Mists over the Musarde, Chapter Five

[Le Noir Faineant]

Cirdan will lie there next to the fire, in full armor,
and under his black and ragged cloaked.

Under his vizor, his loud snorring sounds like the steady beat of a drum...

[ewancummins]

The next morning, a little past sunrise-


Dorgio is almost ready to keel over when the sun's first rays creep through the east-facing windows of the big wooden hall. All night he has kept watch over the girls, and they have remained safe. Now he can rest his weary body, and catch up on all the sleep he's missed...

Just as the cleric prepares to take his own rest, the peace and quiet of the morning is disturbed by hysterical screaming, coming from somewhere outside the Moot-Hall.

[Adam]

Bennedict rolls over, instantly alert at the screams.

He then groans, putting a hand to his temple as it feels like it is being rent in twain by the hangover headache.

He stands, staggering outside the Moot House to go look for the source of the noise.

[ewancummins]

Outside the hall, the day is warm and bright- a beautiful late-summer morning.

Scanning the environs of the great timber Moot-House, Benn spots a woman exiting the tree line at the southern verge of the Moot-ground. She's running towards the hall at full speed. She trips on her skirts, pushes herself up from the ground, and continues running.

[JMaytr]

Jonathan hears the commotion and wakes up the others if he can.
"Norzak! Dorgio! I think we're under attack!"

[steveflam]

Norzak jumps up, nearly tripping on his own feet. "Huh? Attack? Oi!!!!" He unsheathes his blade and follows Jon to the unfolding scene.

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio hears the screams and his heart starts pounding. He stands, filled with the shaky, half-transparent energy comes when a man's filled with equal parts exhaustion and dread. Along with Jon and Norzak, he rushes towards the noise.

[ewancummins]

Outside on the open ground, the party meets the frightened woman.
She falls to her knees before the group. Her breath comes in great, ragged sobs. She's trying to speak, but is too winded to make much sense.

''Huuuuhhhnnuhhh...I...hunnhhhh....bloody....he....hunnhhh...''

She waves back at the tree line.

Nothing unusual may be seen from here, just the peaceful woods with green and golden leaves rustling in the breeze.

[steveflam]

Norzak sends his shadow ahead thriugh the little shadow there is as he rushes fast as he can to whatever the woman was saying blood about.

[ewancummins]

Norzak's shadow, perhaps irritated by the bright sunlight, travels very low to the ground, moving more slowly than the dwarf might wish. As it is Norzak gets to the tree line first.

Among the towering oaks, ashes, and alders, Norzak spots the form of a man in brown pants and a leather tunic, propped up against a tree stump. Norzak can see that the fellow must have been injured- there is a bit of blood on his shirt. His head is slumped forward onto his chest and he remains quiet and still.

[Adam]

Bennedict, suspicious of a trap, raises his crossbow and swings it in all directions while stepping towards the man for a closer examination.

[ewancummins]

The man resting against the stump doesn't move an inch. Once Benn gets close, he can see why; the poor fellow's throat has been sliced open from ear to ear. He's stone dead.

[steveflam]

Norzak arrives and curses. "Shit! I bet it were that Van Dieks." He looks around the area and tries to see what type of weapon did this.

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio blinks at the corpse, his mouth slack. He makes the sign of the Morninglord before approaching the body. He frowns and feels a pit form in his stomach. Had he let himself become so distracted by the auburn-haired girl that he'd let this happen? But still, something seemed not right. Or at least, not complete.

<i>This makes no sense. Why kill this man?"</i>

The priest shakes his head and lights his morning's first. "Is anyone knowing this man?" Then his eyes open wide and he remembers Grigori's body.

"We must be alert, this may not have been the only slaying last night."

[ewancummins]

The slash to the throat was probably done with a knife, something very sharp. The man has a few other wounds, small incisions under his left arm- the killer stabbed him there between the ribs at least six times.