In Defence of Chickens [IC]

[theCourier]

Talia Eastmoor, Noble

More grimacing. She's utterly disgusted by the sights before her, and her attention turns to the ruin standing close by. "Well. Nothing much else to say other than it's a pity those local boys were... I don't even know what happened there. But. We must persist. Onwards?"

She's breathing hard, but the sudden brush with death has only emboldened her for some reason, and Talia begins striding towards the gate with her sword in hand.

"Fleetfoot" Mac, Squire

The young squire holds down his feelings of revulsion at the sight of the corpses splitting and squelching, and begins clawing at his hair and clothes to get the gross, pollen gunk off of himself. Or as much as he can. "Agh! It's in my mouth! Oh, what have I done to deserve this..." After a bit more fussing around, Mac finally settles down and begins trudging through the mud, following Talia.

Alice, Miller-Baker

The baker stands solemnly looking at the split corpses without a word, then closes her eyes and utters a small prayer underneath her breath. Truly, the worst has come to this corner of the world. "Are we just walking in without a plan? What if more of these things lie in wait? Maybe a few of us should scout ahead."

Koby, Orphan

"We should stick together. Otherwise, we might not end up so lucky like in this fight." Koby avoids looking at the corpses, and instead follows Talia and Mac, nervously fiddling with the doll in his pocket. "It would be nice to go in with a plan, though, that I agree with... Does anyone know anything about this place?"

 

[thirdkingdom]

Yolo Swaggins

"I say we go in together. If anyone's in there they've already seen us, I think. And anyway, our strength is in our numbers, not individually."

 

[jmucchiello]

"Just standing out here doesn't do anything," Garwin says sagely.

"Right. Let's go," Ranken says. Vasha and Ranken cautiously move forward a few steps and look to see if they are being followed.

Once others start to follow them, Garwin and Prinx also follow at the rear.

 

[theCourier]

Talia, Mac, and Koby

They make it up to the structure, looking around anxiously before deciding to walk through the open gates.

Alice

She hangs back to enter with the rear, fingers drumming against her leg while looking back at the corpses they left behind.

 

[TheAlkaizer]

Wenzel, the Orphan
Wenzel is with the forward group, chest puffed by his newfound heroism. Trutting forward, he walks up to the open gate, stops a few feet from it and leans left and right to look around to see if there's anything suspicious.

Eldegard, Margrit and Markus
Edelgard, Margrit and Markus follow the rest of the group, still a few feet behind them. Edelgard shakes his head at the sight of Wenzel leading the group.

"He's a fool," Edelgard says.

Markus sigh. "He might be," he looks at Edelgard, "but someone will have to be if we're to go through with this." Markus steps forward and joins the forward group.

Edelgard shakes his head again. He glances at Margrit. She shrugs. "Two fools might be enough to get his home, no?"

Margrit and Edelgard stay in the back as the group moves forward.

 

[turnip_farmer]

You cautiously approach the gatehouse, with no sign that anyone is following from behind. From up close the gatehouse is an imposing looking thing. The stone is partly eaten away and coated in moss and lichen, but you can still make out the shapes of what look like monstrous toads carved into either side, their open mouths containing tubes through which hot tar could be poured onto any attackers.

A rusty iron portcullis still exists in the gateway, though it is currently half-raised from the floor, leaving about four feet of space through which you could enter.

Pausing at the front of the group before going further, Talia, Mac, Koby and Wenzel can see no one. Nothing moves over the muddy ground inside the keep. After pausing for a few moments, however, you hear a faint scratching sound, and something like the sniffing of a large dog, from the interior of the gatehouse above you.

 

[thirdkingdom]

Yolo Swaggins

"Hmm," says the halfling, "it sounds like there may be something above us." He cranes his neck to try and see if there is any access to the gatehouse entrance through the ceiling, such as murderholes, a collapsed floor, etc.

 

[theCourier]

Talia Eastmoor, Noble

She stops at the odd noises, looking up as well. "You may be right, Halfling... Keep looking, and we'll search inside" With that being said, she steps foot into the inside ground of the keep, looking up at the walls. With a wave of her hand, she commands the squire to follow for protection.

"Fleetfoot" Mac, Squire

"Whatever it is, we must tackle it together. You all have my sword!" The young squire nods back at the others, and charges in front of Talia. He looks around, sword poised to strike if anything approaches.

Koby, Orphan

He stays close to the wall after entering the keep's grounds, hugging it close while moving to the right. Having his back against the wall feels safer to him.

Alice, Miller-Baker

Alice hangs back, but as the rear group approaches she begins to feel excited at the thought of what could be waiting in such an old place, and passes her hand over the portcullis before crouching down to pass under it.

 

[turnip_farmer]

Looking at the walls of the gatehouse, Yolo can make out little peekholes about 10 ft up, but nothing that could be used as an entrance. The funnels from the mouths of the frog statues look like they may have been used as murderholes, though it's hard to see where they lead, vanishing into darkness. They would be far too small for a man to climb through, but a small child or a halfling with not too many cakes beneath his belt could possibly squeeze up it.

Talia, Mac, Koby and Alice make it through the gate into the keep beyond without incident, and seeing this Bill, Granny, Jack and Calvin follow on their heels.

 

[thirdkingdom]

Yolo Swaggins

Yolo and his three other companions follow.