Book 1 - Chapter 5: Have Sword - Will Travel, or How the West was Fun(dead)

[pringerbeam]

     "As unseemly as the old man might be, he did set us up for a quest. There might still be a boon in this yet I think. The truly great tales usually have several sidetracking quests. I don't see why this one would be different."

[Throndir]

"We can spare a bit of tiyum. I say we go." Rhenri said agreeing with Thedrin.

[Asta]

[info]Continued in Book 1 - Chapter 5.1: Dark Wings, Darker Deeds[/info]

[Asta]

Back on the road after your encounter with Krakefar and your acquisition of a powerful artefact, you travel on unhindered to Baile Fada.



Location: Baile Fada Outskirts
Date: Ius 29, 796
Time: 0800

When you finally arrive at the outskirts of the town, the sun is just beginning to peek over the horizon. Immediately you can tell that something is wrong. Though it is a small town with a modest population there should be people out attending to morning chores, but the few pastures around the village are empty even of livestock. No smoke rises from the chimneys, and you can't even detect the faint chatter of morning market crowds.

"That silence is eerie." Scathach says, looking at the town.

[pringerbeam]

     "Indeed, not a peasant in sight..." Remarked Thedrin as he looked around.

[info]Perception to see if there's any signs of recent activity[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+2 : 1 + 2, total 3[/blockquote][/info]

[Asta]

[info]Thedrin's Perception:
The town seems completely empty from a distance.[/info]

"Nobody moving about the houses either... Should we go in and take a closer look?" Scathach asks, shielding her eyes from the glare of the morning sun as she watches the village for a moment.

[pringerbeam]

     "I suppose we have to." Answered Thedrin as he unsheathed his sword and lead the way into the village.

[Asta]

Walking into the village proper you find it truly empty, and from the look of things it has been that way for several weeks. Market stalls sit unattended with food beginning to rot despite the winter temperatures. Strangely it seems as if one day everyone in town just stopped what they were doing and left town.

With a quick scan of the town square and surrounding buildings you find that some houses have been left with their doors open.

[info]Perception requested.[/info]

[pringerbeam]

[info] Perception[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+2 : 10 + 2, total 12[/blockquote][/info]

[Throndir]

[info][blockquote]Perception 1d20+7 : 6 + 7, total 13[/blockquote][/info]

[Oath]

[info] perception
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+2 : 7 + 2, total 9[/blockquote]

[Asta]

There is a quick flash of movement in your peripheral vision, a shape you couldn't quite get a read on flits quickly through the open door of a nearby house. Near the doorway, a half rotten apple rolls along the ground a few inches as if it had been dropped in haste.

"Did you catch that...?" Scathach whispers, eyeing the house and slowly drawing her sword. "Something just ducked in that house."

[pringerbeam]

     "Perhaps one of the villagers... You there! Come out! We come under the orders of the Righ." Shouted Thedrin at the doorway.

[Asta]

From inside the house you hear a shuffling sound as if someone just moved a kitchen table, you also hear several voices arguing with each other not nearly as quietly as the speaker should be. It sounds like children speaking.

"Aww Duny, look what you done now you daft fool. I told you not to go out earlier!" came a girl's voice.

"Shut it Eeada! Moira needed food, we all needed food! Plus they ain't wearin' those robes, maybe they really is from the city." responded what sounded like a young boy.

"Or they took 'em off you twit. Maybe if we stay quiet they'll leave..."

"Too late for that" Scathach said loudly. "Come out, we know you're in there. Ain't going to hurt you."

"Fucking... Fuck!" the girl swore.

A moment of shuffling later, two small figures appear in the doorway. It is indeed a pair of children, a boy and girl no older than ten or eleven years old. The boy shakily holds a shortsword that is clearly still too heavy for him, and the girl has a spear at the ready that seems to have been snapped off to be more manageable for her frame. They look tired and on edge, as if the last few days have been particularly stressful.

"Th' fuck are you? Stay back or I'll stick you!" The girl, Eeada says with the forceful bravado of someone that clearly knows they have no chance of winning a fight. Behind the pair is a third child, another girl maybe six or seven. She cowers in the dark near a small shelf, peaking around the corner timidly.

[pringerbeam]

    "I doubt that." Replied Thendrin as he appraised the children. "You have the stance of a half-drunk sailor still walking on his sea legs and can barely lift that half-spear."