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Message: <blockquote data-quote="drnuncheon" data-source="post: 414264" data-attributes="member: 96">Session Two, Part TwoTal bid you farewell at the edge of Othic's farm, staying behind to put things to rights. The town is only a few miles down the road - miles that still wear at your aching feet, but ones that are quickly behind you. Now, you stand on the edge of the little village of Bellhold, huddled in the shadow of the mountain known as the Steeple. The watch tower - taller than ten men standing on each other's shoulders, and housing the enormous bell known as the Wyrmcall - looms in the center of town, and you have directions from there to the settlement's only decent inn, a place called the Bell & Clapper.The Harvester pauses to look on high, at the enormous bell, then nods to his friends. "Shall we secure rooms, meals and a hot bath, then seek out the elders?"Ahoke moves easily down the road, walking with the two tallfolk. "So... Wyrmcall. Nice name. And yes, I agree with Harvester. It might be best to wait for a fresh day to do anything truly dangerous."Sen-Jyu grins back at Harvester and Ahoke, taking the lead from his two companions. "Why bother talking about it, then? First one there earns the first drink -- I hope they have good rice wine."The Harvester takes hold of his heavy scythe with both hands, and breaks into a run, without waiting for so much as a 'Go!' from Sen-Jyu.Ahoke says, "Is rice wine good, then?" Ahoke perks up at the mention of alcohol of any kind. "Is it as good as ale?" She continues heading towards the village, but doesn't break into a run.Sen-Jyu provides competition for Harvester in the sprint, only hoping that they don't overshoot the mark of their instructions.Ahoke lets the boys race, and instead moves along at a sedate pace. "Guess I'll just have to find out for myself," she grunts. She takes the time to look around at any people as she walks.As you approach the center of town - your directions lead from the watch tower, as it is the most prominent landmark of all - you hear a voice. A filthy man stands at the base of the bell tower, preaching to the crowd. His hair is unwashed and tangled, his clothing tattered and stained, with dirt and other, less identifiable pigments. His eyes latch onto the Harvester as the man leads the pack into the plaza, and he raises his voice and points. "And here we have new friends! Welcome, friends, welcome...he will gladly take you as well. I was just explaining to these fine people here..."The fine people he speaks of are largely ignoring him, although a small knot of townsfolk stand, and watch. One or two joke amongst themselves, and the others...the others look on with no small amount of fear.The Harvester's robes kick up as he runs, feet slapping ass as he goes. He hikes them up with one hand as Sen-Jyu begins to outpace him. Then he stops, realizing the spectacle he is making.  He moves, now, to the filthy doom-sayer. "Hello, friend." His holy symbol is featured prominently upon his chest. "Who's going to take me, hmm?"Competition's not much fun when it's against oneself, and Sen-Jyu slows as he realizes the Harvester has thrown the race. He doesn't look at the preacher as at the 'flock', glancing intently among their faces with a childlike curiosity.The man smiles, and leans down from where he stands on the tower's foundation. His voice drops low, almost to a whisper. "I was just explaining that we are all going to get swallowed." He shows a toothy grin, and straightens up, his voice getting louder. "Swallowed! Deep into the abyss! We will be kept for and cared for by the one who hates us." He nods to Harvester, as if that answered the man's question. "I can see him now...feel him..."Ahoke catches up, now that her friends have stopped. "What's this? I thought that we were going to get drinks and baths..." she trails off, looking at the priest. "Who's this?" She stops, eyeing him suspiciously. It almost looks as if she sniffs the air. The people watching him bear the same signs as Tal...dark circles under the eyes, and expressions of weariness and fear. Even those souls who pass by the plaza shuffle listlessly as if they are sleepwalking.The Harvester spins his scythe over lazily, and plants the butt onto the ground. He leans heavily against it, one hand atop the corsspieve holding the blade. Beneath his robes a foot crosses the other at the ankle. "Hmmm! Do tell!" He sounds both faintly amused, and curious. "Which dear fellow's taking such a dislike to us this day?"Ahoke looks longingly towards the inn, but sighs, doing much the same thing with her great club as Harvester does with his scythe, without the spinning part. She leans her weight on it, surveying the ragged, wild-eyed human. "Why would the one who hates you take care of you? That seems kind of silly."The man looks despairingly at Harvester, and stretches out his arms in a plea. "He will bury us," he says. "He will bury us all in the deepest pit." Tears begin to roll down his face. "He talks to me every day, and he tells me he misses me. But I don't miss his whispers." Silently, he mouths the words again: I don't.Sen-Jyu wanders through the crowd, looking at the faces of the people. He's not all that discreet about his appraisals of their expressions, either -- mostly, he seems just sad for them."Uh-HUH. You don't say..." The priest considers, then tries a new tack, staring straight at the man's eyes. "When's the ol' boy coming? How long's he been chattin with you?"Ahoke is starting to look a little disturbed, as she watches the townspeople. "...not natural," she mutters to herself. Still, she turns her attention to the local madman, curious as to his reply."Soon...soon...I won't go back to the mine, I won't..." The man's voice is a breathless whisper now. "The mine is where he'll find me, so I won't go. I'm in his belly and I can feel the flesh rotting around me." His eyes beg the Harvester to understand. "I can feel him at night against my skin!" he insists.The Harvester's head tilts. "Back to the mine? This wouldn't be Copperdeath returned, would it?" As Harvester mentions the name, a church bell begins to peal out the hour of the morning, and the man crumples to the stone, curling into a ball and covering his ears. "Not the bells..." he sobs. "Not the bells."But there was no disguising the look of utter fear that crossed his face...an instant before the bells rang.Ahoke directs a sidelong look at the person standing next to her. "Is this normal," she murmurs to him.The man looks down at the muscular dwarf, surprised. "Cobble? He's been gettign worse lately," he says, rubbing at his forehead. He mumbles something about dreams, and now that the crazed man seems to have stopped his ranting, he shuffles off.The Harvester glances to Ahoke. "Mmmm... Not really. But yes, too, these days. Lots of doomsayers about.""Doomsayers aren't much fun," says Sen-Jyu as he nears the pair, frowning a little at the discoveries he's made of the crowd. "I wonder why people listen to despair."The Harvester throws his hood back, his shock of red hair overshadowing his surprise at the madman's reaction. "Interesting... If he's come back," he speaks softly, to his companions, "he... no, he couldn't be undead.. could he?"Ahoke mmphs. "I don't know. Let's discuss it over drinks, shall we? I'm thirsty." The dwarf then walks past the clump of people, and through the front door of the inn.The Harvester says, "We'll talk later, Cobble. Stick around, will you?" He turns to follow his friends, remarking quietly, "Ten to one, these dreams started around the time the kids disappeared.""The bells...""... she's thirsty," affirms Sen-Jyu to Harvester, as they walk toward the Bell and Clapper.The Harvester looks at Sen-Jyu in surprise. "She's thirsty? Again?""I think she's leaking from her wounds, still," says Sen-Jyu speculatively. "She's made up mostly of ale."Ahoke pointedly ignores the tallfolk, and then steps through the front door of the inn, when she gets there.The Harvester says, "Oh my. I do hope they've got enough ale..." He steps in after the pair."Sen-Jyu nods in agreement. "Maybe we should just rent a barrel of ale for her to sleep in, rather than a whole room."</blockquote>

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