[SRP] Demons of Watchwood Forest

[Knight Errant]

James grunts.

"I can handle it."

He looks the horse in the eye and gives it an icy glare!

The horse snorts at him, seemingly unimpressed.

((Use the Horseman's Word! XD))

Hmm... how amusing to think there would still be people out in these neck of the woods given whats going on, ah well some people are to stubborn. Victor thought looking at the inn. Muttering a basic protecting prayer, he then approached the door he watching for traps or arrow holes as these set ups usually lent themselves well to ambushing attackers, Knocking on the door he shouted "Anyone still alive in there!" mumbling under his breath "Hopefully there are still people alive... I swear if i have to deal with another zombies ambush..." trailing off.

He would find that indeed, there are arrow slits and murder holes, the door being set in the stone wall in an alcove to better assault would-be attackers. Also, along the heavy wooden door frame are the same strange runes that he had seen on the door of the chamber where he had met the king. There was power there... no doubt about it.

At his question, one of the arrow slits has its cover slid back and a rough face peers out at him. "Ey... its a boy. I wont be askin what yer wantin... that being a fool of a question. All I'll be askin if there is anythin following you."

The man nods, looking over his new steed and then beginning to lead it out of the stables, pausing only for a moment to toss the man a stock line, though it sounds perfectly natural coming from the mountain of a man before him.

"It will determine it's own fate...but if I have anything to say about it, the demons have already eaten their last meals."

With that, he ducks slightly, as not to get the hilt of his oversized blade caught in the doorway, and walks onward, as if he doesn't have a care in the world, getting the horse onto a path before vaulting atop it, mumbling something to himself as he looks outwards, his eyes carving a path into the woods. Urging his horse to a brisk trot...he's off! The man doesn't seem to have a particular destination in mind yet...but he seems to be steering away from more populated roads and the like as he makes his way.

The stablehand merely calls back at him. "Just be rememberin what they EAT at their last meals! Or its you they will be dining on..."

Meanwhile, through the forest he goes! Deeper into the more unknown and seldom-trodden pathways. He stumbles across a part of road that looks to have been abandoned for a couple of centuries. A rotten gate barring the way further. On it is a sign, the carved words: "Go no further, the castle of Malachai Wrench lies ahead." Still being legible. They might know more about this castle. Or he could keep on going straight... and see for himself. Or he could turn around and ignore both completely!

As the forest grows darker, Ginny swings her leg over the horse and slides down, motioning for Nevrina to follow. The girl in the golden robe jumps down after the Paladin, and then Ginny pats the side of the horse, turning it around and sending it back the way they had come. Drawing the giant sword that looked far too heavy for such a slim young woman, she moved forward, Nevrina conjuring up a glowing orange fireball that begun to spin around above them, lighting the path. Ginny's eyes narrowed as she heard the voice again, but she continued to walk towards it's source..

As they go through the dark forest, they suddenly come out into a clearing. Up on a steep hill, an old tower is outlined against the night sky. It must have been abandoned for some time... yet at the top a window glows with light. The heavy oaken door slowly opens as they approach.

Meanwhile, Nevrina will hear a faint whisper. The voice is seductive, her every word a pleasure to hear. "And who are you? The Paladin's servant? You could do so much better for yourself, dear..."

[Harri-chan]

Ginny led Nevrina up the hill, her pace quickening a little, sure this is where her enemy was hiding. The heavy, gleaming armour rattled with each step, her golden braid flicking behind her. By the time she reached the top of the hill, she was running, bursting through the open door way and swinging her giant sword out in large arc, "It's over!", she yelled. Nevrina hadn't kept pace with the paladin, but had continued to walk up the path to the tower, her head tilting curious at the seductive whisper, her cheeks going a little red. "She told me you'd try this... ", she murmured, approaching the doorway, and following Ginny inside.

[Alissa of Someday]

Meanwhile, through the forest he goes! Deeper into the more unknown and seldom-trodden pathways. He stumbles across a part of road that looks to have been abandoned for a couple of centuries. A rotten gate barring the way further. On it is a sign, the carved words: "Go no further, the castle of Malachai Wrench lies ahead." Still being legible. They might know more about this castle. Or he could keep on going straight... and see for himself. Or he could turn around and ignore both completely!

Oh the options!
Signaling his horse to slow, the warrior casts a glance around him, to ensure there is no one nearby, before reaching up, as if to adjust something around his neck. Nothing seems to happen much really, but a moment later, the gates blow open, unless they're less rickety then they look. Smiling to himself in an odd way that would probably have caught the eye of anyone who'd seen his demeanor up until now, he takes his horse into a turn, through the now open gates. This seemed a good place to start.

[Blaze]

[I would if I knew what that was. XD]

Jame reaches up to grip the horses mane, maintaining the icy glare.

[Knight Errant]

Ginny led Nevrina up the hill, her pace quickening a little, sure this is where her enemy was hiding. The heavy, gleaming armour rattled with each step, her golden braid flicking behind her. By the time she reached the top of the hill, she was running, bursting through the open door way and swinging her giant sword out in large arc, "It's over!", she yelled. Nevrina hadn't kept pace with the paladin, but had continued to walk up the path to the tower, her head tilting curious at the seductive whisper, her cheeks going a little red. "She told me you'd try this... ", she murmured, approaching the doorway, and following Ginny inside.

The ground floor is as you might expect it. Bits of broken furniture, a trapdoor to what might be a celler, and heavy wooden poles sunken into the stone wall in a spiral staircase. Somewhere above, there is the smell of death... mixed with the faint aroma of... perfume?

Meanwhile, the whispering continues. "Ohh the good Paladin warns you of the evil demon... she IS such a good woman, isnt she? If so you had better warn her about me talking to you... and what she will find on the next level. Its... not nearly as nice as I am. Oh no..."

Oh the options!
Signaling his horse to slow, the warrior casts a glance around him, to ensure there is no one nearby, before reaching up, as if to adjust something around his neck. Nothing seems to happen much really, but a moment later, the gates blow open, unless they're less rickety then they look. Smiling to himself in an odd way that would probably have caught the eye of anyone who'd seen his demeanor up until now, he takes his horse into a turn, through the now open gates. This seemed a good place to start.

The gates fly open in a shower of dust and rotted wood! The way forward cleared, he continues up the road! After a long trot, he begins to see tumbledown ruins of houses along the road... and the black shape of a stone keep peeking out from the boughs. Finally he comes to a great black stone wall... the gates of which look like they have been torn off ages ago. Ahead is a overgrown courtyard, with trees growing up through the stable roof and shrubs all around the well. Up beyond that, the keep sits silent. In fact... the whole place is eerily silent. The sounds of the animals of the forest vanishing as he enters the ruined town.

Jame reaches up to grip the horses mane, maintaining the icy glare.

((Read your Discworld! XD))

It glares back! But dosent kick...

[ZeroForever]

He would find that indeed, there are arrow slits and murder holes, the door being set in the stone wall in an alcove to better assault would-be attackers. Also, along the heavy wooden door frame are the same strange runes that he had seen on the door of the chamber where he had met the king. There was power there... no doubt about it.

At his question, one of the arrow slits has its cover slid back and a rough face peers out at him. "Ey... its a boy. I wont be askin what yer wantin... that being a fool of a question. All I'll be askin if there is anythin following you."

"Hmm following me..." Victor said looking thoughtful "I honestly wouldn't be surprised demons do tend to think I look tasty... there judgement might be right but I prefer staying in one piece."
Victor knew well enough that if anything was following him it was good enough that it wouldn't matter as his honed instincts and sanctuary prayer hadn't detect anything in his local surrounding. His mount was trained to hide it's track too... though enchanted featherweight horse shoes were more responsible then the animal itself.

[Blaze]

[But there's so many books! @___@]

James maintains the glare as he indicates to the stablehand to try and saddle it.

[Alissa of Someday]

[The more the better!]

"...Gates within gates."

The man's lips turn into a small frown, but he urges his horse forward toward to the courtyard, concentrating on the sound of its movement...rather then let his mind be entrapped by the growing silence of the empty town. After a few yards, he pauses, and then looks around.

"HELLO?"

He wasn't quite expecting a response, nor was he particularly fond of eerie echo effects, but the bellow of his voice ought to be worth something...even if it is only giving away his position and letting any traps be sprung all the quicker. Waiting was not his specialty.

[Knight Errant]

"Hmm following me..." Victor said looking thoughtful "I honestly wouldn't be surprised demons do tend to think I look tasty... there judgement might be right but I prefer staying in one piece."
Victor knew well enough that if anything was following him it was good enough that it wouldn't matter as his honed instincts and sanctuary prayer hadn't detect anything in his local surrounding. His mount was trained to hide it's track too... though enchanted featherweight horse shoes were more responsible then the animal itself.

The man grunts. "Well come in... I'll not have it said of Stren Darkwood he turned away a kid at nightfall." There is the sound of many latches and bars being lifted, then the door swings open to reveal a rugged looking man in chainmail. His black beard and hair obscures most of his face, but his eyes are bright and sharp. "Get in with you... the horse too. 'less you want it eaten."

With the door open, he would see the same runes carved into the inside of the doorframe as were on the doors of the dining hall in the Castle. There is definite power there...

James maintains the glare as he indicates to the stablehand to try and saddle it.

The stablehand smirks. "Sure thing." He digs into his pocket, producing a sugar cube. The horse hurries over, munching it up. "Go ahead and saddle 'im."

"...Gates within gates."

The man's lips turn into a small frown, but he urges his horse forward toward to the courtyard, concentrating on the sound of its movement...rather then let his mind be entrapped by the growing silence of the empty town. After a few yards, he pauses, and then looks around.

"HELLO?"

He wasn't quite expecting a response, nor was he particularly fond of eerie echo effects, but the bellow of his voice ought to be worth something...even if it is only giving away his position and letting any traps be sprung all the quicker. Waiting was not his specialty.

The silence seems to swallow his bellow... then a gust of wind blows through, rustling the trees. On the wind he could swear he heard faint whispering. As it dies down, he hears a creak from inside the keep, and a hollow rustling klinking sound.

((Speaking of the more the better... welcome one all knowing frog!))

Stone Draw village. One of the few mining towns in Watchwood, it is built up along the side of a mountain. A huge wall encompassing the whole village, and even the farms juts out in a semicircle from the mountain. The wall was built with the waste rock from the mine, along with stone cut and shaped from the mountain. In fact besides ore, Stonedraw's main export was, well, stone. Nearly every village in Watchwood had a wall, and most of them had stone in them from Stonedraw.

But even with this perceived safety, the darkening of Watchwood began to take its toll on the village. Trade caravans of ore and stone were lost... and even the wall had come under attack several times in the past month. The men on watch with longbows would tell stories about the monstrous shapes of the besiegers, and the masons would tell stories of their subsequent jobs repairing the deep claw marks made in the wall and gate. Surely something needed to be done. And the town elder had called forth for anyone strong and able to join with the King's Heroes, as they were called. But most of the villagers were unwilling to leave the safety of the town... and instead called out for more men on the wall.

Not many heeded the elder, but the Stonedraw Wall soon bristled with archers and torches every night... through the farmers who lived near the wall would hear the monstrous growls and howls of what stood against them.

[all_knowing_frog]

Dirk Numen was not happy, he'd come to the village for it's wide range of ores and stone that was traded, but with the demonic blockade chocking off interaction with other villages, no one was willing to even talk about selling things.

Today though was the final straw, he'd decided to help repair the gates, thinking they'd be willing to do some trade if he helped out. Nope. "These demons need to be dealt with! How am I supposed to get anything done if everyone's so tense they can't sleep? This is rediculess!" he reaches inside his robe, pulling out a small vial, "And I've been living off my MRDs (Meals ready to 'drink') sense last week! Sure, I can live off the things, but they're not very filling, or tasty." pops the cork, then chugs it all down in one go, "Ugh, I deffinetly need to improve the taste." slips the vial back inside his robes.

Sense the elder should know the most about what was going on, he made his way to said person's house/office, all the while complaining about everything he can think of, from the demons attacking, to it being slightly to cold, to being so short and spindly. Reaching up, Dirk adjusts his 'optical headgear'. "I really should get someone to name stuff for me." After making sure he was actually looking down the street instead of arcane representations, he continued on his disgruntled way.

[ZeroForever]

The man grunts. "Well come in... I'll not have it said of Stren Darkwood he turned away a kid at nightfall." There is the sound of many latches and bars being lifted, then the door swings open to reveal a rugged looking man in chainmail. His black beard and hair obscures most of his face, but his eyes are bright and sharp. "Get in with you... the horse too. 'less you want it eaten."

With the door open, he would see the same runes carved into the inside of the doorframe as were on the doors of the dining hall in the Castle. There is definite power there...

"Thank you Sir Stren, you are a generous soul" Victor says as he dismounts, leading his mount inside he noticed the mystic runes throughout the building 'spider sense tingling' he thought before correcting himself lest a lawsuit be filed.

"My name is Victor Walker, I'm from the clergy if my robes didn't give that away" he introduced himself as he approached the man, he held back with questions out of etiquette though curious why there were people still out in these stretches.

[Blaze]

"... why didn't I think of that?"

James grabs a saddle and tries to put it on the horse.

[Harri-chan]

Ginny sniffed at the air, and then, still gripping her sword firmly, she began to head up the stairs, "Trying to hide from me? I didn't think you were the type to get scared so easily... ", laughed the paladin as she jumped up the final step, pulling her sword back, ready to swing..

Nevrina brushed her palms across her ears for a moment, only to find the voice continued. She bit her bottom lip, her cheeks red as she listened to the seductive tones, but her eyes did wide at the warning. "Ginny, it's a trap!", she yelled up the staircase.

[Knight Errant]

Dirk Numen was not happy, he'd come to the village for it's wide range of ores and stone that was traded, but with the demonic blockade chocking off interaction with other villages, no one was willing to even talk about selling things.

Today though was the final straw, he'd decided to help repair the gates, thinking they'd be willing to do some trade if he helped out. Nope. "These demons need to be dealt with! How am I supposed to get anything done if everyone's so tense they can't sleep? This is rediculess!" he reaches inside his robe, pulling out a small vial, "And I've been living off my MRDs (Meals ready to 'drink') sense last week! Sure, I can live off the things, but they're not very filling, or tasty." pops the cork, then chugs it all down in one go, "Ugh, I deffinetly need to improve the taste." slips the vial back inside his robes.

Sense the elder should know the most about what was going on, he made his way to said person's house/office, all the while complaining about everything he can think of, from the demons attacking, to it being slightly to cold, to being so short and spindly. Reaching up, Dirk adjusts his 'optical headgear'. "I really should get someone to name stuff for me." After making sure he was actually looking down the street instead of arcane representations, he continued on his disgruntled way.

The elder lived in a house cut into the side of the mountain. There were many stairs and even ladders before he finally came to a front porch that was more of a balcony. The front door stands waiting, knocker resting still...

"Thank you Sir Stren, you are a generous soul" Victor says as he dismounts, leading his mount inside he noticed the mystic runes throughout the building 'spider sense tingling' he thought before correcting himself lest a lawsuit be filed.

"My name is Victor Walker, I'm from the clergy if my robes didn't give that away" he introduced himself as he approached the man, he held back with questions out of etiquette though curious why there were people still out in these stretches.

Stren shruged. "The Hart is here fer travelers to take shelter in... its one a tha few inns left on tha roads." Looking around, Victor would see a hearth blazing merrily, along with one or two hardy-looking travelers.

"Take yer horse over there... the stables are through the door to tha left." He points it out. "When yer done we have some stew on."

"... why didn't I think of that?"

James grabs a saddle and tries to put it on the horse.

"Cause ya arent a hoss man." The stablehand chuckles, as James saddles the horse!

Ginny sniffed at the air, and then, still gripping her sword firmly, she began to head up the stairs, "Trying to hide from me? I didn't think you were the type to get scared so easily... ", laughed the paladin as she jumped up the final step, pulling her sword back, ready to swing..

Nevrina brushed her palms across her ears for a moment, only to find the voice continued. She bit her bottom lip, her cheeks red as she listened to the seductive tones, but her eyes did wide at the warning. "Ginny, it's a trap!", she yelled up the staircase.

Ginny would come across a much messier looking floor. Furniture looks to have been smashed and clawed... the floor is disturbed, the dust swept away... But nothing seems to be in the room... even though she hears a low... breathing?

Meanwhile, the voice continues. "Oh your such a good girl, arent you? I think you need a reward..." Nevrina would feel a rush of pleasure flowing through her. It seems to come out of thin air... and even though she knows the source is malign, it feels soooo good.

[all_knowing_frog]

Dirk mumbles about damn stupid ladders, then nocks on the door. Again he fiddles with his headgear, though this time, it's not clear what he was doing, perhaps it was just a nervous habit or something.