In one well aimed blow of his axe, Hans breaks the door.
Inside the windmill, is a mess of mouldering sacks of corn, dominated
by the mechanical workings of the mill, and its large grinding stones.
Between the smell and the noise, it's hard to tell which is the worst.
Under a stone of the ground, there is some faint light passing through the cracks.
But before you search for a mechanism, there is still the problem of the Dullahan..
Hans barges in, taking shelter from the wolves in the shadowed room. He has his ax at the ready, but looks around urgently.
"Gottfried, Thryik, help me move one of these machines to block the door!" he shouts, pushing anything that looks heavy enough to move.
Yessir!, the youth says automatically and running to help.
Thyrik runs to help block the shattered door.
Outside, you hear the wind and the Dullahan speaking
My axe must come back to my hand,
for this time together we stand,
against a much powerful fiend,
allies we must be, if no friends
Then a cacophony of voices, as your group expresses their fears and doubts. No one seems to want to give the Dullahan his weapon.
Inside, Thyrik, Gottfried and Hans struggle to move sacks of old grains to try to barricade themselves
SL+2
Without too much troubles, they manage to move some heavy stuff to block the door once everyone is inside
"What is he talking about? Hans gasps after he releases the heavy barricade. "Do you have something of his?"
"Why should we trust an uzkular, eh? What is coming?"
Yep... and I think letting him have this is a baaaad idea, he says about the axe.
Hans nods nervously, and looks out the window.
Hans, terrified at the horrible events that befell his neighborly town, is cognizant that this is a point where all people must step up.
He looks around, seeing the different companions he has--all look greater than he, and nods to himself.
This is a point of destiny.
He slams his foot down as he takes a step ahead, pushing himself through his terror and shouting out the window with all his will, "We're not givin' it back, monster! Leave and trouble us no more!"
You hear Brunhilde's anguished voice, but still no sounds of fighting
So what should we do?
And once again the haunting voice of the Dullahan
If you give my axe back
you will never feel its blade
I have other necks to hack
for fools we have been played!
Imric and Felver argues about whether giving the axe back or not, until Udo speaks
Listen! Let's say you give you your axe back, Dullahan, and you won't try to kill us... If we have a common foe, I want you to be the first in line to fight them, so we can keep an eye on you!
Imrik adds
That's quite a smart idea, even if it isn't without risks...
Inside, Gottfried ins't totally sure, but he thinks he heard something from under the floor of the windmill, like a religious song or something
Keep it… talking, or singing or rhyming… or whatever. I think I heard something! Whoever has the sharpest ears, come with me!, the reformed hoodlum says going deeper into the windmill and trying to listen to the floors.
"What are you going on about, manling?" Thyrik asked as he watched Gottfried crawling on the floors. He was starting to doubt that coming to this place had been a good idea.
"It's a stalemate otherwise," Hans says, and joins Gottfried. He looks down, and pulls out his axe, looking for a trapdoor.
Some sort of religious music or something! Can’t you hear it? Around here, under the floor!
If Hans can’t see a trapdoor, he slams his axe into the nearest spot in the floor to open it.
You actively seek a mechanism to open the (still unseen) trapdoor
After quite some time, and more than a few trials and errors, Imrik manages, by sheer luck, to touch the hidden mechanism.
A trapdoor open in the floor.
You notice the Dullahan, who waited patiently at the door's entrance, walking decisively toward the trapdoor. He doesn't carry yet his signature weapon.
Thyrik moved to go down the trap door. He didn't want the dead thing to already have gained its ground before he was able to descend himself. He'd also prefer to have good stone over his head in dark times like these.
Hans goes down the trapdoor first.
Hans lowers himself into the ground under the old windmill's floor. Being quite tall and large, he has to bend himself
He can't help but think about being entombed...
He starts to move, in the darkness, and feels his own legs freezing in place, as if his own body was too afraid to go forward.
Something is odd. He feels it, right to his bones. He can't see anything outside his extended arm, then his eyes adjust a little to the darkness surrounding him, and he spots some dim light, maybe fifteen feet from where he is.
Being a peasant, he knows the smell of old, wet earth. But there is something more behind that usual smell, something more sinister, something unusual his nose register but his brain can't identify.
you need a candle?, the young man says, fumbling to light one from his sling bag.
Hans nods, and grabs the candle to shed some light on the situation.
Feeling like the only option is to go forward, Hans cautiously ventures deeper into the dungeon, following the religious song.
Thyrik follows behind Hans. At least the wolves wouldn't get them down here...
You enter a larger cavern, which has been worked on by humans (hopefully). A pale green light pulse from the end of cavern, maybe twenty feet from the entrance. From where you are, there seem to be no other exit. And you see a few people, including the Reeve, at the end of the cavern.
In this cavern, in which maybe four people can stand together (if tightly close), you see four heads on the grounds, their mouth sewn shut.
The group of adventurers knew something odd and most probably horrible was about to happen, but the sight is quite a shock nevertheless.
From where you are, there seem to be no other exit. And you see a few people, including the Reeve, at the end of the cavern. You spot the stonemason, too.
The Reeve screams at her companion to obey, grabbing an inconscious man by the hair, and ready to plunge a wicked dagger in his throat
Drink now! Drink now and the ritual will be complete soon! Kill these intruders!
Initiative
Reeve
Mason
Bow woman
The cultists, for lack of a better word, start walking toward you, weapons ready.
There is a grim faced woman clad in dark leather, that you have never seen so far. She holds a bow.
And there is the stonemason, with his big hammer.
The Reeve is at the end of the room, with her last victim to be.
as the Reeve's goons charge you, some of you succumb to the fear, while some other stand their ground.
Felver and Imrik run away, Felver screaming in abject horror as if he totally lost his mind . His fear could be contagious, but...
But Brunhilde and Udo, meanwhile, merely ready themselves for the fight to come, showing steel nerves, Udo somber, deep voice praying for Morr's acceptance for the foes.
Konrad hesitates between fleeing and fighting, and he just backs himself to the wall, holding his sword out.
The Dullahan shows no other emotion than a willingness to fight, and seems as ready to kill as it is ready to die, should he be able to die.
Thyrik, Hans and Gottfried, emboldened by Udo and Brunhilde's confidence, are ready to fight too.
Thyrik (13)
Reeve (13)
Gottfried (10)
Hans (6)
Dullahan (6)
Mason (5)
Bow Woman (4)
NPC (4) (only Udo and Brunhilde)
Things both did and didn’t make sense at the same time but the Dullahan looked a LOT better compared to a chaos cult!
Ere headless! Kill ‘‘em all!, he cried and threw the axe in an underhand toss towards the Eldritch figure[/b]
The throw was a s$%! one… in the dim light he wasn’t sure it went anywhere other than the general area.
He then drew his own fighting hatchet he started this whole crazy thing with and moved to cover the Morrite with his magic hammer.
Thyrik advances toward the mason, striking out at the big man with his axe.
Hans has no idea what is happening, but defends himself by smacking the nearest foe with his axe.
SL -5
Sl 2
Thyrik rushes toward the mason, and tries to hit him. It's surprising how quick a dwarf can move when motivated by fear!
His attack is clumsy, but fortunatly, his opponent defense is worse, and a body blow lands . The mason still stands, his ribs aching, his breath shorter.... Then he screams a scream of pure agony.. or was it extasy?
Maybe the dwarf hit a lucky spot, after all?
SL 7 (Torso) Dmg 13
SL 6 on 4
The Reeve voice rises in a chant that makes you uneasy, nearly sick.. Then some purple circle appears from her hands and flies toward you quite slowly, as if it was about to scythe you
Fate guides the axe through the darkness to land a the feet of it’s original master.
The axe flies through the air, and lands perfectly in the hands of the Dullahan, fitting itself as a glove and thirsty for blood
The Dullahan wastes no time in making his presence felt on the battlefield, attacking the stone mason side by side with the dwarf, who got one more head than him.
SL 0
SL 9
The axe hits the mason left arm, leaving a gaping wound. The burly mason collapses on the ground, destined to bleed to death it seems
SL5, hits Head
Of course, the cultists won't go down easiliy, and the woman unleashes her arrow, which comically passes where the Dullahan's head should be, hitting Udo instead, leaving a scar on his lower jaw.
Brunhilde screams, and your two companions rushes, weapons clear, toward the woman with the bow before she can get another arrow ready
Hans swings his weapon again, attacking the woman with the bow.
Gottfried, standing next to the Morrite, swings his hatchet.
The dwarf rushes now toward the Reeve, leaving the bow-woman to the duo of Udo and Brunhilde.
He tries to evade the scything flying colors, and seems to mistime his steps, before throwing himself to the ground, partially avoiding some of the explosion as the purple circle his the bow-woman, who hasn't seen the magical projectile coming, and her assaillants, who are a bit luckier
SL 2
SL 1
SL 0
The bow woman takes some damage, and shoots an angry look toward the reeve
THat's when Thyrik gets up again, and clashes weapons with the cultists leader
The dwarf hits the left arm of the Reeve, even if she manages to parry some of the blow , but the woman's sword gets bloody too, slashing at the dwarf torso despite his armor
Thyrik is wounded, but he's managed to hit the Reeve
The bow woman can't longer shoot, as she is caught in melee by Brunhilde and Udo, who will act later. They all got burned by the Reeve's spell, and your allies barely stands
The Dullahan is ready to behead the fallen mason with his trusty axe.
Hans is running toward the bow-woman to help Brunhilde and the Morrite
Gottfried, after throwing to the Dullahan his axe, takes his own hatchett.
Felver, Imrik are running away.
Hans swings once more, desperately, letting out a battle cry appropriate for a peasant.