Mists Over the Musarde, Chapter Three

[Adam]

Dorgio surveys the keep, then breaks the eerie silence with a rough chuckle. "Were I a bestial madman, I would be hiding in a place like this."

Benn nods. "Indeed, there is an unwholesome air to this place." He looks around, concerned. "How very primitive. We must be far from Pont a Museau. We shall be delightfully exposed while we walk up to that structure, with no cover. Though, I suppose that is the point."

A thought suddenly strikes him then. "Benn, when you were gone, a bear approached us. Norzak, he was saying he'd seen a bear in his dream. Make anything of it? He said he saw an owl too, but I saw none."

He then turns to Alain, and asks, "When you were searching the clearing, were you finding any signs of an owl?"

"A bear or an owl? Hmm, nothing springs immediately to mind. Give me a moment to look through my notes."

He pulls his leatherbound book from his bag, flipping through it looking for anything he had forgotten.

[ewancummins]

While Benn looks through his notes, Buckman begins searching the ground for tracks. He isn't wandering far away, but stays within sprinting distance of the others- and always in plain sight.

[Lord Skybolt]

"Not any thing that looks like an owl any more just some dessicated remains of some animal ." Alain replying to Dorgio's question .

[steveflam]

NOrzak sends his shadow foward to investigate the broken down keep.

[ewancummins]

NOrzak sends his shadow foward to investigate the broken down keep.

Norzak's shadow peels off his back and crosses the cleared zone to the hill, keeping out of the light as much as possible by squeezing into any available shade from tree stumps, clumps of weeds, or larger rocks. The shadow-Norzak then creeps up the hillside. Once it moves far enough away, you all lose sight of it. [It is rather difficult to spot at a distance, as it always skulks in the deepest shadows, and doesn't expose itself when it can avoid doing so.]

[JMaytr]

Jonathan sneaks ahead being as silent as possible, moving slowly towards the shadowed keep. He enters the foreboding structure, his knife at the ready.

[ewancummins]

Jonathan sneaks ahead being as silent as possible, moving slowly towards the shadowed keep. He enters the foreboding structure, his knife at the ready.

Moving ahead of the others, Jon is the first to enter the keep [not counting Norzak's living shadow- which is nowhere to be seen]. The front gate is dorrless, with onlly rusted iron hinges to inidicate the fromer presence of a door of some kind.
Passing through the great archway, Jon enters the grounds of the castle.

The interior of the keep is a large courtyard littered with broken stones and ruined inner buildings. This field of ruin is wrapped around on all sides by the tall curtain wall, mostly intact but with gaps in the stonework here and there. The four towers look dilapidated, at least from the outside. The top levels of all but the northeast tower have fallen inward. Doors at the base of each tower allow access to the tall structures.

A careful search of the area reveals interesting things: a few rusty arrowheads, faded scorch marks on one of the destroyed buildings in the yard, and a pair of dirty footprints leading towards the doorway to the northeast tower.

[JMaytr]

Jonathan moves back to the others, reporting what he saw inside.

[Adam]

Benn shakes his head, winding the leather chord back around his journal and stuffing it into his bag. "No, nothing specifically about bears or owls. They could just have been wildlife."

[ewancummins]

At this time, Buckman returns from his scouting about the clearing [he did not ascend the hill to enter the keep as did Jon]. He reports-

''No man-tracks round here, at least not as I can see. Found some animal signs, though. Found something funny- some damn big weasel prints in a muddy patch of ground. I mean really big, folks. Thing must be the king of the polecats! I lost its trail in the rocks at the bottom of the hill. ''

[JMaytr]

Jonathan speaks up;

"I saw some man made footprints inside the keep leading to another door. They were muddy too. I think we should take a closer look."

[ewancummins]

Buckman answers-

''I agree, let's take a really good look.''

The hunter take a minute to check his pistols and his other gear, then begins walking towards the hill.

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Benn shakes his head, winding the leather chord back around his journal and stuffing it into his bag. "No, nothing specifically about bears or owls. They could just have been wildlife."

"True enough," he agrees. But he looks no less troubled. "Are you thinking maybe Norzak is having the right of it, though? That maybe we somehow . . . pierced the veil of time?" He shakes his head. "I am hoping not. The portal, I found where we emerged, but I could not go back in to find what you were up to." But then he grins, though it looks a little forced. "Ah, but if we are in some time before, what better way to learn how the city came to be!" He gives a derisive chuckle at the notion.

Then, he turns to follow Buckman and the others towards the castle, spear in hand.

[Lord Skybolt]

Before Alain follows the others he makes sure his pistol and spell components are accessible/ready for action if needed .

[Adam]

Benn shakes his head, winding the leather chord back around his journal and stuffing it into his bag. "No, nothing specifically about bears or owls. They could just have been wildlife."

"True enough," he agrees. But he looks no less troubled. "Are you thinking maybe Norzak is having the right of it, though? That maybe we somehow . . . pierced the veil of time?" He shakes his head. "I am hoping not. The portal, I found where we emerged, but I could not go back in to find what you were up to." But then he grins, though it looks a little forced. "Ah, but if we are in some time before, what better way to learn how the city came to be!" He gives a derisive chuckle at the notion.

Then, he turns to follow Buckman and the others towards the castle, spear in hand.

Benn momentarily winces in annoyance, sensing Dorgio's sarcasm, before answering. "There are stories of portals through time, but no evidence to back them up. The fact that the portal only worked one way, however, makes the thought somewhat disturbing. We may find we have all the answers we were looking for, but have no way to get them to Herr Sancerre." He starts walking with the others. "What worries me more is the stories I found of this witch, Wolutha. The legends said that after her final descent into madness, the villagers found her whole keep and the area surrounding it vanished into the air, taken presumably by the mists you and Buckman are so busy scoffing at me about. If this is her home, we may have left one danger only to wander into one that is far worse."

The archivist's step never falters, but in his mind he sees once again staring blue eyes, whispering his name. He shivers, though the air has no chill.