Blood Axe and Mist: Chronicles of Adventure Part 1:The City of Syphel (Closed for Siobhancan99)

[siobhancan99]

"My take is they should be poisoning their grain. Rats have to eat, and hordes of rats have to eat lots. If they poison a section of their grain and leave it slightly less well-defended, they might find that the horde of rats is winnowed by properly sabotaging their food supply. It might not strike to the heart of their issue, but it would definitely both strike a blow at the enemy and give them some respite. As to the nature of this problem, it is thorny. So... what do we know?"

She tapped her chin "small feet. so gnomes, halflings, kobolds. That sort of thing. Perhaps faeries or some such? Something small but humanoid. Also doesn't fly. So perhaps brownies or the like. I'm not sure whether small means child size or tiny or what. Also, this is more your area of the world my giant friend. I'm not sure what inhabits these mountains, but if both your folk and these frontiersmen have stories of them, it must be fell indeed." She sipped at her tea, professionally ignoring the ample chest of her barbarian compatriot.

"Then there's the question of the missing women. Taken as what? sex slaves? regular slaves? food? all of the above?" She crossed her legs "what sort of thing takes slaves? Goblins for sure. lazy buggers. Orcs, but orcs are too big. Hobgoblins, also too big. The whole thing speaks of a central intelligence, but... I just don't know what it might be." She drained her tea "so do you think mustaches has a lady up at that manor of his? Might be cold and drafty...."

 

[Shadowlace]

Ulfhilde contemplated in silence. To her knowledge, no simple humanoids could command so many rats and bats! She pondered hard trying to think of any creature that could. Ulfhilde slowly stood and brought her sword up and began to work through some simple routines. Ones that would put her back into focus. It was the simple circles that brought the warrior back to simpler times.

Muscles moved with practiced grace as she let her arm move in parrys, Thrusts, slashes, and strikes. Her feet pivoted and pulsed with the force that could should she have an enemy down break limbs and crack skulls with her thighs. It was an eerie grace that could turn deadly with her motions. She had severed arms and legs, heads, and disemboweled others with ease. Though it wasn't always that easy as a younger woman, coming into her own such movements was awkward. To her tribe, the dance of blades was a beautiful thing. Its embrace and motions were intimate and graceful as the sword was the woman's first and oldest lover.

Then with a deadly three-point slash with a back-thrusting pivot, the red-haired warrior found her answer. sweat dripped on her body as she slowly rose to her full height. "I think we may be dealing with an offshoot of goblins, deep blue-black-skinned creatures with big yellow eyes that seem to have a connection with Rats and Bats, but they wouldn't need the women? Or be this bold without truly raiding so something may be driving them?"

The Barbarian began to walk towards the door carrying little that she was still naked. She looked over her shoulder and back at Freya."Come Freya we need to prepare for more than just Mutant Goblins I fear" is all she uttered as she rested the flat of her sword on her shoulder. After that, she walked out the door with two younger men who blinked and gawked at the naked bloody woman.

 

[siobhancan99]

Freya nodded "you're the expert in these matters." She gathered up her things, shaking her head. She looked apologetically at the young men as she followed her companion out "You know traditionally, Ulfhilde, one would clean oneself up again after combat" She laughed and went back into the bathouse, cleaning herself off with the vestiges of the hot water. heading inside, she changed into soft leather pants and a linen blouse. She strapped on her shortswords in case there was more trouble, and slipped a wand into her belt as well. "So these mutated goblins. Would they want women? Or is there maybe something else going on? Something like a human ally or a demon or something? And if a demon would it be for sacrifice or slavery that the women are taken? When I was in Caramishan, there was a cult there that practiced human sacrifice to their dark god. IT gave them boons."

 

[Shadowlace]

Ulfhilde stopped as she looks down and then shrugged. "I guess, still I must go don my armor"

Ulfhilde then Thought about it. What she knew of these deep midnight blue-skinned goblins was no different than regular goblins, save for the ability to control and communicate with rats and bats. As she turned the corner and headed back up the stairs she wondered why they were killing the men and keeping the women. Usually, if they took slaves they took both. This was something different. Goblins did love to keep women as playthings, sometimes devastated Goblin tribes who had few strong men, and kept weaker human males to breed with. So it could be something similar. Mutants usually are shunned by their kin and so need something or someone to breed with and humanity seemed to be a fertile ground for a variety of humaniods and beasts.

"Maybe for breeding stock? Goblin tribes can if weakened look for women or men to boost their numbers with stronger and smarter progeny. Mutant Goblins especially so as many a tribe shuns them. What is shocking me is the level of control this mutant or mutants have. The rats and bats don't have a lot of control at this distance." Ulfhilde says as she begins to walk up the stairs ignoring the looks like she was getting covered in blood, holding her arming sword and basically naked. Most of her wounds were small and had stopped bleeding, save a few that were in places where the barbarians natural motion made it hard for the wounds to knit.

At the door, she opened it and strode in. A water pitcher had arrived and she quickly grabbed it and upended the thing over her head allowing her to wash some of the filth from her. It wasn't much but it was better than nothing. The redhead didn't slow and instead came over to grab her gear and began to dress. Oddly enough she put on stockings and wrapped her lower body, before throwing on a cinched robe of soft brown, and donning her green-black cured basilisk hide armor. After that, she fastened her hair in a strange set of braids, which she re-braided into a tight tail that took her thick-length hair end at her shoulder blades.

After that, she began to don her weapons and looked at Freya. "Let's hope the mutants are all we have to face in those crags. Prepare for the worst though my friend, As something still smells off!"

 

[siobhancan99]

"What smells off is you, covered in vomit and half eaten rat" Freya sighed and cast a spell on her companion to clean her up a bit more "its not great but it will have to do."

She shrugged into her own leathers "I assume this means we're tracking the beasts back to their lair and I will not be investigating the comforts of that older man and his lonely hall." She pouted "my hall is lonely too, Ulfhilde. It's been two weeks since I've had the touch of a man." She sighed "still, the townsfolks aren't going to pay us to desport with their wealthy bachelors. So I suppose we should get on with it aye?" She handed a potion over to the tall barbarian "best you don't attract attention by smelling like an open wound." She sat on the bed, then retrieved a small glass bead from her pack. She wrapped it in soft fur and put it in a belt pouch. "in case we are surrounded." She explained without explaining.

"So, it seems the thing to do is track them back to their lair then ascertain what they're doing with the captives. Free those we can, kill any enemies. Come back, if still alive, and see if we can't find ourselves some companions to take away the loneliness of being on the frontier. I still say we should head south for the winter." She grinned. It was an old fight, but as poorly received as the barbarian was here, she and her bear were not well tolerated in the "civilized" south. Even Freya was too nordish in her customs, but at least her manners were a little better. "But since we won't" She trailed off "perhaps we could see if there's any old ruins or anything about after. See if there's anything else we can line our pockets with while we're up here." She leaned in and wrapped an arm around Ulfhilde "Best to put the bear on tracking duty then. I'll pop into the main hall and get us some dinner to take with us for now."

 

[Shadowlace]

"Well we can't all smell like those pleasurable scents" Ulfhilde says with a sly grin. She ha a few of those scents herself, but wasn't use to pampered city life. Freya wasn't pampered either, but she was more used to those things than she. Honestly the flame haire barbarian used it as more a jest designed to be a term of endearment.

Ulfhilde giggled." If you want you can try to get a good workout in beforehand! I don't mind. The old wolf seems of hearty stock. Aside from crossing blades with the veteran, I too wouldn't mind a feel of his sword in my sheath. You however called dibs. Besides it's just a bit of fun, no need to bond the man to you" Which for the Ur tribeswoman was still awkward. Bonding with a man was strange. In her tribe, you bound men to your house and could make them a personal slave or servant, but never bound by the gods to you. A few women did that and kept a primary lover too who they were bound, often tattooing and piercing them with a like piercing and a tattoo. Southlanders though seemed to find it a standard, but with different bonding gifting exchanges.

"Avoid reach weapons and two-handed weapons as the crags are narrow and make such things harder to use," Ulfhilde says strapping on her arming sword, a couple of axes, and daggers and taking back up her shield. As she does she looks shimmies to make sure her scales and weapons are secure and nods. Ulfhilde strides after the more petite woman.

Going down the stairs several people looked there direction as they had been cleaning up after the rats. Fancies were a mix of hope and despair as they knew somehow that if this pair didn't solve the issue they would have to hold out for the next patrol. They doubted that the patrol would make it. So all of this rested on them.

Once down in the common room, Ulfhilde waited for her friend to return. Food and drink would be needed the journey a cold and harrowing one. Besides Ulfhilde hated fighting on an empty stomach and she doubted whatever lay beyond the village would have traps and other creatures to content. They had proven that with the coordinated strike against them. The question was, would its planning be the death of them, or would human steel and spell win out?

 

[siobhancan99]

"I'll just leave my glaive de guisarme at home then" She rolled her eyes "Along with my greataxe." The diminutive blond owned neither. "you know who you're talking to right?" For blades they were of the short and stabby variety. Hidden daggers and knives rounded things out. She had a shortbow, but she doubted if they were doing any work in tunnels and the like that she'd have an opportunity to use it.

She packed good solid trail rations. Not very tasty but filling and healthy. Things that would keep if they were gone a while. She got some fresh bread and some fresh fruit as well from the people. Apples and such, fall fruits that would also keep on the trail without being dried. Into another pack she stuffed a change of clothes. One never knew when she'd be getting wet. she folded those into a water resistant bag in her pack, then added another blanket. Ready to go, she paused to snag a hand pie from the chef "You ready to head out?"