Mists over the Musarde, Chapter Two

[ewancummins]

taking Marie home-

Once the final arrangements have been made and goodbyes have been said, the party leaves the Sancerre home along with Marie, Evangeline, and the old servant woman, Hannah. Two coaches are waiting in front of the house, to carry you all to the farm where Marie's parents live.

The weather is brisk and windy, with blue skies streaked by thin strands of cloud. It's sunny and there's no hint of rain.


Evie remarks-

'''What a lovely day for a trip to the country!''

At first the traffic is a bit heavy, with pedestrians, handcarts, wagons, mules, and a few riders out on the cobblestone streets. This is not surprising, as it's midday when you depart and the neighborhood around the Sancerre home is well populated and also home to many shops.

Your coaches roll through the crowded district, on through a sleepy neighborhood, and past the crumbling remains of an ancient stone wall. Buildings become fewer and fewer in number and you find soon yourselves surrounded by bucolic rural scenes- farms, pastures, and little stands of broadleaf trees. As you move farther away from Pont-a-Museau, the road become poorer- cobbles have been removed in many places. The highway becomes a dirt track with shallow wagon ruts. At least the road is dry.

After more than an hour of travelling, Marie leaps up and cries aloud:

''There it is, that's our farm!''

The girl points to a farmhouse about twenty yards from the left side of the road. Near the house is a small barn, and an animal pen. Behind the cottage and barn is a vegetable garden which is visible from the road, and beyond that lies a wooded area of at least an acre in size. Grassy fields dominate the rest of the landscape.

The fenced-in area near the farmhouse holds a herd of over a dozen pigs. The animals are clustered about a spot in one corner of the muddy pigpen. They are oinking greedily and shoving one another , trying to get at something on the ground- you cannot see what it is that's attracted their interest, because the press is too close and there's too much mud.

The coaches slow, then come to stop along the side of the road. The coachmen get down and open the doors of both coaches.

Marie leaps out of her coach and rushes towards the front door of the farmhouse. A powerful gust of wind picks up all of a sudden, blowing at Marie's back. Her bonnet comes loose and flies away, borne aloft on the wind towards the cottage. The front door swings open. No one can be seen in the doorway though- perhaps the wind pushed it.

[JMaytr]

Jonthan looks to the front door, searching for the sorce of its sudden opening.

"Hello?" He calls out. "Anybody home?"
Jonathan walks up onto the front porch and looks through the doorway into the house within.

"Hello?!"

[Le Noir Faineant]

Cirdan will stay close to Evangeline and take up his shield...
Just in case there should be anything unusual there...

For sure, he'll not separate from the girl, and let the others explore the place...

[steveflam]

Norzak follows Jon to the house. When noone answers Jon and the door flies open, he puts a hand on Jon and Marie's arms. He then puts his finger to his mouth. Whispering "Something's not right. Lemme go have a look. Stay 'ere with Marie, lad. If anything happens get tha elf offa 'is lovestruck arse inside, a.s.a.p. Keep 'er safe lad."

The dwarf beckons Alain. Still whispering "Check out the back, I gots me a bad feelin 'ere Alain."

Norzak approaches the door and listens, unarmed. The parents might be asleep but he highly doubted that. He has a sinking feeling in his gut that something terrible had happened to her parents. Once sastisfied he heard nothing, he entered the home and looked around carefully, taking his time. He had yet to arm himself but did have his spells in case something happened.

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio's eyes flick from the door to the pigs. With Jon and Cirdan covering Marie and Evie, and with Norzak and Alain covering the entrances, Dorgio approaches the pigs. He takes out his spear and, with the butt end, prods at the swine, trying to chase them away from whatever they're feeding on.

[Adam]

Bennedict's already intense breathing quickens, his mind striving to fight off panic. "Alo? Is someone there?" He frantically casts about in his mind, seeking the words to a simple prayer to the Morninglord, an invocation to cast a magical light onto the lantern he's holding in his hands.

[ewancummins]

In the archives.....

Bennedict's already intense breathing quickens, his mind striving to fight off panic. "Alo? Is someone there?" He frantically casts about in his mind, seeking the words to a simple prayer to the Morninglord, an invocation to cast a magical light onto the lantern he's holding in his hands.

The entire surface of the oil lantern begins to glow with a soft golden light. The light grows stronger and dispels the gloom of the archive chamber.

A familiar voice comes from behind Benn,

''It's just me, Van Willen. I've brought some books to show you.''

[Adam]

"Oh, oh very good. Heh," the archivist laughs, wiping his brow with a handkerchief. "I guess I'm a little jumpy. Was anyone else down here with us?"

He hurries over to the desk, clearing some papers off to the side to leave a space for Van Willen to set down the books.

[ewancummins]

at the farm...


Cirdan remains near the two coaches, close to Evangeline and the old woman, Hannah.

The two coachmen also remain on the side of the road. They are inspecting the horses and the wheels of the coaches with no particular sense of urgency. They have not unhitched the teams.

No one responds to Jon's calls. When the red haired boy reaches the front porch, just a step behind Marie, he looks through the open door. He sees nothing unusual within the front room, just the ordinary rustic furnishings one might expect of a humble farmer's home. He doesn't see anyone inside the room. A door in the far lefthand corner of the room leads further into the farmhouse. This door is slightly ajar.

Norzak sprints to the porch as fast as his stubby legs can carry him. He arrives just in time to caution Jon and Marie against entering. Listening at the door. He doesn't hear anything odd from within- but it's hard to be sure he's hearing things clearly over his own body-sounds, with his heart pounding like a hammer in his chest and his lungs working like bellows. Dwarfs are not built for speed- catching up with Jon and Marie before they entered the building wasn't easy. Unable to detect any ominous sounds from within, the dwarf cautiously enters the farmhouse...

Marie stands near Jon on the front porch. She reaches to take hold of his hand and squeezes it tightly. The girl whispers,

''Jon, I'm frightened!''

Alain, on guard against possible danger, begins to walk around the exterior of the farmhouse, looking for signs of anything unusual. He maintains line of sight contact with the coaches, just in case.

Over by the pigpen, Dorgio wields his spearbutt against the grunting herd of swine, dispersing them so that he can see what it was they'd gathered about on the ground. Once the disgusting brutes fall back, he sees it- a mud-splattered human form lying supine in the muck. Portions of the dead man's face, hands, and belly appear to have been eaten by the swine. The mud, mercifully, obscures the details somewhat. The wind shifts direction and Dorgio's nostrils are assailed by a rank mix of odors: pigs, mud, manure, and blood.

[ewancummins]

The archives

"I guess I'm a little jumpy. Was anyone else down here with us?"

As Benn turns to clear the table, an unfamiliar voice answers in a hollow tone-

''YES.''

Van Willen jerks violently and falls forward to lie face down on the stone floor- an ivory handled scalpel protruding from the back of his neck, just below the base of the skull.

Looming over the prone form of Van Willen stands a tall, lean man in a long black coat. Only his bald head, gaunt face, and long-fingered hands are exposed. His skin has a most unwholesome pallor to it- contrasting sharply with the colorful glyphs tattooed on his bare scalp. The strange man smiles, revealing a mouth full of even, perfectly white teeth.

[ewancummins]

inside the farmhouse


Norzak walks in and begins to check the first room. It's quiet in this room, and things appear more-or-less normal. There's an unusual musky odor inside the house...

WHAM! Something heavy lands on Norzak's head and shoulders, sending the dwarf sprawling to the floorboards. He feels something clamp down on the back of his neck. Hot breath washes over him, accompanied by a sharp pain on either side of his neck. Splinters from the rough floorboards grind into his face as he's dragged away from the door! He's face down, so he cannot clearly see what it is that's attacking him, but he does catch a glimpse of paws the size of human feet and brown furry legs.

Jon, standing near the front door, hears the noise of the struggle. Looking inside, he sees weasel-like beast that must be the size of a full grown man- and it's got Norzak by the back of his neck!

The inside door opens and two men with crossbows emerge. Both immediately raise their weapons and fire at Jon, shooting over Norzak and the huge mustelid. One bolt strikes the door jamb and the other narrowly misses Jon, passing so close to his face that he's tickled by the fletching.

by the pigpen...


Dorgio is as yet unaware of the trouble in the farmhouse. The oinking and grunting of the hungry pigs covers the noise, so that he doesn't hear what's going on.

Thump!


Something just struck the fence near Dorgio. Looking at the post nearest him, the priest sees a bolt stuck in the wood at a sharp downward angle, still quivering! It must have been fired from the direction of the barn. [The barn is not far away, maybe fifteen meters]

the coaches, at the side of the road-

Evangeline is chatting with Hannah while Sir Cirdan keeps an eye on the outside situation.

The knight sees Marie and Jon approach the farmhouse. He sees Norzak, apparently in a great hurry, rush up and stop them. He sees the dwarf go inside. Alain seems to be milling about outside...possibly looking for something?

Looking across the yard to the pigpen, Sir Cirdan can see that Dorgio is at the edge of the fence, using his spear to chase pigs around their enclosure for some reason.

Sir Cirdan also notices [thanks to his keen elvensight] that the barn window, which faces the animal pen and the farmhouse both, is now open. He's sure the shutters were closed a moment ago...

[steveflam]

Norzak is taken by surprise, to say the least. The beast on his back has him by the neck and the dwarf is not at all a happy camper, to say the least.

"Gah! Elf, get yer behind in here, we's a bin expected!" Then he goes into many expletives in the Dwarvish tongue. "Ya mangy dag, yer in fer it now, ya scallywag!" Even as Norzak struggles with the thing, he is reaching back and trying to touch it with one or both hand, casting a spell on it. If yer gonna bite me, I's a bite ye back, ya wart infested hog mother!!!!!! To which the dwarf does try to bite whatever part of his enemy is closest to him.

[steveflam]

Norzak tries Touch of Fatigue on his Rat whether it is his bite or by touch, ewan. Successful or not he tries to roll hard with the rat and slam it really hard. His dagger is now out, ready to work.

[JMaytr]

Jonathan moves into the room, tumbling past Norzak to flank the strange weasel beast. Once on the other side of the creature, Jonathan stabs at the beast, trying to sever its spine.

"Marie get back! Go warn Sir Cirdan! Quickly!"

[Lord Skybolt]

Alain gestures at the Crossbow men and tries to get both of them in a spell (HS), if possible .Then he goes to gain what cover he can from future missile fire . If he can't get them both them then he'll settle for one . When he goes for cover he'll be checking for any other uninvited guest's to the farm . Also he'll be pulling his weapon out (Rapier) as he is going for cover .