Storm King's Thunder [CLOSED]

[Theseiroth]

Frantic and tired from the ride, Lecuis looks at the two companions that where not there. "Something has gone terrible wrong there. We saw a creature in the town square that spooked the horse and flex for safely. I think we should go back and report what we saw but if you to wish to head to Nightstone and see for yourselves, we should go together." Hoping down to give the horse time to rest while they decided, Lecuis went through the details in his head over and over.

 

[Ellywyck27]

Ruthenia hears the coming gallops and opens one eye. She recognizes the horses. “Back so soon? I didn’t think his singing was that bad.” With the strangeness of the town bell continuing to ring random numbers, she realizes the seriousness of the coming horses and riders, and jumps up, ready to grab a weapon or mount her horse if needed.
As the two breathlessly tell what they saw, she looks to Bell. What does he think? “Is there no one alive? Breakwood? Lady Nandar? Do you think they’re...”

 

[Theseiroth]

"We don't know," Lecuis frowns, wishing he had better news. This was never supposed to be this way. A nice easy job to get them back on their feet. "If we go back to check, we should now, creatures tend to flourish at night."

 

[ZombWie]

The tall horse stops nibbling in the grass and stands fully upright twitching her ears toward the town of Nightstone. Bell watches from his reclined pose as the horse swishes and thrashes it's tail. Moments later the deep chest thumping sound of horse hooves pounding dirt reaches their resting spot. A traveler approaches and they are moving at great speed. Bell causally leans forward to be ready to stand if need be, but holds his composure so that the inevitable passer by passes without notice of Ruthenia and himself.

The approaching horses are not a stranger, but the new recruits from the circus. Bell is vertical in a flash and quickly pulls himself to his horse in case there is reason to flee in a hurry. Bell gives a sharp tsst noise when Ruthenia makes a joke. The two riders are back for a reason and their speed makes it obvious the reason is not good.

Lecuis relates the story and Bell takes it in. The kenku leans forward on the saddle's horn and notices Ruthenia glancing toward him. He mimics Lecuis, but at a quicker pace, "...we go back to check..." Bell catches himself and let's out a bird-like awk as if he is clearing his throat, then pats his hand on his chest three times to indicate himself. "...go back to check... if you wish to head... back... head... soon." The kenku then surveys the group to determine their acceptance or denial of this plan.

 

[Ellywyck27]

“Let’s not stand around here talking. Let’s get a move on.” Ruthenia Ironfist, daughter of a dwarf captain, squares her scale-mail clad shoulders and faces her horse to mount. Can I do this gracefully without a mounting block or rock to help? Not really, but she manages to get up in one strong pull, and wiggle her leg over the saddle without having to jump a second time. ”Let’s go have a look.”
Ruth heads up the road at a trot, not turning to see if the others follow— but she listens carefully, and hears them.

As soon as the towers and the bridge come into clear sight, she slows her horse to a slow walk until everyone is together, and then she reigns the horse to a stop. “Could be the work of catapults.” Ruthenia is just happy to not see giant heads peering over the town walls, waiting for them. “With the bridge going up to the keep broken like that, perhaps Lady Nandar is safe there from these wolves. ... As suggested, the draw bridge is the only way in to this town... unless you are a fish...cat...thing.... But Aseir and Lecuis got the whole way in without being seen, so they aren’t guarding. If you had stopped and turned to fight on the bridge, it would have been an advantage, bottle necking the enemy so they can’t flank you.” Ruth points out these few battle tactics she learned from her recent experiences under Bruenor Battlehammer and she fingers the one gold scale of her armor on her left shoulder that has the Clan Battlehammer Foaming Tankard symbol etched into it. As she speaks, she watches for any signs of human life in the keep.

 

[ZombWie]

The dwarf lays out her thoughts and Bell nods along taking agreeing with her assessment so far. When Ruthenia pauses Bell gets their attention with a snap of his fingers. His plan is too complicated to explain in mimic, so he slides off his horse and grabs a stick from the side of the road. He uses the stick as a pointer to point out the keep, then draws it in the dirt. A few back and forth gestures and drawings later and he has laid out his plan to the group. The kenku would like to make his way around the outside of the palisade toward the break in the wall near the keep. Bell looks up toward the party of newly acquainted Zhent and tilts his head in question.

 

[Ellywyck27]

Ruth watched Bell draw circles and lines in the dirt. Poor guy. Must be hard to not say what you think. Doesn’t mean he can’t think up some good plans though.

“That’s a good plan. We need more info. And one can be more sneaky than four. Of the four of us here, I think Bell or Aseir are best suited for sneaking around and not getting caught... Hmmm. An exit might be tricky. Not sure we can coordinate a pickup very well. Any one have any other ideas to add to this plan?”

 

[Theseiroth]

Lecuis shurgs with a sigh, "I can play a song infused with magic that will bolster whoever does this, but beyond that...I can be a good snack for the wolves if needed" he laughs cautiously, please don't make me be a snack.

 

[ZombWie]

Bell stands and dusts himself off. Looking over his party mates he makes a decision. Bell unlatches one side of his horses reins and hands it to Lecuis. A second later he deftly climbs on Lecuis' horse and gives a thumbs up.

 

[Ellywyck27]

There is moment where they all look at each other. Even the horses are very serious and tense. Ruth pats the neck of her mount and says to them all softly in dwarvish “Noe battyls shall ye see thys day, i promyse.”

This time she reluctantly takes the role of leader, kicks her horse gently into the front position, and signals for everyone to follow. As she does so, she says “If they are expecting us, this won’t work. Turn and run - don’t stay and fight. We don’t even know if there’s anything here worth fighting for yet. We’d best live to fight another day.”

The battle speech to rally the troops thus done, Ruthenia falls into silence, and leads the approach to the drawbridge, alert and ready to give a signal to turn and run.

 

[Baba Luga]

It's been just ten or fifteen minutes since Aseir and Lecuis fled this place, but the hideous wolflike creatures they described are nowhere to be seen as all four of you approach the end of the road and look across the lowered drawbridge into the hamlet. From here, the large open square at Nightstone's center is clearly visible, as is the church and one of the plots that grows vegetables for the keep. Bell remembers some of the other places he visits here: the trading post, the stables, the inn.

One striking feature from Bell's mental image of Nightstone that is no longer reflected by reality is the eight-foot-tall obsidian megalith that used to stand at the center of the square. Its sides were decorated with large dwarvish runes, and though Bell knows that language, he could never make out what the characters said. They always seemed to just be a bunch of nonsense. A hundred feet inside the gate, where the megalith formerly stood, is a hole in the ground. As Lecuis said, large chunks of stone from the Spine of the World, some as much a three feet in diameter, are all about.

 

[Theseiroth]

"Well the dogs are gone, that's good news. But I don't see anyone else. Should we start with the Inn?" Lecuis scans the area, hoping to not see the beasts but see people, any kind of people, that can answer questions or direct them to someone who can.

 

[Ellywyck27]

Crossing the drawbridge up to the entrance to the town, Ruthenia sees nothing moving. This puts her even more on the edge. Where are they hiding? Will we be ambushed? Lecuis’ lighthearted suggestion that they explore surprises and displeases her greatly. “An unseen enemy has the greatest advantage. We should still stick with Bell’s plan.” Ruth pulls her horse to a stop just inside the entrance. “Bell, are you ready? Good luck.”

 

[ZombWie]

Bell slides off of the back of Lecuis' horse and mimics Ruthenia's words back to them all. "An unseen enemy has the greatest advantage." He then moves to check the stable building, but is unable to find a good handhold to allow him to pull himself up. He continues around the west side of the stable to see what he can see around the back. Noticing the two large beasts that can only be the monsters that Aesir and Lecuis described he turns slowly toward Lecuis and motions for him to be quiet and stay where he is.

 

[Theseiroth]

Seeing Bell have trouble with the window, Lecuis handed the reigns of the horses to Ruth and Aseir before climbing down to peek in it. Seeing a rock and a hole, Lecuis realized the trouble that might have befallin Nightstone. He lowers himself and looked towards Bell to let him know when. He notice Bells hand signs to stay quiet. Quickly he drew his Lute and gently tapped a beat to cast message and warn Ruth and Aseir that there might be trouble brewing

 

[Ellywyck27]

“What are you doing?!” Ruthenia hisses as Lecuis tosses the reigns. “Idiot!”
She looks at Aseir. “Now what? If things go down—we lose our horses if we help, we lose two companions if we don’t.”

Ruth and Aseir sit and watch, tense and uneasy. When Lecuis’ message comes about trouble, Ruth can only roll her eyes. “No shit. That’s why I told you to stick to the plan.”

 

[ZombWie]

The sight of two such beasts tearing and shredding at the pig's carcass should be a clear sign to Bell that this is no place for a wagon driver, but he is not just a wagon driver. Bell watches the beasts for a moment then surveys the yard in front of him. The chickens scream and flap in panicked alarm while they watch wide eyed the wolf like animals tear flesh off the pigs. The chicken's cacophony will unwittingly give Bell's already light steps even more of an advantage in the soft grass between him and the guard tower. The door is a problem, but it is one that can be dealt with when Bell reaches the tower. He would ask himself why he is taking such a risk for his Zhentarim boss, but his kenku curse prevents such inner conversation. Instead, Bell moves silently across the grass watching the placement of his feet and staying lower than the thin twig fence that stands between him and the dogs.

 

[Baba Luga]

From the sounds Bell hears from the other side of the fence as he creeps by, the imposing creatures continue to savor their meal with their faces buried in the farm animals. He reaches the door, waits for the sounds of the chickens' distress to peak, and then opens it just enough to slip through. The poorly-maintained hinges creak, but not loudly enough to give him away. The inside of the tower is empty of supplies and furnishing. It's really just a container for the ladder anchored on one wall that climbs twenty feet to a trapdoor to the roof.

Back by the stable, Lecuis has a sudden realization that these wolfish creatures match the description of a nasty beast he's heard stories of. Maybe he's even told a few, though he's certainly never seen a worg before. The huge, misshapen physique, the hunched shoulders, bald faces, wicked grins. Goblins are supposed to consort with these things—it wouldn't really be right to call them goblin pets since they're reputedly almost as smart as a goblin. Nobody ever has a first-hand tale of them though. It's always a friend of a friend who barely escaped with their life while out in the remote hills and chased by goblins on worg-back.

A sound from inside the stable, a muffled thud followed by a quick rustle, stirs Lecuis out of his worgish reverie.

Where they wait with the horses by the drawbridge, Ruth and Aseir have completely lost sight of Bell. The kenku just ducked out of sight around the stable. Aseir curses the four steeds they've been burdened with, and wonder aloud if they should just run them back across the bridge and tie them to the chains that run up to the two towers. Or maybe it would be best to drive them off and hope to round them up later. Aseir admits he doesn't know a lot about horses.

 

[Theseiroth]

Lecuis 'Gracefully' and quietly climbs in through the window and lands in a crouched position. Realizing he some how did it silently he smiles and pretends to brush dirt from his shoulders, just as he hears voices and a hay bales falls from the loft above. Please Worgs, don't hear that. He says to himself. Quickly he pulls his lute out again to cast message.

'Uh Ruth, there's someone or something in the stables. Seems like we are about to have trouble in here.'

 

[Ellywyck27]

Ruthenia sighs. She’s not sure if Lecuis can hear a reply, but she says (quietly- incase there are beasts or foes nearby) “Let us know when you realize you went too far. I’m sure you thought of a way out of this mess, right?”

Since she hears no screams of pain, she decides to keep waiting. Either Lecuis was instantly dead, or getting into bigger trouble. She still isn’t sure if they should attempt to save Lecuis from whatever he found, or just turn and leave.
“Aseir, this is becoming a circus... no offense.”

 

[Theseiroth]

lecuis thinks for a moment and then messaged Ruth again. Yeah, o-of course I have a plan, just uh, be ready for when it goes bad. Lecuis ponders a moment then cast message to Bell, Ruth wants to know the plan, tell me you have something? Lecuis moved towards the ladder, trying to catch the whispers that where coming from above

 

[ZombWie]

Exit might be tricky... Let's play straight... the dogs... don't see... Bell. Lecuis then hears the sound of arrows flying, but it is only in his head. Bell... need... keep... dogs... here... need... Ruthenia... Aseir.

Bell hopes his message made sense to Lecuis. It is difficult to communicate when using just a word at a time, because requires much concentration. It is easier for Bell to mimic whole phrases. The kenku grips the ladder in frustration.

 

[Theseiroth]

let's hope I got this right. Lecuis takes a quiet, deep breath and starts to cast again, Bell agrees with me, we can beat the dogs, but we're gonna need both you and Aseir, please. Lecuis waits for a reply, hoping it's a yes. Just in case something goes wrong he sets his pack down quietly and draws his handaxe.

 

[Ellywyck27]

Ruthenia looks to Aseir. “Is he always like this? He doesn’t have a plan, does he? sigh I think we better check on him. Keep an eye out for anything... bigger. I don’t want to fight anything larger than dogs today.” Ruthenia shudders at the thought of what else might hiding behind the village buildings. She keeps an eye warily on the whole area as she urges her horse slowly and cautiously, one step at a time, forward toward the stable. Holding the reins of Lecuis’ horse, which has Bell’s horse following, she wants to make sure all the horses are together and ok. “Let’s tie them off here,” she whispers and points at the hitching posts outside the south entrance of the stable.

 

[Baba Luga]

Aseir follows Ruth over to the post and quickly ties the horses up with a knot he learned from Von Anvil and the other circus roustabouts. He silently shows Ruth how it holds the horses tight from their end, but if you just untwist and tug on the other, the whole thing unravels. Perfect if you need to make a quick escape.

Over here outside the stable, Ruth hears a faint, repeating tapping noise, like someone hewing at stone with a pick. The sound is echoing off the buildings from some distance away, and it's hard to get a fix on the exaction direction it's coming from.

Inside the stable, Lecuis vaguely hears the clopping of horse hooves as he creeps silently to one of the ladders. The voice from the loft grows a bit louder, nattering on in an unfamiliar language, and then another bale of hay tumbles over the edge and hits the ground nearby. The voice is high-pitched and raspy. Although Lecuis has no idea what is being said, the speaker seems unhappy about something.

Once Bell opens the trap door and mounts the roof of the tower, he has an excellent view of the moor land to the northwest of Nightstone. The river flows lazily by directly below. In the other direction, the stable and inn prevent him from getting a good view of the hamlet. He does have a clear view of is the graveyard against the northernmost stretch of the palisade and the keep far to the south is certainly imposing rising up from the higher island.

Having tired of the pig carcasses, the two huge wolflike creatures down in the yard lift their heads and speak to each other. Bell cannot hear their voices from his perch, but the movements of their lips are clearly forming words of some sort. The beasts turn and lope about ten feet south to where the chicken coops stand in a long row.