• NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.

The Sudden Approach of Unexplainable Power: IC

[SBLOCK=OOC]Yes, I realised. That’s why Aekalos questioned whether it was an orc.[/SBLOCK]Turning towards Errast, Aekalos remarks, “I suppose so, though I imagine the look of the orcish nose has something to do with your name for them too,” before allowing his gaze to drift towards the smithy again.

Nodding towards the smithy, at the loud crash and shouting, he adds, “Well, that doesn’t sound too friendly. Though I guess those two can take care of themselves, and likely wouldn’t appreciate assistance if it was offered. It makes me wonder though, what’s not happening today... though perhaps I don't want to know,” Aekalos chuckles, winking at Maris.
 

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Maris had her hand on the hilt of her sword, but when Aekalos speaks she relaxes her grip and sits back. "Indeed, perhaps we don't want to know..."

From their position, a deep voice can be partially understood coming from inside the smithy. Assuming there are only three people in the smithy, the voice is deep enough to not be from the two women. "Don't move ... ... nobody dies ... ... ... demands revenge ... payment."
 

“Though it’s certainly sounding less friendly in there by the moment...” Aekalos adds, his hand briefly caressing the hilt of his own blade as he sits forward, listening intently for any further words or sounds. If at any time he sees or hears the door or windows opening, he quickly resumes his previous relaxed position.
 

Several more moments pass, and the windows and door seem securely shut. There are a few more brief sounds of struggle inside the blacksmith shop. Then, there is a rapid succession of metal striking the wooden floor. But for the most part the voices of the women and the deeper voice of the figure have gone quiet.
 

Once things quieten down, Aekalos sits back and reaches for his waterskin, taking a sip as he returns to his previous posture of surreptitious watching.
 

Only a short five minutes later - with no great sound coming from the blacksmith shop - the cloaked figure thrusts open the door and exits. It emits a bit of a satisfied growl in the direction of the party, although there is almost an appreciative tone to the sound. He immediately turns and begins to head off across the field in the direction that he had originally come. The thick robes do not show any sign of volience.

The blacksmith shop continues to be silent as the door swings closed once more. The windows remain shut. Maris looks to Aekalos. "Curious? Or do we wait it out a bit more?
 

“Oh, I was curious enough before, just a little concerned about being sprung spying by the big one there,” Aekalos says, nodding towards the cloak figure as he heads across the field, “Let’s go take a look, Maris. Errast, if you wouldn’t mind keeping an eye on our large friend there, I’d appreciate it.”
 

Erast turns around to partially face the right direction and places a small blade of grass between his teeth. "Check."

When Aekalos and Maris arrive at the door to the smithy, there is a muffled sound of hurried action inside. Upon opening the door, the sight is ghastly. All of the smithing tools that had been laying on the workbench are scattered around the workbench on the floor. It is as if they were simply pushed all at once. Most of the rest of the smithy seems to be in order except for one of the women.

One of the women is laying in an akward position under the window to the left (far side of the building from where Aekalos was sitting). She does not move as the party opens the door. Her back is straight against the wall as if she is sitting down, but she is also slightly leaning to the right. Her shoulder is braced against the side of a crate and her head is bend against her left shoulder as the right side of her face is slumped against the edge of the crate.

The other woman is in a very disheveled posture. She has had a good deal of her protective smithing clothing ripped from her body, but she has had enough time to fix the clothing that she had underneath the thick leather (because this is a family show!).

The woman turns as Aekalos and Maris open the door. "Please! Check on my sister. Bahlrick tossed her aside so that she wouldn't get in the way when he ... me!" Her sentence is incomplete, as if her mind refuses to admit the proper words that belong where the ommission occured.
 

“I didn’t think it’d go this far...” Aekalos sighs, nodding to the disheveled woman and rushing over to her sister. First checking to see if she’s breathing, he then does his best to try and discern any injuries she has... if she’s alive.
 

The woman looks to Aekalos with a bit of sympathy. "It's not your fault. I was ... gagged. My sister was not able to call for help. And he was ... quiet, for an orc. There was nothing to be done."

The woman under the windo seems to be alive, although knocked into a deep sleep - perhaps even a coma. There is no way of telling if it is magical or sheer trauma from the impact with the side of the wall.
 

Into the Woods

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