Party 17

More than two hours after setting off, you finally reach a small opening in the trees and find yourselves on a road surrounded on both sides by gnarled trees, seemingly clawing at the dense fog that still surrounds you. There are dark pools of water on the side of the road. In the distance, through the fog, you can make out a large wall, like one that would surround a town.
 
Lucky pushed and pushed, walking through the woods, peeling back at the fog as he strained to see anything. But as he kept walking, he noticed the water, the wall even further ahead and he coughed slightly, his nerves getting to him a bit. Finally, for the first time since he left the village, he looked back to his companions and spoke, "This...there was never a town this close to Daggerford correct?" He asked his friends, a chill growing up his spine.
 
Auda sighs in boredom and frustration. They had been walking for far too long, and she had gotten herself all worked up for a battle that had never come.

“Damned if I know. I’ve never counted all the little towns out here. Do you think whatever attacked the Duchess fled here? Perhaps the werewolves live here when they are not out mauling rich women in their homes.” She kicks at a pool of water in annoyance. “Might as well head in. Walked all the way here... well, maybe let’s take a minute, gather ourselves. I gotta tinker a bit here with my boxes. Might give Aki some time to show up as well, got a hunch about her.”

Auda sits on a suitably clean rock and begins to fiddle with her music box with a small tool.
 
Aki continues to wander through the unfamiliar wood. She had known these forests once before. She had known the tall, verdant pine trees, shaped to be nature's arrowheads. She had known the beautiful maples, bursting with citrine color like balls of fire amidst an emerald enclave. Her time out in the wilderness, both traveling to Daggerford and hunting within them had made her keen on the area afoot.

This was not the place she knew and loved.

In its place were wicked oak woods. They were tall, shaded, disgusting things which shrouded the area in perpetual darkness. Aki watches as their spidery limbs crawled up to the sky, interlacing together like thousands of wooden spiders weaving a giant verdurous web. A number of them were also dead, their mangled, timber skeletons littering the forest like a graveyard. She found it hard to not think they were predictions of the future.

Aki turns and focuses her gaze up ahead. She barely spots the opening in the trees through the thick, dense fog. The girl creeps closer, bow in hand, arrow nocked on her string. As she advanced, she could hear something. Voices, up ahead. She could barely make out the words, "... close to Daggerford" and "... got a hunch about her" before her foot slips on a patch of muddy ground. She hits the ground hard, then slides into a massive splash. Aki didn't see the two massive dark pools of water flanking the opening, and thus, walked right into it.

She gasps as she resurfaces, then flails about. Water. Oh gods, anything but water. The thought that she was making too much noise resonates in her mind. She gave her position away. If those voices were hostile, she would surely be dead. That thought was quickly washed away as the water pulls her under again, and she gurgles beneath the surface.

"Help!" she screams, after choking on a mouthful of water. "Help, I can't swim!"
 
Cade's ears perked up at the sounds of distress nearby. They had been walking for hours and he had slowly begun to realize that these trees were not the same as the ones native to Daggerford...he had been contemplating that when he had heard what sounded like a woman crying out. He rushed towards the sound and to his surprise, found Aki splashing around in the water. "Aki!" he cried in surprise. Without a second thought he tossed his weapons aside and waded into the water. He grabbed her waist and in a soft, calm voice he said to her, "Don't worry milady, I've got you." He paddled his legs in place to keep them both afloat. His mother had scoffed at him wanting to learn to swim..but it was definitely a skill to have.
 
Aki gasps as something clings onto her in the deep, unrelenting pond. Her arms wrap around its upper portion, right above where the object broadened into two tough sections. Her legs wrap around its midsection, where she felt it had a surprising amount of warmth, even while basking in the freezing pool of water. It was then when she realized the upper portion she clung onto was someone's neck, and the midsection a waist above two kicking feet.

Her eyes attempt to focus, but the water draining from her head made the picture dark and blurry. She wipes her eyes with the back of her hand to find... Cade? She shakes her head, attempts to clear whatever mirage she was seeing in-front of her. After several long seconds of staring at the man, she realizes it really was him. "Cade!" The girl clings on tight, still bobbing up and down by her neck in the chilling water.

"C-cade, get u-us out of here." She swallows hard and closes her eyes. A whimper slips out of her mouth as her grip becomes ever-so-slightly tighter.
 
Trying to stay on the road as two of your members slowly dry off, you follow the gravel road that leads you to a village, its tall houses dark as tombstones. Nestled among these solemn dwellings are a handful of closed-up shops. Even the tavern is shut tight.

Soft wimpering draws your eye toward a pair of small children standing in the middle of an otherwise lifeless street.
 
Auda smirks at her wet party members as the group enters the village. "Told you she'd catch up. Now, doesn't seem like we're going to have to fight any werewolves in the middle of a mist-laden forest, which is a relief, as I was certainly hoping not to be horribly killed today. However, this village may be.... Why hello there little ones."

Auda stops short as she walks confidently at the front of the party, and addresses the children in the street. "Are you alright? Has something frightened you, perhaps some large furry beasts? Don't you worry, we're on our way to beat the living daylights out of them, just for you." She strums a heroic note on her lute, attempting to cheer up the whimpering children. "Where are your parents? Do you need help finding them?" She turns to the others and speaks in a low voice. "Perhaps their grateful parents can point us in the direction of the local authorities."
 
After shushing the boy, the older girl turns to Auda and says, "There's a monster in our house!" She then points to a tall brick row house that has seen better days. Its windows are dark. It has a gated portico on the ground floor, and the rusty gate is slightly ajar. The houses on either side are abandoned, their doors boarded up.

Cade would start to notice that the fog, which had been keeping a regular distance from you, seems to be moving in toward your party, slowly.
 
"S-shut it, Auda," Aki shivers as she trails along with the group.

She had been walking for some time, water dripping from her crimson red hair and down her leather boots. She had cursed and swore on the way here, filling the air with all kinds of obscenities known to both human and elven kind. Many of it was filled with grumbles of a suicide mission, that taking on a cult of werewolves was something only the dead would speak of. And yet, with all of her complaints, she trudged along with them.

Her complaints quieted down as they entered the village. Aki wasn't sure if it was the fog, the freezing pool water sliding down the back of her neck, or the atmosphere that ran a chill through her spine. Something was wrong here. Terribly so. Her hand settled on her longsword, slung forward to her hip for easier access. Her body stuck close to her three companions, especially her shoulder against Cade's soaking side. She stiffens up at the sight of the children.

"A monster?" she asks as she moves to stand beside Auda. "What kind of monster was it, child?" Aki darts her eyes back and forth, from the rusted iron gate to the two in front of her. She didn't trust this place one bit, and her body movements screamed of it.
 
Lucky didn't speak, he just looked around at the scene laid out before him.

Fog setting in on every side, a soaking wet woman to his left, a halfling rockstar calming down some children to his right, and two fighters, prepared for whatever would be setting in upon them. The halfling swallowed the worry that began to fill his throat as he spun on the balls of his feet, trying to see just where their demise was going to come from but lacking so far. But then he heard talk of the 'monster' that was around them and Lucky felt his heart start to beat faster and faster.

"Not going to do us much good waiting for it is it?"

Lucky looked over the group and chewed on his lip softly as he tried to think up a plan. He was already sure it was the creature that they had been chasing, but even with that he wondered if he'd make it out of that house if he stepped foot in it. But he didn't mind, he had run off to save Daggerford, to save the lady and all of the children that were within it's walls, and now...he'd save these ones that were out here. So, with sword in one hand and the rough leather strap of his shield in the other, the man started to take his steps forward.
 
“Perhaps this werewolf is someone these parents had kept locked up in the basement, maybe a relative. And it seems there is a baby in the house; we should investigate quickly, there’s no time to get the authorities before this creature potentially kills this child. Might as well take care of it ourselves, since we’ve decided to throw our lives away anyways being heroic like a bunch of softheaded fools!” Auda turns and beams at the rest of the party.
 
"You say that as if it's something to be proud about, Auda" Aki grumbles in the back. The girl then raises an eyebrow at the children's stories. Did they say 'kept' it locked up in the basement? As in, the past tense? She looks to her companions, studies them for a second. First, werewolves. Now children begging for help and monsters locked up in the basement. This wasn't what she came for at all.

"It's not our werewolf," she says as she draws her black, metal spear from her back. "It's impossible that it got out, wreaked havoc on Daggerford, ran back here, then was trapped and locked up in a basement long enough for what these children are suggesting." Aki takes a deep breath, then groans and sinks her head. "Regardless, I'm... not one to turn my back to children." She glances at the two, and she winces before turning away.

"Let's just do this quickly, please," she says as she dons her shield and pushes toward the house.
 
The children introduce themselves as Rose and Thorn as they follow you to the front door of the house. They remain between the closed portaco and the front door. You first enter the main hall with a black marble fireplace on your left and a sweeping red marble staircase on the right side of the room. The wood-paneled walls are ornately decorated with images of vines, flowers, nymphs, and satyrs. There is a sword mounted above the fireplace. There are 5 doors that the group can see, along with the stairs leading up to the second floor.
 

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Aki walks into the main hall, shield in her left hand, spear in her right. She moves over toward the fireplace, runs over the marble's white cracks like spider webs in the darkness. "Of course a spooky house needs a spooky fireplace as well," she mutters to herself. Her gaze moves up, settles upon the sword above the fireplace.

The girl briefly contemplates taking the crafted weapon hanging out in the public. After all, they were invited into the house. They deserve a bit of payment for it. As she reaches her hand out for it, however, a twang of guilt resonates at the memory of the children, and her hand retreats. They were having a hard enough life, she thinks to herself. They likely didn't need robbers ontop of it.

Aki moves south from the fireplace, next to the spiraling red marble staircase upstairs. She trades her spear to her shield hand, grips the handle from the door there. She then turns it and attempts to walk inside.
 
Rolax has seen some strange things in a short time. Wolf tattooed people eating other people. Going by what his new companions have said, they were probably Werewolves. He half regrets not attacking them when he had the chance, but also knows on his own there would have been only one outcome. Rolax is still pondering what the red flash was before he emerged from the fog, but really doesn't want to think too much into it. The new companions seem a mixed bunch. The Half-Elf doesn't seem to like him much. The Gnome seems of a fair disposition. And the half-ling seems the quiet type. After all is said and done, he doesn't get a bad vibe off of them. Although, he will keep an eye on where the Half-Elf is sticking that pointy stick of hers. While they explore the ground floor of the house he keeps back and watches. Waiting for anything they may find that needs it's head taking off if it's shoulders
 
Aki returns to the main hall, a deep scowl etched on her pale, white face. Her arms cross as she leans against the railing of the sweeping, marble staircase, the frigid stone chilling the back of her spine. She ignores it as she begins to speak. "I didn't see any beast," she says, her voice carrying a hint of a grumble. "Whatever it is, it isn't on this floor. Which, now that I think about it, is likely a good thing."

She puffs out her chest, then brushes a strand of blood-red hair from her face. Despite being the second tallest person in the room, a little extra confidence never hurt anyone. Her gaze sweeps across the room, stares back toward the door from where they came from. "We should go back outside. Basements often have doors leading in from out there."

Her gaze sweeps across the room again, eyes the half-orc for a split second, before turning away. "Gods know how long that thing's going to be kept up. I'd like to deal with it sooner rather than later."

"I didn't find much either, for the record," Aki adds, after her half-witted attempt of a speech. "Kitchen. Tidy, well-kept. Whoever lived there did a good job at keeping it clean and organized." She shrugs her shoulders, then crosses one leg over the other in her lean against the stairs.

"There was a dumbwaiter too. Probably small enough for one of us to fit. Honestly, I wouldn't trust it though. Who knows how old this place is. Dumbwaiter could break. It could get stuck. Furthermore, we don't know what's inside the house. We don't know what's hiding around here. I don't want to send someone up alone and sit around as they get murdered."

"Had enough of that back home," she mutters to herself.
 
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You hear a light knock on the door, followed by a slightly more rushed one, then the door swings open as someone stumbles into the main hall "H-hey.. Is anyone home? The mist thickenned and some growling noises are keeping me on my nerves." There stands a copper-skinned half-elf, dressed in fine white and gray clothes and a deep purple mask covering the upper-left side of his face, on his belt a well-kept rapier rests on its sheath. The surprised look on his faces betrays that he wasn't expecting to meet people in, what appeared to be, a ghost town. "Oh, sorry about that... I didn't mean to break in..." His hand was shaking not to grab his sword in this strager filled enviroment. "I don't mean to create any struggle. I'm Magnus, a storyteller."
 
Rolax whips round with his Axe at the ready. Eyeing the new comer before relaxing. "I guess I should be wary about strangers arriving out of the mist, but having done that myself recently I guess I don't have much of a leg to stand on." Glancing around at the others in the group "Welcome to the party for now I guess. Just don't slit our throats while we are distracted and I'm sure we will get along fine." He gestures to the stairs "We are about to head up stairs and check things out. I've been told there's some kind of thing we have to deal with thats probably going to get us killed. I'm a little light on details but I'm sure we'll pick it up as we go along."
Rolling his shoulders and turning to Aki "Ladies first or do you want me as a meat shield?"
 
Aki turns around, narrows her eyes toward the door. Her hand grips on her shield and spear as it opens up, revealing the copper-skinned half-elf standing there. "Gods, more people?" She steps down from the stairwell, narrows her eyes toward Magnus. Her dark tailcoat ruffles as she steps down and takes a moment to examine the half-elf further. From the closer proximity, Magnus could see the dark streaks of red hair running down the girl's shoulders, and the several shiny straps up and down her wrists and across her body.

"What the orc said," she hisses, her words cutting as sharp as the knives on her belt. "I assume ya saw the kids outside, looking for a monster. Don't stab us or get stabbed, and maybe later we'll have time to sort all this out."

The girl shoots a glare toward Rolax, then turns and heads back to the stairs. "I've got it," she mumbles under her breath, then leads the way up the stairs, sword and shield.
 
Auda looks at the newcomer, and raises an eyebrow. “Beginning to think something strange is going on here, all these people just appearing, almost as if we’re all being drawn here. I mean, something more strange than the werewolves, the terrifying house, and the pink haired gnome that won’t shut up. Well, plenty of time to worry about that when we’re dead. Whoever you are, like the others said, we got a child to save from something terrible, so either come along and help or stand here and whimper, according to the sort of person ya be.” She turns and heads up the stairs, fiddling with one of her music boxes.
 
Reaching the top of the stairs, Rolax peers at the painting.
"Well, there are 3 children in this painting. We've met two. The way I see it, there are two ways this will go. First way, the baby is a monster, the mother tried to get rid of it as she clearly hates it and probably isn't even hers. So we are going to have to fight a baby. Second way, They are all in on it, the whole family are twisted and we have been lead into the trap by two children pretending to be good who will then come attack us from behind."

He glances at the group. "Or maybe I read too many stories. Regardless, something is strange here."
 
"Buddy, I think you're really overthinking it. It's much more likely that they're simply dead..." Magnus throws a concerned glance at the children wondering if he was too blunt, "Regardless, you're right. Family painting, creepy engravings in the doors and suits of armor, this is looking like a ghost story - and believe me, I know a lot of ghost stories."

Magnus wanders closer to the painting to inspect its details "Although, the paint still appears to be fresh, but I don't really think that makes this situation any less disturbing." He stares at the figures in the picture, his mind bolting through every creepy tale he heard, and told himself, hoping not to find any similarity.
 
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"This place is so odd," Aki says as she approaches the hangings. "What kind of a home would have such things?" Her fingers reach out, brushes a face of a particularly beautiful young girl, streams of red hair spilling across her shoulders. She had never seen art so breathtaking before. Sure, the glass was a bit foggy and a thin layer of dust covered its surface. But even when she was in the Duchess' mansion, nothing she saw came close to this.

It's almost like it had a wild, almost Fey-like quality to it. It would've made sense with the otherworldliness of this strange place they entered.

She turns, narrowing her eyes as she explores the rest of the room. Her gaze pours over the upholstered chairs, the standing harp near the fireplace. "No signs of the beast here," Aki says, brushing her fingertips against the harp, playing the faintest of a ghostly chord. "Perhaps we're lucky and it's still in the basement."
 
Rolax looks at Aki "I agree, the basement is a good idea. But the more we see of this house the stranger I feel about it all. There's something odd going on." He walks over to the mantelpiece and points at a figurine "I mean, who has this kind of stuff?"

"I think we should check out the rest of this floor while we are here" He pauses "Did the house look new from the outside? I didn't really get a good look at it with the fog."
 
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