[ic] nameless III: lost and found

[DrZombie]

Thump.... Thump....Thump....Thump... The beating of his hart is all Nate can hear, a roar that washes away any thought. Slowly he can hear other sounds, muffled at first, then sharper, penetrating his mind.
.... allright?...
... help him...
..Nate...ight be dangerou...
...ill moving...alive..

The red fog slowly clears away. The limp form lying on the ground takes on more familiar aspects. Fredar ? Then it all slowly comes back to him. Gods, I could have killed him. If it weren't sparring weapons he'd be dead. What is happening to me?
He looks around and sees the famliar faces of the villagers, looking at him as if he'd sprouted horns. He turns around and walks away, looking for some privacy, suddenly dead-tired. As he tands there, deep in thought, he feels as if he's being watched. Looking up, he sees the sergeant, and all of the sudden he feels his anger surging, like a dog straining at his leash, trying to break free and attack. Hate fills his brain, and only with a sharp tug can he keep it under control.
He walks to the barracks, alone, and washes away the dust and grime, deep in thought.

When Fredar walks in; there is silence. Then he asks, tentatively : "Eeuhm, are, are you allright? I, eeuhm, well, kinda lost control there."

 

[doghead]

You have cleaned up a little (the dust patted out of your clothes and some water splashed on your faces) by the time the corporal gathers you together and leads you to the mess room. There is a moments pause before the call to enter comes from within.

The room seems much darker than outside and it takes a moment for your eyes to adjust. Its a little different from how you remember it. Two of the large mess tables have been pushed together to form a large "boardroom style" table in the center. Seated along one side (the window side) are six people. The reeve. The Cleric of the Lady. Mistress Honnis. One of the merchants from the earlier meeting. Another lady. The landcarl stands a little off to one side. The sergeant stands alongside the wall across the table from the council members. There is an empty bench along the empty length of the table, although it is pushed right up under against the table, almost under it. There are some leather folders, glassses and jugs of water on the table. All the other items of furniture (which is not much really) have been pushed to the walls. The only other door out of the room (it leads through an internal wall into the next room in this 'wing') is closed.

Obviously, everyone who is is expected is already there, for as soon as the door closes behind you, the Reeve stands and waves you to stand before the table. He clears his throat then frowns. After assuring him that you are all all right (which I assume that you do despite the despite the bruises and bangs) he returns to his original begining.

"We won't keep you long. But there are some things that the council would like to clarify or hear you speak of again." The reeve glances briefly at the others before continuing. There are a couple almost imperceptable nods. "Three to be precise. You will answer them fully, to the best of your abilities and without reservations. We need the truth, and we expect it of you. Of course, it may not be pleasant and you may be worried that we don't wish to hear it. But be assured, we will not be shooting the messenger."

Mistress Honnis slides smoothly into the silence left by the reeve's pregnant pause.

"Well put, I think. So shall we have the first question?"

The reeve shoots her an irritated glance. It was obvious he had only just been warming up. And its is equally obvious that that is why Mistress Honnis interceeded. The reeve, now with no real option, presents the first question.

ooc: The questions would have been dealt with in turn, one after another, but I'm going to present all three questions at once to save time. The council members make few interuptions. They ask questions only when unsure of your meaning, and say little other than to urge you on. You sense that they have decided on this approach earlier and you notice that one or two (the reeve in particular) have to bit their tongues to prevent themselves from jumping in.

"Tell us what you know of the attacks by the goblins so far!"

"Tell us about the goblin who warned you of her people's plans!"

"Tell us what you know of this so called 'traitor'!"

 

[Maerdwyn]

When Fredar walks in; there is silence. Then he asks, tentatively : "Eeuhm, are, are you allright? I, eeuhm, well, kinda lost control there."

Fredar rubs the lump on the side of his head. "Yeah, well, let's do it again real soon, okay?" (His tone makes it pretty clear that by "real soon" Fredar actually means "never again.") "I mean, what was that Nate? Look, uh, I think I will be allright; just might not be there quite yet. I think the question is are you allright? You're not going to unload like that on the Seergeant if he starts acting like a bastard again are you? I mean, if you are, that's fine, but just give me a signal so I can back away first, yeah?" Fredar hols the side of his head again, feeling a sudden stab of pain. "Look, uh, let's just see what our hosts want. Hey look," Fredar adds quietly (and with a smile) as Mistress Honnis arrives, "there's your girl, Nate."

************
When the reeve begins his questions, Fredar speaks truthfully, and pretty much completely, and his voice sounds tired. He tries to look directly at the Reeve as he speaks. breaking eye contact from pain, if necessary only. Guile would require concentration, he realizes, and he's not up for it at this point. He stops and lets Nate speak whenever the other man has something to say.

"After the raid mentioned in the letter we delivered to you, the Seventh was sent to warn outlying farms and villages. Nate can tell you more about that - I hadn't joined up at that point. But they met more goblin parties - and we met two more parties, or goblins and their damned wolves just on the way from Seven to here. That'smore than I ever heard of outside the Forest, and too many for me to think it's just random groups of gobbos working on their own.

"So on our way into town here, we start to feel like we're being watched. We were pretty beat up then - you saw us, right? Maybe not as bad as we look right now, but still pretty cut up. So all we're thinking at that point is 'Lady, help us get to safety before they cut another of us down.' Then these goblins step out of hiding and hail us. Four or five, I think, plus a couple worgs. If they wanted to kill us, they would have. Nothing we could have done about it, the shape we were in. Could have torn up you town pretty good, too, I'd say. No disrespect intended to your guardsmen, sir," Fredar says to the Sergeant, "But they could have attacked the town before you had the warning, and done a lot of damage just with the advantage of surprise, before the guards could react."

"But they wanted to talk. They weren't armed - no, that's not right - they were armed, but they didn't have their weapons up and ready - They wanted to talk. The leader was a goblin woman - a princess, a witch, whatever, I don't know what she was. But said there was this goblin leader who was uniting all the goblin tribes into an army that would sweep out form a goblin kingdom that would strech from forest to forest. She called him this leader a "heretic", and said he had many allies within the goblins, and had already united some of the tribes under his banner. But others hadn't yet joined him, and she clearly hated the idea. And there must have been some powerful goblins opposing the Heretic, too, as this witch wasn't working alone - she let slip that someone had sent her to deliver this news.

"The last thing she said was that there was someone here working for this Heretic - someone who was supposed to bring him something, or someone that would give him power. She called him a 'seeker', and said the seeker would have the heretic's symbol somewhere on him, and that the symbol was like the one on a map some goblins the Seventh killed had. She said the symbol would give the seeker free passage when he went to meet with the heretic."

"We don't have proof of her claims, but we're looking to find out if there is any. They could have killed us if that was their aim, and I believed what she said.

I would like to talk - or have some of you - talk to old Jaibobi about this. His travels take him near Trolluc, where the Seventh first met a goblins war party, and found the map with the Heretic's seal. He finds 'odd bits' and other things, sometimes magical things - something that could conceivably be of value to the goblins, maybe without his knowledge. I'm not saying I suspect him of treachery. This could be nothing, and the traitor could be someone else or no one at all. Just that I just think someone should talk to him."


(ooc: I, too just put everything together to save time. Feel free to cut him off at any point.)

 

[DrZombie]

Nate confirms what Fredar says, and when asked to tell a bit more about the first days, he tells 'em about how he and his friends intervened in the fight between the knight and the goblins. It seems months ago instead of just days. He swallows when he tells how all those who were present at that first meeting are missing now, most of 'em dead. Added with the dead guards and merchants, that would make about seven or eight people killed that he knows of, just in the last few days.
He gives the sergeant a few dirty looks as he once again tells his tale, this time without any overtly sarcastic remarks, but his animosity is clear to anyone in the room.

 

[doghead]

Hadarook is mostly quiet as Fredar and Nate speak. He says nothing about events before they left Trolluc, but adds a little at times to what the others have to say about events after leaving Trolluc. Hadarook speaks quietly and effeciently, like one accustomed to giving reports.

Hadarook tells the council that there were three goblins, on worgs at the meeting. Three that he saw at least; there could have been more watching. They were armed, and easily had the advantage of surprise but didn't use it to attack. Whatever the reasons, it must have been pretty important for a witch and her heriath khorn, warriors of the worg, to have left the protection of the tribe. The heriath are the elite soldiers of the tribe, and a sight more dangerous than the ordinary footsolders.

There hadn't been a noticble increase in goblin raids before the Seventh arrived in Killingtom, but there had been a significant increase in goblin comings and goings. Several herdsmen and hunters had commented on it. In his opinion, he adds, it smacked of scouting. But there was something more, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Craddoc is quiet and withdrawn, as he as been since leaving Trolluc. He maintains a stony silence.

Its a struggle for some of them, but the council asks the minimum of questions and the meeting is over in under a quarter of an hour.

The reeve stands and clears his throat.

"Thank you. Your information has been helpful. We may need to speak to you again shortly, but right now you may go and ... er, well, you are dismissed."

As you leave, the Reeve turns to the Sergeant.

"Sergeant, may we may have a word. As you step outside, the sergeant steps up to the table.

A moment later the sergeant joins you outside. "Get yourself cleaned up and ready for duty. And don't go anywhere, stay inside the barracks. If you need anything, ask the corporal. Thats all."

 

[doghead]

Another quarter of an hour or so later the Sergeant calls you all back in. The room is pretty much as you left it except that some writing materials have appeared on the desk, and there is a spray of sand on the floor.

"You will," the Reeve begins as soon as you are assembled in front of the table, "meet with the goblin witch and bring her here. We want to talk to her, and we offer," he slides a sealed letter across the table, "safe passage. This letter will explain. Take it to her and bring her back."

 

[DrZombie]

Do they want to get us killed or do they just want to get us out of the village? And how do we know that she won't get killed the moment she gets here. This is turning into a big mess.

Trying not to show his misgivings on, his face, Nate just nods.

"And what if she doesn't trust us enough to accompagnie us into a human village where she suspects a traitor is watching, sir? Can we ask for a meeting outside of the village walls, somewhere open where her guards can see what's going on, Sir?" Nate asks as innocently as he can manage.

 

[doghead]

"You have the letter," begins the reeve in a slightly peevish voice.

Mistress Honnis continues.

"The Seventh has shown itself to be most resourceful." She speaks quietly, but with conviction. Her gaze rests on each of the members of the seventh in turn. "We are sure that you will find a way to convince her of need to speak to her directly, and the advantages of doing so away from prying eyes.

"You understand what is at stake as well as anyone. Do what can be done."

"This is madness!" exclaims Craddoc suddenly. "They are goblins. What else could this be but some ploy. Goblins don't know anything else but raiding and pillaging. We should be driving them off with swords and arrows not inviting them in side the walls. The only good reason to bring them inside would be to kill ... " Craddoc slowly trails off. He glances around the room at his companions.

"Ah. What I mean is that it the council would have good reason to be cautious." Craddoc says slowly. "But of course I'm sure that the council is aware of that. I apologise for my outburst. I've had some bad experiences with goblins. But rest assured I will do as the council orders."

"Outstanding. I'm sure that you will - as the good Mistress Honnis kindly pointed out - do excellently," responds the reeve quickly in his best 'speaking' voice.

 

[Maerdwyn]

Fredar just nods, his headache finally abating a little. "We will bring her here, to this hall. May we do it at night, to help avoid those 'prying eyes'?"

 

[doghead]

"Good. In that case we are done here and there is no reason to hold you up any more. Its approaching the mid day. We want you away before the afternoon is rung in. Thank you for your assistance and good luck."

To the Sergeant he adds, "See that they get what they need. Lets see if we can keep this as low key as possible. Shall we say that the seventh are going out on patrol?"

The Sergeant nods, and with that the reeve begins gathering his papers, with the exception of the letter which remains inn solitory splendor in the center of the table, and belongings together. A couple of the others echo the Reeves benediction. Mistress Honnis beams you a happy smile, but her eyes are troubled.

"I'll make sure that there is a hot meal waiting for you when you return."

The Sergeant ushers you out. Once outside he gathers you together. "Right, lets get you sorted. Pack only what you need of a couple of days. You should, if all goes smoothly, be back before midnight tonight. But just incase, I'll get two days of rations sorted. That will give you two nights to bring her in. Any questions?"

ooc: If not, you are free to get yourself sorted. Pretty much any standard weapons and armour are available from the armoury. Other stuff upon request. Once you are done.

Once you are all back together, the Sergeant pulls you to one side under the shade of the rather sad tree. He spreads out the map you took from the goblins.

"Its not great, but it will do. We don't have anything better ourselves as everyone here knows their way around.

"Head northwest from here till you get to a small river. Its the only one you'll see too big to jump. Follow that upriver. It will take you close enough to see your destination - a pretty much bare hill with the remains of an old keep atop it. Its about 4 hours from here, 5 hours tops."