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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Amaroq" data-source="post: 1318855" data-attributes="member: 15470">Issue #7: The Red Witch - Episode 5 of 5Evening passes into night. We can hear the rat men felling trees in the wood, but can’t see what they are doing. Hours have passed, and when Goldpetal completes his meditations, he notices that Milo hasn’t returned. He tells Paks, but she cannot spare anybody to search for the halfling. Unheard, under her breath, she offers a prayer for his safety. Goldpetal, wandering the grounds of the hold, discovers that there are two hawks, presumably used for hunting, roosting near the stable. He casts animal friendship on both of them, a druidic spell which wins their instant, permanent loyalty. Walking with a hawk on each shoulder, he goes to find Paks. “My eyes are better suited to the dark than any human’s,” he says, ignoring her astounded look at the two hawks, “I will stand watch atop the tower.” She is taken aback too much to do more than acquiesce, and the elf climbs up to join the guards atop the tower.At midnight, Miriel awakens, similarly refreshed. She examines Taryn, who is in much better shape, but could still use further healing. She heals him until his wounds are completely recovered. Then she looks over Paks and Delonia, who are both still wounded from our battle at SySy’s trading outpost. She heals them both, until they are fully recovered from their wounds.She and Paks discuss the things which they found at SySy’s lair.  Miriel, looking at the potions we found, realizes that they are antitoxins. Paks recognizes the stones we found, explaining that she has seen them in her adventures as a mercenary. They are thunderstones, which will explode and cause deafness when thrown. After this short conversation, an update on the progress of our siegeworks, and a brief meal, Miriel says that the healing has exhausted her, again. She goes back to rest further. An hour later, Milo comes back. He’s in bad shape, his armor punctured with numerous arrows. He tells Paks that he tried to get around one of the rat men encampments, but they noticed him and cut him off. He was wounded, and had to drink the healing potion. For the past five hours, he says, he’s been eluding ratman patrols, trying to get back to us.Paks asks how badly he is injured, and he answers that he is wounded, but not mortally, and needs sleep more than anything. Paks promises to send Miriel to him when Miriel awakens. Just before three o’clock in the morning, at the darkest time of the night, Miriel wakes. She finds Paks, who is still standing guard, though her bloodshot eyes suggest that she is exhausted. The warrior directs Miriel to heal Milo. She searches for Milo to heal, but she can’t find him. He’s not in the hall, on either floor, where the cots are laid out.Those of us outside, Paks, Stone, Chuck, and Goldpetal atop the guard tower, hear a terrible disturbance in the barn. We can hear the sheep bleating and cows lowing. They sound very upset. Stone and Chuck, working on the catapult, are closest to the barn. They both run over to the barn. Chuck draws his bow, while Stone throws open the doors to the barn. Within, they see creatures that look somewhat ghoul-like. They’re as tall as a man, emaciated, and they smell foul. They’re eating the animals alive. Blood and gore are everywhere, as the animals, trapped in their stalls, are unable to escape. Stone yells, “Alfred!” and charges into the barn.Chuck looks up to the tower, and shouts “Battle stations!” to the tower guards, then releases his strung arrow into the barn. His first shot hits a sheep instead of his intended target. Stone’s first blows are more effective, as he batters one of the ghoul creatures brutally. The ghouls swarm towards Stone and Chuck, though a few are still distracted by the sheep. Three attack Stone. The first misses, but the second claws him. The third misses, tripping over one of the sheep. Two of the ghouls reach Chuck at the doorway, and both bite him. He calls out, “Miriel! Help me!”Myrs runs over near the doorway, where she can see the two sunken-eyed ghouls attacking Chuck. “Corean save us,” she gasps, “They’re dead-eaters!” She turns and calls to the tower, “Sound the alarm!” Goldpetal begins to ring the bell.  Miriel hears the alarm bell sounding, and just as she runs out into the courtyard, hears the call for her name. Others also ready themselves for battle, grabbing swords and shields, and running to the source of the disturbance.Myrs casts a spell, and a great web bursts in the center of the barn. Stone manages not to get entangled in the strands, but five of the dead-eaters and numerous sheep are caught in grey stickiness. Three of the dead-eaters also escape the web, while the furthest two were out of the spell’s range. In the heat of the battle, a fire breaks out in the northern corner of the barn. The straw had been dampened down earlier, but somehow the fire begins to spread.Stone, in the barn, begins trying to fight his way out of the burning building. Chuck tries to hold the doorway open for him, but they are beset by five dead-eaters. Chuck drops his bow, drawing both swords, but in the smoke and confusion, he can’t seem to hit. Stone smashes in the head of one his opponents, and it collapses into the webbing. One of Chuck’s opponents, near the door, tries to run away from the fire, but runs into the web. Finding itself close enough to swing at Stone, it attacks him, but misses and falls prone, thoroughly trapped in the web. At the doorway, two remain on Chuck. As he tries to parry the attacks of the first, the other claws and bites him, and the young Vigil collapses, bleeding on the ground. It crouches over his body, reaching hungrily for his exposed jugular vein, but just then Taryn arrives. His scything blade beheads the dead-eater, saving Chuck, but he takes a bite on his left arm from the other one. He turns, interposing his swords between the remaining dead-eaters and Chuck’s body.Outside, Myrs shouts “Fire! Bring water!” Some of the freeholders begin drawing water from the well, while others begin to carry some of the buckets we’d prepared for firefighting earlier.“Trap them inside,” Paks commands, and Llewyn leads a group of six spear-carrying freeholders to the barn. Two stand with her and Taryn at the doorway, using their spears to keep the dead-eaters trapped inside, while the other four cover the windows. Two more of the freeholders drag Chuck back from the door, and Miriel runs over to heal him.  Atop the tower, Goldpetal and his companion atop the guard tower have been joined by three archers, whose battle post is atop the tower. “This is a distraction,” he warns. “Watch the perimeter.” The five of them scan diligently around the no-man’s land, looking for a gathering of troops, but there are none evident.Inside the barn, Stone works his way towards the door. Its very slow going, as he has to stay clear of the web, a task growing ever more difficult in the thick smoke, and dodge around dead-eaters and cattle. Most of the dead-eaters are entangled, but the monk learns too late that one is not. It leaps out of the smoke, hitting him with both claws and teeth. Stone staggers; he’s still standing, but he is badly wounded.  The dead-eaters at the door try to push free, but there are too many defenders at the door for them to overpower. One claws Llewyn, but they are held at the door. Paks arrives at the door, replacing one of the spearmen, but she can’t hit in the tight confines of the doorway. Llewyn pulls out a lasso and flings it at the unentangled dead-eater attacking Stone. She snares it, but can’t pull it down. Taryn hits one of the unwounded dead-eaters, hard, knocking it back from the doorway. It falls into the webs and becomes trapped.“Madriel,” Miriel says, invoking her goddess over Chuck’s prone body, “Heal this man.” The power of the goddess heals Chuck beneath her hands. He stops bleeding and wakes up. “Wait here,” she says, “You’re still badly wounded.” He ignores her advice and staggers to his feet. He tries to shoot his bow, but he is still too weak to make a full pull, and his shot misses.The web starts burning in earnest. Some of the dead eaters are now on fire, and we’re in danger of losing the entire barn – and with it, part of our perimeter wall. The first two members of the bucket brigade reach one of the windows, and start pouring water in on the fire. When the first buckets are thrown on the fire, it flares up dramatically. Stone sees that there is grease on the floor and the straw, so the fire begins to spread quickly. The web, too is very flammable, and those trapped within are going to be swiftly overtaken. He is too busy to shout a warning. Badly wounded, he staggers into one of the webs, and his legs are trapped. The lassoed dead-eater slashes at him, but misses. Stone punches it, caving in its forehead, and killing it. At the doorway, Paks and Llewyn battle the two dead-eaters. Paks’ opponent is injured, but she can’t finish it off. Both of the dead-eaters attack Llewyn, but only one succeeds, clawing her. She hits it with both swords, killing it. Taryn rushes into the burning building, and grabs Stone. Pulling mightily, he hauls him free of the webbing, bringing him near the door.Miriel shoulders her way through to the door, and heals Stone. At the doorway, one of the freeholders stabs the last free dead-eater, killing it.  Stone is still too weak to escape the barn on his own power, but Paks grabs Stone and helps Taryn pull him out of the barn and the web.Goldpetal, from his post atop the tower, tells the archers, “I still see no signs of attack. Three of you go down to help fight the fire; whoever is the best archer, stay with me.” Meanwhile, Brand staggers out of the smithy, his muscles straining to carry a huge barrel of water, and starts toward the barn. Chuck runs to help Brand with the barrel, as do some of the freeholders. In the northern half of the building, the flames are fierce, having ignited the web and straw, the grease amounting to kindling. Two freeholders hold each of the windows with spears, but the dead-eaters in the north are being burned alive. One of them tries to leap through the  window to escape. It impales itself on a spear and dies. Paks draws her bow, to cover the doorway. There are no dead-eaters near the doorway, and it appears to be secure. Taryn starts directing the firefighting effort, yelling, “Its grease burning! Water hasn’t helped much!”Myrs tells some of her people, “Quick, run to the gate and grab shovels!”Llewyn runs to the stable, near the well, yelling, “I’m going to check on the horses, and make sure that the dead-eaters aren’t attacking the stable as well!”Inside, one of the dead-eaters dies in the fire. Paks shoots another, killing it. There are only two remaining, and both are trapped, unable to break free. Taryn and the two spearmen next to her put aside their melee weapons, also drawing bows.“Goldpetal, is anything else coming?” shouts Paks. Behind her, Miriel heals Stone again, and now he’s looking much better. He gets to his feet.Goldpetal sees some movement in the orchards, but the ratmen are still leery of stepping into the open no-man’s-land between the walls of the freehold and the trees of the orchard. “Nothing,” he responds.The freeholders have a bunch of shovels, and begin throwing dirt through the southern windows and the central door. Brand and the others continue to bring the water over, nearly reaching the northern window with the water barrel. The two spearmen holding that window step out of the way.Taryn shoots another dead-eater, killing it, while the freeholders shoot the last one. Myrs shouts, “You four! Quit standing around and get a bucket chain going.” Stone rushes to join the bucket brigade.Brand and Chuck dump the barrel of water through the northern window where the fire is strongest. With the grease in that area mostly burned away, the deluge of water turns out to be effective, dousing the worst of the flames. Stone and Myrs have the bucket brigade going in fine fashion, and begin throwing buckets in through the north window. The combination of dirt on the smoldering southern section and water in the northern conflagration is putting things out quickly.Llewyn comes out of the stable. “Here, I grabbed a horse blanket to throw on the fire,” she says.Paks tells, “Don’t waste the blanket. It looks like we have the fire under control. How’s the stable?”“The stable’s fine.” “What were those things?” Paks asks rhetorically.Myrs answers her, “Dead-eaters. They are humans who have been twisted beyond all recognition by disease. They like the taste of flesh, the fresher the better, but they will eat even horrendously rotten meat. They burrow underground and leap out to attack from below.”“We’ll need to find and stop their tunnels, then,” Paks says. The freeholders continue to throw more water and earth on the smoldering hay and grease, eventually putting it out.  We’ve survived the first wave, but we know that this raid was merely a distraction, and the worst is yet to come.</blockquote>

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