Valley of the Dead: Chapter 2 "Home of the sleepless"

[Dragonwriter]

"A normal Ghoul can't inflict those wounds, but this one was the size of an ogre. I can personally attest to the sharpness of its teeth," Rufus says with a slight grimace.

He quickly joins in to assist in transporting the slain paladin a bit further.

 

[Zerith]

[FONT=&quot]Zinerath stopped dead in his tracks when ordered to stop and made a sharp about face and began to chirp out a comment, but was cut off, and was half annoyed, by being drenched but at the same time, he was not going to pass up the opportunity to get the unholy filth off himself; and if the cleric was going to get aggravated at seeing him without his hood up, we was only complying.

In the swiftest blinking of an eye, Zinerath throw back his hood and cloak with his hands and wings respectively before going through the motions of vigorously whipping off the loser material from his hair and face while arching his wings back and forth to rinse each side of each wing; when he felt that they were properly rinsed we would fold two behind his back before awkwardly cupping the other to catch the water for momentary use.
after briefly washing his head, he would move onto his over clothing and finally to his cloak if there was time, and if there was additional time, he revisit his hair and face to get them properly clean.

After the ‘rain’ gave out he would then tend to his gloves, taking them off and droping them into one of his wings, before briskly cleaning them off in the cupped water, and then inverting them to do the same to the inside, before then washing his hands in the water cupped in his other wing. He would then turn the gloves right side out and replace them before then letting the water fall to the ground with a splash

“Thank you!” he would then chime in the holy tongue while wringing out his cloak with a gleeful grin before rising his hood and finding, that it retained water quite well, and soaked his head, a drizzle ran down across his brow and around his nose; he went cross-eyed as he looked at it in confusion, annoyance, and finally in amusement as he shrugged before again nearing the party.

[sblock=OoC] I’m shocked none of the mages have taken to blasting the stink off of him with a spell given one of the catnips they can use :3[/sblock][/FONT]

 

[Shayuri]

Mei-Ying nods to Ferviel, though she hasn't done much to help carrying the erstwhile paladin besides stand nearby and look disaffected. She does, however, trail after those doing the actual work and go towards Ferviel's tent to hear what more he has to say.

Beneath the mask of her face though, her mind struggled to maintain her equanimity. Confronted by irrefutable evidence of the power of their foes, the commanders continued to fuel internal division? They even went so far as to intimate doubt in their scout's stories? What was the PURPOSE of sending scouts who's testimony you would then refuse to accept? In the lands of the Empire, such officers would be...they would have been...

She sighed. The odds were great that such men would have been tolerated, as long as they were of a powerful clan, or had a high ranking father. The Jade Legion conquered as much by overwhelming force as tactical brilliance. It was possible these men were of that kind...holding position not because of their sound battlefield judgment, but because of their rank in the Church that had sponsored this foray.

If so, she hoped that the Church's god really was looking out for them...because they'd be likely to need it before the end.

[sblock=OOC]He never asked. [/sblock]

 

[Voda Vosa]

Thok shrugs. With his massive clawed hand, the half orc grabs the paladin by her stiff arm and swings her on his shoulder. It was a motion he had used before, when transporting female prisoners to.. well... his chambers. The fact that this time it was a slain paladin didn't seem to throw his move off balance, it seemed perfectly executed, with the apparent ease that only practice gives.

 

[Scotley]

Geryk follows along with Ferviel providing a reverential escort to Thok's more pedestrian moving of the Paladin. "I would hear what you have to say and tell you more besides. The scene at the house was quite unnatural and disturbing," he says in a voice low enough to reach only the ears of Ferviel and his own companions.

 

[Myth and Legend]

Ferviel nods to his fellow cleric of Lathander and leads the group over to where his tent has been raised. It falls outside the would-be main campsite as it it will still take several hours for it to be erected and secured. It is somewhat a solemn procession, apart from comments by the paladins of how disrespectful it is for their fallen comrade to be carried by a half-orc sellsword.

Ferviel had snapped at one of them "I don't see you carrying her body so shut it you pompous arse!" The paladin had flushed bright-read but he had decided to stay his tongue, but whether because of Fervial outranking him in the church or because the middle-aged priest is one of the more infamous and renown heroes of Muirlane is unknown.

[sblock]For those who are from the country a DC0 Knowledge: Local or History will give you that Ferviel's name has been spoken of throughout Muirlane and in his younger days he has been very active in combating serious threats especially of the undead variety. His decision to drop the life of a wandering champion of Lathander and head the church of Lathander in Angelwach came about seven-eight years ago. For more specific details Knowledge checks will be needed.[/sblock]

The tent is spacious but modest. The furnishings are sturdy and suited for a campaign on the road. There is a bedroll directly on the ground, a small altar to Lathander and a large chest made of what appears to be solid Adamantine directly from the entrance. Next to the altar there are a foldable wooden table and chair with some papers and an ink pot on the table.

"Wait for a moment." The cleric tells Thok as he goes and retrieves a blanket from his bedroll. He spreads it over the grass covered ground and gestures to the half-orc to lay the body down. He does so, and Ferviel rummages trough his spell component pouch and produces a handful of clear gemstones.

"Now, before I bring the girl back, let me give you the reality of it. And don't you go flappin' your yaps around - this is for your ears alone!"

Ferviel looks at each member of the group - the enigmatic and aloof eastern woman, the reserved elven spellcaster from an Order Lazarus had requested aid from personally, the bulky half-orc warrior who had proven true to this otherwise quite human cause, the cleric of Lathander who had a well known past in the temple, the drenched and twitchy demonic child and the charismatic warrior who was in need of some new armour, missing a chunk of mail at his shoulder.

"There were others before you. First there was that band I hired and sent over to scout the Valley itself. I knew they couldn't get in you see, but somehow they managed to disappear. There was an obnoxious wizard, who disappeared last night. There was also a halfling who I see you haven't returned, dead or alive, so he has gone missing too.

Families have gone missing, and travelers. Entire caravans even. All was attributed to the Valley, but it's not that simple. I settled here years ago, knowing that the Valley of the Dead was in close proximity to Angelwatch. It's an old thing, older than Muirlane itself. It was here when the first settlers came to found Angelwatch atop some forsaken ruins. It's always had undead trouble, aye, that's why I came here. But I did my duty well - I smote and smote and smote some more, until no dead would step an inch outside the gatehouse. That's when I petitioned the church for the Lychgate to be built"

Ferviel clears his throat and positions himself on the ground, taking an aluminum plate from a leather backpack near his bedroll and placing the diamonds inside.

"It's an artifact of Lathander - blessed by Him personally. It's sealed from the outside and no man, beast, undead or anything can go trough it from the other side. And nothing has - until recently. Truth be told I have prayed to my lord Lathander for a vision but the answers were, as you could imagine, uncertain. Gods rarely speak plainly and even rarer is for them to appear in a frank manner before their faithful. What I do know is that something smells here, worse then the snatch of a Careshean whore."

Ferviel takes out his mace and proceeds to break the diamonds he had produced into finer particles, and continues to talk.

"The Lychgate is intact, I've made sure well before the Order of Aster came to act all heroic and prance about in their golden armours. So whatever the bloody hells is happening, the answer is not what everyone thinks. Since the Valley has undead in it everyone's go-to reaction is "If there's toruble, the Valley must be the source of it." Well I tell you right now that I don't know what's going on, but caution and vigil must be used. And smarts. And Lathander fill my arse with fire, but apart form Lazarus the rest of this lot are as blind and narrow as starved bats!"

Ferviel pauses, and gathers the diamond dust in one end of the bowl and looks around. Seeing as how no fire would be filling anything of his at the moment, he continues:

"So, most of these paladins and other such holy warriors if you will, are here for the sake of being holy and being recognized as warriors. Ain't one third of them that has even seen anything scarier than a skeleton or zombie. The mercs, well most of them are worse - they don't care for being holy or honourable, they only care for the deep pockets of Lathander's Temple. Not that I don't know you lot are the same, but at least from the lists and scouting you seem the most capable."

Ferviel mumbles something that sounds like "As if that's reassuring" but he continues in a strong voice immediately after:

"So then, we have green boys, pompous fops, narrow minded zealots, a few good men like Lazarus and Galen, myself and you lot. So since I'm joint leader of this bloody farce, I have to rely on you to get to the bottom of what's really going on. That farm was attacked by undead that could easily take out a village on their own. I ain't never encountered Greater Shadows around the Valley. Not that there probably aren't some somewhere but there have been none since my coming here up until we slammed the Lychgate shut. Someone or something is making a show - that such formidable undead would appear right on our path makes me think that someone wants the Valley assaulted"

Ferviel pauses while he positions a holy symbol of Lathander made of gold on Adelaide's forehead and readies the diamond dust and some holy water.

"What's going to happen is that this slow moving force will eventually get to the Lychgate. Knowing Lazarus, we'll probably set up a fortified camp close to it, he will make me open it and then we will send the bulk of the force inside. That's going to be fun - a whole bunch of green or untrustworthy men, some girls" he regards Adelaide with pity "and me and Lazarus, going inside what I know to be severely undead infested lands. All that while the bloody gate stays open for whatever or whoever wants it to be so!"

Ferviel pauses and opens some holy tome, and positions himself next to the paladin's corpse.

"So, can I count on you to find out what in the bloody nine is going on?"

[sblock] @Voda Vosa @Malachei @Dragonwriter @Shayuri @Zerith @Scotley wow... I was working until 9.30 PM on a Friday night.. But that made my desire to plunge into the wonderful world of DnD all the more intense [/sblock]

 

[Scotley]

"By the grace of Lathander we will." He watches the preparations with interest. The divine might of Lathander at work was always a joy to watch. "We may have little enough to share so far, but here it is. The family seemed to know something was trying to get them. They were all barricaded in the master bedroom upstairs. Nothing had broken in yet they were all dead lifeless husks unmarked by claw or sword. I suspect the shadows got them. Anyway, one of the children had drawn on this rock." He presents the rock with the image of the eyes watching from the darkness. "Something may have been watching them for some time or perhaps it is merely a child's fancy, but something about it disturbed me." He also brings out the necklace with the strange amulet on it. "Do you know what this represents? One of the children was wearing it. It seemed familiar, but I could not place it."

 

[Dragonwriter]

Rufus smiles uneasily, shrugs, and nods. "Aye, I suppose we can at least give it a go... But, speaking for myself here, I'm a warrior and a storyteller, not a conspiracy-hunter. Though I suppose the tale of breaking whatever evil is seeking to manipulate these events would make a grand story... I'm game, but not promising any sort of results on this matter."

 

[Zerith]

[FONT=&quot]Zinerath grew a tortured grin when Ferviel mentioned he could ‘bring the girl back’ before it was torn asunder by a grimace.
His brows crunched down, he backed to the rare of the group and shrank, as if to cower; a brief and silent, but harsh, sound forced it way through clenched teeth and quivering jaw. His eyes darted down and away while they filled with great and inwardly bent venom.
His quaking poster ebbed lower and his hood fell over his face, obscuring it fully, as he recalled that which he could not forget nor forgive as his poster withered further.

Looked towards the ritual as the diamonds were crushed, he nearly had the will to leave the shadowy shell of his heavy and drenched cloak to dare a request of the veteran cleric as the began to lift an outreaching hand, but fisted it tightly and let it drop back into the darkest recesses of the cloak’s shadows before it reached the light of the tent.[/FONT]

 

[Voda Vosa]

"Ok" is the short answer from Thok. Although he seemed not very bright, the task of ensuring the safety of the area itself was withing Thok's expectations. Granted, battling undead until your arms fall apart would have been more fun that pursing clues and finding some hidden necromancer or whatever, but whatever works!