Party 17

As you head inside, you see the place is in utter disarray. Banner’s hanging from the walls torn and fallen onto the blood soaked rugs. There have only corpses so far, a few common folk among the guardsmen, strange they would be visiting the keep at such an hour. Regardless of this you keep peering into different rooms and down corridors, each in the same awful state. It was almost as if an battle had taken place within these very-

The pain-laced scream echos down the halls, following by the crash of glass breaking before silence fell upon you once more.
 
"Apparently an hour is all the beast needed," Aki says, still looking over the bodies. It wasn't the first time the girl had to sift through corpses. She moves fluidly from person to person. Her eyes run over their wounds, her hands their limbs, and even sniffs the air about them. All of it screamed beast. The bites, the claw marks, even their postures on the sticky cobblestone.

The proportions were off, however. The teeth marks were too large, the gashes and grooves too deep. Her instincts told her wolf, but the size and the lethality spoke otherwise. A wolf could take down one man by surprise. A squad of four armed guards, however? Perhaps it was a pack instead of just one, but it was clear their blades were drawn and bloodied. If it were a pack, they would've all struck at once, leaving the men little to no chance of arms. There also weren't any bodies of beasts.

A glint of moonlight catches her eye in the blood-soaked streets. Aki reaches down, draws the spear that sheened just a tad brighter than the rest of the weapons. Her gaze turns around, finds two more weapons that shared the same silvery gleam. Aki ties a two-point sling around the spear, one point at the base, then one below the blade. She then tosses the two shortswords—one to Lucky, and one to Cade.

"Keep these on you," Aki says, as she rises to her feet. "They seem to have drawn blood from the beast. With a well-placed strike, I have no doubt they will do so again." She then heads off into the manor.

She swallows hard as she sees the disrepair that has come to the once great place. Elegant fabrics were torn to shreds up and down the corridors. Glass shattered, vases broken in a million pieces. Aki lowers a knee as she inspects the common folk, noticing how strange it would be for visitors at this time. She also notes the deep, puncture wounds and the vertical slashes across body and cloth. "These people aren't supposed to be here," she says, holding the collar of one particular fresh-faced man. "They also were not killed by tooth, but by the blade. It is almost if..."

Her head flicks up at the sound of the scream. She looks to her companions, gives them a nod before rising up. Aki slings her bow into her hand, nocks an arrow right above her hand. The girl then runs down the hall, in the direction of the scream.
 
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Lucky waited, his knuckles gripping the weapon and shield, ready for chaos to erupt at any moment. He had his wits about him though, just like in the arena, there was a small calm resonating over his body, as if he was born for battle. Or at least, that's what he told himself despite the whole, hand turning white from gripping his weapon so tight. But he shook his head, watching as Aki started to move up and examine the bodies.

He moved with her, his back to her as he kept look out, making sure he'd be ready for anything that came at them, or at least he hoped. A eternity went by before he heard the slight call for his attention and turned, gripping the blade as soon as it came into reach. Lucky looked at the weapon, noticing the bits of blood, how the weapon seemed to shine more than any other sword he had wielded, the weight even seemed a bit lighter than normal steel.

"Never used one of these before, let's hope I'm a quick study"

The words came out, trying to sound jolly and joking but still, his eyes were open for any suspecting danger as they pushed forward. The next scene more brutal than the last, the bodies obviously destroyed in some other form. He swore, as he walked by the corpses, he saw one of the lovely families who were at home eating dinner during his rush to the keep earlier in the night, and his heart dropped. He stood still, looking at the bodies and running a hand through his hair, trying to put it all together, how they had been gone such a short time but so much had happened in Daggerford. They were supposed to protect it, help the Duchess and the guard keep the citizens safe, and then get a little coin on the side. But this...this was not in the cards.

And then the scream, such pain, such anguish, Lucky couldn't help himself. He was right on Aki's tail, rushing forward as quick as he could, his short legs struggling to keep up with the half elf even as he pushed himself.

"Aki, stay behind me."
 
"Oh damn it, damn it, damn it. This was supposed to be easy, quick, fun. This isn't my business; I say we get out of here, let someone else handle this. Why in the hells are you handing out weapons! Stop that. All three of you, stop that. I understand that you'd like to get paid for your troubles, but I'm willing to bet whoever..." Auda hears the scream of someone in danger echo through the room. Her face, which was showing panic, changes slowly to grim determination. She looks after the other three who are running towards the danger, and sighs. She hefts her lute over her shoulder, and runs after the others, her short legs pumping, her body twisted so that she can rummage through her pack with her other hand. "Alright then. Let's take care of business!"
 
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Cade was glad for the change in Auda. He had never seen that particular side of her before, but he knew she was a minstrel at heart. Perhaps that is what drew him to her in the first place, her kind nature and love of music. He heard the scream at the same time she did, and to see the resolve come over her face warmed his heart. He nodded to her and the others, gripping the shortsword firmly in hand, testing it's balance and finding it quite a beautiful sword. "I have tales of things that require silver to kill...this will be exciting." His eyes beamed with excitement. He motioned Auda to stay behind them and took a position slightly in front of Lucky. He made a few hand signs the other would understand to mean bring up the rear. If the creature relied on stealh he wanted Lucky to gaurd their backs.
 
The doors of the throne room are thrown open, as if beckoning you inside.

As you enter, it would’ve been extremely dark save for the large stained glass windows allowing moonlight to stream in. One of the windows has been broken out, leaving a large hole in the glass. The floor was littered with the corpses of more guards and one humanoid wearing rags for clothing. Duchess Morwen's throne was smashed to splinters scattered about the room, but behind sitting up against the back wall was the woman herself. From the doorway you couldn’t see movement, but this soon changed as her weak voice painfully rang out.

“H-hello..? Is... someone there?...”
 
Cade's instincts instantly perked up and he motioned to everyone for silence. Something was wrong about all this. He softly stepped into the room and looked around. This felt entirely too much like bait to him. His keen eyes scanned the walls and all the busted furniture. If whatever had done this had been here, why was the Duchess still alive? Did she come afterwards? Where was the creature who attacked this place? Too many questions were unanswered yet in Cades opinion.
 
Auda, staying back behind the others, looks around the room wide eyed as she steps inside. Sensing Cade's wariness, she pulls a small metal cube out of her bag. Clockwork can be seen whirring through a square hole in its otherwise smooth surface. She pushes in at one corner, and a small hook pops out; she hangs the box from her pack. She takes her lute in hand. Her voice rings out, soft, calm and familiar.

"It's us; we took care of those folks outside for you, and came back to find this place ripped apart. What happened here? Is there still danger? Are you hurt?"
 
Aki steps slowly through the battle-strewn room, bow in hand, arrow nocked. She could smell the death in the air, feel it clinging to her skin like a spray or a sticky musk. It made her feel dirty and sick, like there was an illness in the room, infecting anything and anyone who stepped inside. Scenes like this had a way of maturing one quickly, ripping one's innocence and replacing it with a solemn silence. After a while, the shock of it all faded, but the dirty feeling and the sickness never did.

She sticks close to the walls, concealing her form in the darkness of the moonlit throne room. Her paces are slow, calculated, with every step made with the precision and the patience of a dangling sloth. Aki approaches the window, looks at the spectrum of stained glass shattered on the ground, then on the spectrum on the outside. The girl then stands up straight and walks across the glass.

"It left, whatever it was," Aki says as she walks over toward the Duchess. "More shattered glass on the outside than the inside means something was in here, then jumped out. It lines up with hearing her scream, then the sound of breaking glass. It's likely still running as we speak." When she arrives, her eyes scan her over, looking for any wounds on the woman. She then takes a knee and offers a hand to her.

"Are you okay, Duchess Morwen?" She speaks with a softness uncanny for her typical character.
 
Lucky looked in on the sight and he was shaken to his core, all of this blood, all of the carnage, how many innocent people had lost their lives in such a short amount of time? The halfling had seen death, hell, he'd probably caused it a time or two, but this....this wasn't the sport that he was used to, this wasn't an Arena; this was a tragedy.

His eyes began to dart around the room, fingers gripping the sword with more pressure as his cohorts walked further into the room. He heard Aki break down the scene, about how the creature was likely running away as he still kept his head on a swivel. Shaking his head as he looked over each and every body, kneeling down in front of one of the guards as he put his hand on the man's head, fighting back the emotions that threatened to drag him away from madness.

"We....there's an entire town out there. We can't let it all be reduced to this" he said softly, his voice just louder than a whisper as he stared down at the guard's face.
 
The duchess speaks, slowly and softly, "We...we were attacked. Great beasts--wolves, killed and ravaged and....and...." She shudders. "Please, you must go after them before they return and slaughter more of my people. They headed for the woods, you should be able to corner them there." Morwen weakly rests her head against the wall. She looks rattled and grave.

The damage in this room is enough to suggest the wolves must have been of some formidable size or number to cause this kind of destruction, especially with all of the armoured guards that had been stationed in the castle. Aside from Morwen, the throne room doesn't appear to have any other survivors. And when you look at her in the moonlight, you can see that she has a large bite wound across her entire torso.
 
The scene around Aki made her head spin. She examines the broken glass, the bodies, the deep grooves carved in the salmon-hued walls. It didn't make sense. It was clear the beasts had a purpose. Any sensible predator would hunt the biggest and the weakest creature it could find. Having more meat and offering greater safety to themselves and the pack would be a satisfying meal for most, if not all beasts.

Instead, they elected to raid a castle, with walls and gates and more guards than flies on a corpse out of all places. Perhaps the rest of the town was attacked first, but she did not hear any screams. She did not see fires or bodies in the streets, or the tooth-and-claw carnage that infected what was once the great manor of Duchess Morwen. No, this was an attack. A targetted strike on the most fortified place in Daggerford.

But why? Why would they come all this way simply to leave? The trail led directly to the throne room, so it was unlikely they branched elsewhere to find or steal something. Nothing seemed missing from the throne room. If Duchess Morwen was dead, perhaps it would've made sense. It was then when she saw the bite mark across her torso, the dark, grooved, blotched skin that trickled a hint of blood down her dress.

"Duchess Morwen," Aki says, staring down at her, then the bite mark across her stomach. "What did the beasts do when they arrived?" Her voice remains cool and collected, but any keen eye would see her grip on her bow go tight.
 
As Aki jumps in to address the Duchess, Auda starts mumbling to herself.
"Beasts smell the feast, break into the manor.. eat it.. leave? No. Doesn't make sense. People brought beasts? She didn't mention people, only wolves. The wolves came, and they left her alive, but no one here seems to have driven them away. Unless they followed after the wolves. But she asked us to. So the wolves left of their own accord. The wolves thought better of eating her. They came in for a reason. What reason? What sort of wolves can.... oh. Silvered weapons. Is it a full moon? Oh no. Oh NO."
The volume of her voice escalates, and she turns towards the others, interrupting the Duchess' response.

"No no, no way in the nine hells are we going after those things! We are going to go find the town guard, and let them know what is going on, so they can take the appropriate measures; we will take the Duchess to someone who can take care of that bite and whatever else might be wrong with her, and then go on with our lives, unbitten by what are CLEARLY gods...damned... WEREWOLVES."

She stares at the others for a moment, chest heaving from her rant, fingers trembling on her lute. She relaxes slightly, and sighs, then pinches the bridge of her nose.

"Who am I trying to kid. The guards will be useless in a backwater town like this. You folks have silvered weapons. You're going to follow them whether I do or not, aren't you. Aren't you."
 
Lucky was captivated, in the worst of ways, as he looked over the bodies, only to be snapped out of it when he heard Auda begin to argue against the mere thought of chasing the creatures. He heard her speaking about werewolves and he shook his head, in complete disbelief, "Were...werewolves?" he asked with a quiet voice before looking back down at the bodies. It would make sense, the guards were obviously overpowered by something, and a mere beast wouldn't be able to do this level of damage.

But finally, as Auda touched her nose and came to the realization that the rest of them were more than likely leaving, Lucky couldn't help but laugh. Not just any normal laugh either, the strange mix of terror and adrenaline mixed in his gut and caused his voice to echo in the hall as he shook his head.

"Of course we are Auda, we have to do something, why not fight beasts who are simply stories meant to put a child to sleep"

He shook his head and took a step forward, moving to the window but failing to see anything as he struggled to fight his instinct to just take off after the creatures. He looked back over his shoulder at the rest of his group, waiting to get the rest of their answers as he was ready to chase.
 
Cade looked from Auda to Lucky. He wasn't laughing. He had put this together and he wasn't sure the correct path, he wasn't sure if they could handle a werewolf let alone a pack of em. He had never seen one, but he had heard stories...and none of them were good. His gaze turned to the Duchess and he took a spare cloak from his pack and put it around her shoulders. The woman was likely in shock, and the extra bit or warmth would be good for her. He looked into her eyes and gave her a half smile. "Fear not Milady. We will not let your people be harmed." He turned to the others, determination on his face. He nodded to Lucky his ascent to the mission. They had to pursue this.
 
The duchess looks down at her wounds, and you can all see that it is healing before your eyes, much faster than it should. "Oh, no. Not this." she whispers. There is a look of panic in her eyes as she attempts to stand.

She looks around, and finally gets to her feet. "I must be locked up!" she says, her voice breaking. "If they were really werewolves, then my city is still in danger."
 
Auda leaps into action at the Duchesses' words.

"Alright folks, if we're doing the stupid thing, lets do it right! Need to get the Duchess somewhere she can't turn into a wolf and start eating people, which tends to really ruin a night. Duchess, can you walk? Do you have somewhere safe in the manor, any chains lying around? I won't judge. If not, one of you strong looking men and women need to carry her, so we can take her to the guard, or to a healer, fast, and meet up with us. Maybe bring some backup if possible. I assume one of you capable folks can track these beasts? If not, we'll need to ask around town, anyone who is out and about. Is the plan to just swing our pointy bits of silver at them until they die, or do any of you combative types have something a bit less suicidal in mind, because I certainly do not, I AM A MUSICIAN."

Auda rushes around the room as she speaks, pointing at the others and the Duchess, out the window, back at the others, at the silvered weapons, and finally punctuating her last phrase with a dramatic strum of her lyre. She looks simultaneously terrified and filled with excitement.

The duchess can walk, but she moves slowly. She points to a door and explains it leads to a dungeon. She asks that the group lock her up, and take the key to the nearby temple of Lathander.

As the Duchess slowly makes her way to the door to the dungeon, Auda continues speaking. "That makes things easier, at least. One of us should still alert the guard; one of us with long legs and a quick stride. One of us with red hair." Auda eyes Aki quite obviously. "The rest of us can bring this key to the temple, and sharpen our blades while we run, or, in my case, panic. Should be able to meet back here roughly at the same time, track these things back to wherever they came from, hopefully with many guards in tow, and then die horribly. Let's get this show on the road!"
 
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Aki blinks at Auda's words. The expression she wore was equivalent to one an infant would have in a university course. Werewolves? Was that what people with this beast-disease was called? She glances over at the commoner body in the room, crumpled on its side with a blanket of blood beneath it. Her head tilts to the side as something on his neck catches her eye.

"He's got something here," she says as she kneels down next to him. "A wolf tattoo on the right of his neck. It appears it's artificial." Her fingers press into his cold, dead flesh, reveals tiny puncture marks underneath the ink. "Drawn across an old bite mark. I'm thinking cult. A gang wouldn't idolize their bite marks. A gang also wouldn't leave their dead behind. Especially if they all have matching tattoos. Those out there gave their lives to their cause."

Her eyebrow raises as Auda swings from fiercely-against to bursting with energy. It wasn't like her to be so vehement about a fight. "What's gotten into you?" Aki asks, still kneeling over the body. "One second, you're dragging your feet. The next, you're orchestrating this fool's dream. What's wrong? Is there something about saving a town that has you ups-..."

Her voice cuts short as a bolt of realization strikes her. She looks up toward the Duchess, then down toward the ground. Her teeth lock as the grip on her bow goes white-knuckled, the polished yew creaking in her hand. Her messy, red hair falls out of place as she rises ever-so-slowly. "This is heroes' work." Aki's voice comes as a whisper, then a growl. Her arms trembled as her head lifts up, barely revealing the streaks of tears glistening down her cheeks. "You all know this, right? That this is heroes' work?" She narrows her gaze to Auda, then to Lucky, then to Cade. "Do you know what happens to heroes?"

"They get stories told after they die." Aki then spins and leaves without another word.
 
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Aki leaves, and the rest of you head to the dungeon area with the Duchess. She stumbles as she makes her way into one of the cells. You lock the door with her inside, and before you can grab the keys, a group of town guards enter. The captain of this platoon is someone you have helped before, and he nods and looks at you with a level of understanding that seems odd when you think about the fact that you are locking up their boss, and they would have just walked through the same bloodbath that you had.

The duchess explains the situation to the captain and makes sure the door is latched. Through the bars, you can see that her wound is almost completely healed. A cleric enters the dungeon area and quietly sits to pray with the duchess.

A pair of guards escort you three upstairs and to the front enterance. They point you in the direction that the duchess had indicated was where the attackers had gone, leading you to the misty woods.
 
Fools.

That's what ran through Aki's head as she wandered down the street from the guardhouse in Daggerford. Fools, fools, fools. She couldn't understand why her party was so eager to dive headfirst into danger. So eager to run into the forest and give their lives to what would certainly be an unwinnable fight. This wasn't some kind of fairy tale. This wasn't a game with perfectly balanced sides or a story where the heroes always emerge victorious. This was cruel, unforgiving reality, who wouldn't blink an eye at wiping a party of idiots off the face of the realm.

Or a party of children inside a dark, damp dungeon.

Aki stiffens up, then takes a deep breath. When she looks up, she finds herself in the marketplace, where the moon's white-silvery glow basked upon the mostly empty booths. The houses were dark, the blinds shut to the frightening outside world. A well laid in the center of the marketplace, with a wooden tiled roof to shield from the rain and the wind. She drags her feet over to the well, slides down the rough stone to sit on the ground. A chill runs through the city streets, and she finds herself huddling herself tight to keep out the cold.

"It doesn't matter to me if they die," Aki mutters to herself. "If they want to kill themselves, that's fine. I don't care." But the words felt empty and hollow on her tongue. It was if a cavity was carved inside her chest, a cavity that rotted and festered inside the vacant space that was once her heart. She had adventured with these three for a long time now. Longer than she had than anyone else since she took to the road. Auda's infectious smile, Cade's forthright, sincere nature, even Lucky's lack of attention made her sick to her stomach.

But there was something else. Something far greater that nagged at the back of her mind. She runs her hand up, rakes the fiery red hair that spilled beneath her hood. Aki did everything that she could to fight, to move beside it, to ignore it, but it stood as solidly as a brick wall, and cast a shadow upon everything she ever wanted to do. So many things told her to stay, but only one or two told her to go.

Aki frowns and grips the side of the well as she casts her gaze out toward the forest.
 
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Lucky was speechless, watching as Aki turned and left after her small little outburst about ‘heroes’ work’ and he shook his head. He had come to have an appreciation for Aki as of late, her talents in battle something that was hard to come by, and then her acceptance of his...lackluster brain. But when she stormed off, he took a deep breath, letting the chilling air freeze his lungs before he turned back to the party and the Duchess.

“I’ll die. I’ll throw myself to those wolves to tear me bit by bit until I’m nothing more than kibble, but I won’t walk away and let this town die”

With those words out of his mouth the halfling walked over to the Duchess and gave her as much assistance as she’d allow until they were down in the dungeons and she was locked up. But as soon as the iron latched he heard the guards behind them and turned, preparing to...well...let someone else explain the situation. Though, with the Captain’s understanding nod Lucky didn’t feel the need to speak much more.

Everything was happening so quick, the next thing Lucky could gather, he was outside once more, the wind harsh against his skin. His fingers tight around the sword that Aki had handed him earlier, and he had to take another deep breath, not intending to let his words be lies. So, he didn’t speak, just took a step forward, headed to what he was sure was his last battle.

Right. Left. Right. Left.
 
Cade let out a sigh as they looked out towards the Forrest. Aki's words had stung him quite a bit, though he did not think she had meant them too. They had been together for some time now and always faced things together...but now it seemed as if they would face this threat without her...and it felt as if they were moving forward incomplete, like part of themselves was missing. It was a visceral wound to their group in the way losing an arm or leg would leave a person gravely injured. He would die for her...he knew that, same as he would die for his other friends. And so it cut him deeply to watch her walk away. But he knew they could not let the injustices here go unchallenged. His honor would not allow it, and if the beast(s) we're not hunted down, this town would not be safe again. They were a small group, but they had will had guts plenty enough. He stood as tall as he was able to, proudly facing the forrest. As the four of them drew ever closer. No...as the three of them drew ever closer.
 
Auda looked out into the misty forest, her face screwed up in fear and distaste. A forest? This wasn't the place for her. She was a musician, she'd grown up in the city; she wasn't a hero. Sure, she'd learned to defend herself a bit, a useful application of her skills when she played to the sort of crowds she did, but she wasn't an ADVENTURER. She didn't go about spelunking tombs and retrieving artifacts. This sort of thing wasn't her usual gig. She had half a mind to turn and run; this town could sort itself out. They had guards; and these very capable folks she'd been traveling with would surely sort it out.

Except... she remembered the look of fear on the Duchesses face. It reminded her of a child being bullied, a man being robbed; the look on the faces of the sort of people Auda sung to, the downtrodden, the poor, the afraid. Her message to them was always to fight, to rebel, to rise up and cast off the chains of the world. Who was she if she did not fight alongside them, when something threatened those that could not defend themselves? Who was she if she allowed these people she had grown to like to run off without her into a forest chasing beasts?

Certainly not the type of woman who would be able to find who she was looking for. She wouldn't be that, if she ran. She would be the woman who left people to die because she was too afraid. How could she look her fans in the face and sing about making a fist, about rebelling against those in power, fighting for your beliefs, after that? How could she look herself in the face?

Auda reaches for her pack. She removes a dagger in an ornate sheathe, and pushes it through a loop on her belt. She checks her music box, and uses a small tool to tinker with the insides, setting them out of tune; she waves a hand over them, and then her lute, magically aligning them. She removes the hook from her pack, and bends it, pushing it through an opening on the box; she hangs this from her belt as well. She holds her lute in her hands, and looks at her companions. She feels the loss of Aki acutely; but she is hopeful that the woman will find her way.

A small part of her thrills at this; if nothing else, it'll be a new experience. She grins, her heart beating quickly, looks at her companions, and says one thing before taking her first steps towards her forest, trusting that the others will follow.

"Alright folks. Looks like this is going to be one hell of a party! Let's bring the gods damned noise."
 
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As you head into the woods, the trail of large lupine footprints are simple enough to follow. The woods are dark and the fog begins to roll in, making visiblility more and more dificult. Cade would begin recognizing after about a half hour of walking through the forest that the trees around you are not native to the lands around Daggerford.
 
Aki didn't want to rise from the water well. She didn't want to purchase a full quiver of arrows for her yew hunting bow, or skulk the forest behind the three companions she swore off to death less than a hour or two ago. Every instinct in her body told her to stay, to preserve individual survival above the group, but it appeared her feet had different plans.

Her tiny footprints pale in-comparison to the lupine ones next to her. They were long, monstrous in nature no doubt, with claws that dug into the ground with every step. The basic shape of it however, the heel leading to the balls before the familiar five toes...

It looked far, far too humanoid for Aki's liking.

Aki focuses on the footprints so much, she doesn't realize the forest around her had changed until she was deep into them. Her head cocks up. Her eyes grow wide at the twisted, unfamiliar trees, or the perpetual fog that ate at her vision and ran a chill down every single nerve in her body. A hand goes to her quiver, nocks an arrow on the finely tuned string.

This was the perfect place for an ambush, Aki realizes as she swivels herself around. And she was right in the middle of it.
 
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