure
Maybe not.. or he was interrupted. See, her head is cut, but she still has both her hands...
Face pale, Konrad looked to his companions and said "Damn this. Damn this all. We are raising the entire watch. Now. Raising the militia too if we can. I don't care if this is the Dullahan, a bandit, or a confused halfling who confused the captain's head for a block of cheese. Whatever did this is going to die, and it's not falling on our shoulders alone. So let's go and raise the alarm!"
Gottfried looks around there a bell or horn or similar around for us to use?
Backing away outside, Udo's heart pounds.
This was against the laws of Morr. Risen once... he had heard of. Twice-Risen... was something beyond his mortal ken.
"T-T-This is someone beyond us. Beyond Morr. This place is f-forsaken. W-w-we should leave.... Now."
He begins to frantically remove the uniform of the Watch from his person.
To where Udo? The bloody freezing snows?, the young man says looking for the guard posts warning device.
Gottfried, after a few moments, finds a few old cow bells, used by the guards, lying in disarray on the floor of the house, near the entrance.
They probably got knocked out from the wall in the fight, even if the fight looks like one-sided.
Too scared to roll his eyes he grabs them and yells Stay here!, before tearing off into the dark swinging the bells for all his worth.
Stay indoors! All stay indoors! Militia to the gate!, he yells as he runs as fast as he can around the town before sprinting back to the guard house.
Despites Gottfried's action, when the silence comes down after the ringing of the official bell, nothing happens.
No guards, no militia.
A few people half open a door, or a window, to catch a glance of what's happening, but it's quickly closed again. After all, they just have been ordered to stay indoor.
Gottfried looks around.
Strangely, he feels his neck stuck, as if his head refused to turn.
In fact, he manages to look all around him... except the place where the windmill is.
Konrad cursed. And then he cursed some more. "Cowards. Damned cowards leaving this to us."
"Well. This is a crime scene, right? Just that. And we are watchmen. So it's our job to figure out what happened here." He said out loud, trying to make this seem as mundane as possible. "Figure out who did this. Bring them to justice. Get the town to pay us a bonus. So let's get to it. Whomever did this did it recently, and there should be some signs. Or clues. Or...something. Let's just look."
Confused and not a little scared BUT knowing he needs friends, he keeps his head down, looking just a few feet ahead of him, and tries to make his way back to the gatehouse.
”So…there was no fight here. And death came from a large blade. Like an axe. Either it was the Dullahan, or someone who wanted to disguise the murder. Whomever did this was strong. Strong enough to take her head before she realized it. So he was also stealthy, or was trusted by her. That should narrow down the suspects, no?” aye talked to keep himself calm. He wondered, to himself, if he should just loot the place for enough coin to skip town…
Brunhilde spots that the footprints are scarce around the murdered's chair.
It seems there were only two person, the murderer and its victim...
she looks around
See, some blood spots, here, going toward the door.. then outside! The murderer didn't even clean his or her blade! Maybe we can follow them, and see where it goes.. and run in the opposite direction!
Udo, now stripped of his guard regalia eyes Konrad with a morose look;
"Cowards they may be... only reason I now stay is to bury the dead... My duty to this accursed place is over."
"We follow the tracks." Konrad said. "We don't have much of a choice here. Blades out, and we see where this takes us."
A flickering light enters the guardhouse, cast by a distant flame. A cloaked figure stands by the gate, torch raised. Far from appearing sinister, the figure looks weathered from the road, and peers in cautiously.
The figure's cloak is drenched and caked with grime from travel, and carries an envelope with his left hand, as his right hand brings the torch closer to shed light through the dark evening.
"Hello?" comes a voice from outside. "Do the men of Hallt still occupy this post?"
The youth, shaken by his gripping fear of looking towards the building outside of town, stumbles back in.
Then turns to look at the man he just brushed by.
Are you part of the town militia ?
The man swerves to face Gottfried, seeing the shaking youth under a flickering torch.
"No, sir," he answers. "I'm from Bulgenbach, the next town over. I have a message to deliver to--"
Hans pauses, and glances into the guard room, seeing the dead officer with her head on her lap. His falls silent, and pales.
"W-what happened here?" he asks, taking a few steps back from the men.
A dwarf trundled in from the rain, coming up behind Hans. He looked at the murdered human & waited, interested to hear the answer to the big man's question.