Post by bonk on Jan 27, 2014 20:40:29 GMT -5
The trail couldn't have been easier to follow. Five men, with gleaming armor and accoutrement, slowly approached the dismal cave. It was a low lying gap in the rocky hills that jutted from the forests of the Silver Marches, and the acre or so around it was scarred and scorched by its irresponsible denizens. The evidence of bonfires were still smoldering outside the cave with the mostly-eaten remains of several unfortunate creatures scattered about. Thankfully, the meat had been mostly picked from the bones. Unfortunately this made the humanoid shape of them all the more evident.
"Gather up, you lot!" The crested warrior at the front of the gathering hissed back. The distinct sound of metal on metal was heard as he drew his blade, followed by the scrapes of his four compatriots. "This is it! Trust in our God, not your steel, and we cannot fall!" With that the five knights crept their way into the cave as carefully as they could before disappearing into the darkness, leaving the bodies of twenty or so fallen brutes bleeding into the earth.
A hushed word brought forth dim light from each warrior's gory blade, soft blue light to show the paths deeper into the caves. The craggy walls were carved crudely and painted with ochre and ash depicting violent scenes with vaguely mannish figures combating all manner of creatures, from mundane to fantastical in a bloody orgy. "Evil taints these passages!" One of the men whispered as they passed by the macabre exhibit. "Let fire take this pestilence from our lands, we have the fuel! How many men must these Hells-born savages take?" Another said. "No!" The commander spat. "We must be assured of their destruction. Gird your Faith, brothers, and press on."
The stone corridor extended not long, and it soon opened up into a large vault. Stalactites thrust down from the ceiling and spears up from the ground, looking like they were forced down into solid stone. A figure lurked against the far wall, at least twice the size as the horde mates outside were. The five men fanned out to close in on the wailing beast, approaching cautiously from behind their shields. When the nimbus of their combined light fell upon the creature it spun around and let loose a splitting howl. It its hands were a great club, looking like a tree ripped from the ground complete with gnarled roots, and a bundle tucked under the other arm. "En garde!" the commander called as the abomination leapt forward.
The crash of force against metal and wood rang off the cave walls. Immediately two blades dimmed as their owners fell to the ground in broken heaps, severing the connection of light that ran from wall to wall. One man stood before the gap of darkness, and two on the other side. The shade of that cursed place kept them from seeing the fate of their brethren but the hot wet splatter each felt through their helms told them enough.
The lone brave knight leapt forward with a pious battlecry and drove his broadsword to the core of the greenskin behemoth. It bellowed in agony and swung with its club, but the trained fighter ducked beneath it and twisted his blade with a sick crunch of bones. The other two surged as well, but that enormous club whipped back and connected with one man's helmet, tearing his head clean off his shoulders and sending it ricocheting off the cave walls like a bloody rocket.
Gazing upon the death of his brother and feeling his heartsblood seeping through his own cuirass did nothing to phase the commander. He struck out and drove the point of his blade into the monster, grabbing hold with both hands to tear down its green flesh and loosing a geyser of smoking black blood. The beast cried out with pain and sank down to its knees while trying to swing again but the two knights were too fast and too close. Stroke after stroke they slashed the hulk until it was nearly more gashes than skin. Finally it shook and cried its last before slumping forward into the filth of the cave, dead. Yet somehow a shrill whine still came from it.
The two men rose back up and pulled their swords from the corpse, flinging with a practiced motion to flick as much of the wetness from their blades before scanning the cave again. The commander went away from the mess to search while the other survivor investigated the body. "Here..." He called out after investigating a desiccated corpse chained to the wall. "This was Ser Eirik." "His patrol must have been ambu-"
"Commander!" The other blurted as he rose. Within the bundle the knight found two young children, babies really. Both a gruesome mix of human and savage features, and both screaming at the top of their lungs. The commander looked back and lifted the mask of his helmet up with a shocked look. "By the Triad... What vileness has happened here." He returned to the other warrior's side and gestured for the children to inspect closer. They were handed over without question.
The lesser knight looked away and set his blade down against his greave and drew a long knife from his gauntlet. "Fear not, commander. I will purge these mockeries of their evil." But before he could reach for the again, the commander lifted his blade up in defiance. "Stay your bloodlust, brother." He said. "Your mind is tainted by this place. These two are innocent of the crimes their progenitors have committed."
The warrior paused, taken aback before blurting out. "But commander! Evil today or evil tomorrow, these wretches will cause nothing but sorrow! For the love of our Gods! Let me end this infestation of our wood here and now!" He then leaped forward with dagger in hand, only to double over the flat of the commander's striking blade. "Remember yourself, Ser. Only the guilty deserve punishment. The Vigilant One will protect these innocents as He protects any other." With the full authority of his station the commander spoke, and stepped over the gasping man. "Cut loose Eirik and bring him. His widow deserves closure." Chagrined, the warrior crawled forward to his feet to do as commanded with a quick "Yessir" and then both left the cave, leaving the slain den mother where she fell and taking both the infant half-breeds tucked against the tabard of Helm and the body of their comrade, broken pelvis and all.
"Gather up, you lot!" The crested warrior at the front of the gathering hissed back. The distinct sound of metal on metal was heard as he drew his blade, followed by the scrapes of his four compatriots. "This is it! Trust in our God, not your steel, and we cannot fall!" With that the five knights crept their way into the cave as carefully as they could before disappearing into the darkness, leaving the bodies of twenty or so fallen brutes bleeding into the earth.
A hushed word brought forth dim light from each warrior's gory blade, soft blue light to show the paths deeper into the caves. The craggy walls were carved crudely and painted with ochre and ash depicting violent scenes with vaguely mannish figures combating all manner of creatures, from mundane to fantastical in a bloody orgy. "Evil taints these passages!" One of the men whispered as they passed by the macabre exhibit. "Let fire take this pestilence from our lands, we have the fuel! How many men must these Hells-born savages take?" Another said. "No!" The commander spat. "We must be assured of their destruction. Gird your Faith, brothers, and press on."
The stone corridor extended not long, and it soon opened up into a large vault. Stalactites thrust down from the ceiling and spears up from the ground, looking like they were forced down into solid stone. A figure lurked against the far wall, at least twice the size as the horde mates outside were. The five men fanned out to close in on the wailing beast, approaching cautiously from behind their shields. When the nimbus of their combined light fell upon the creature it spun around and let loose a splitting howl. It its hands were a great club, looking like a tree ripped from the ground complete with gnarled roots, and a bundle tucked under the other arm. "En garde!" the commander called as the abomination leapt forward.
The crash of force against metal and wood rang off the cave walls. Immediately two blades dimmed as their owners fell to the ground in broken heaps, severing the connection of light that ran from wall to wall. One man stood before the gap of darkness, and two on the other side. The shade of that cursed place kept them from seeing the fate of their brethren but the hot wet splatter each felt through their helms told them enough.
The lone brave knight leapt forward with a pious battlecry and drove his broadsword to the core of the greenskin behemoth. It bellowed in agony and swung with its club, but the trained fighter ducked beneath it and twisted his blade with a sick crunch of bones. The other two surged as well, but that enormous club whipped back and connected with one man's helmet, tearing his head clean off his shoulders and sending it ricocheting off the cave walls like a bloody rocket.
Gazing upon the death of his brother and feeling his heartsblood seeping through his own cuirass did nothing to phase the commander. He struck out and drove the point of his blade into the monster, grabbing hold with both hands to tear down its green flesh and loosing a geyser of smoking black blood. The beast cried out with pain and sank down to its knees while trying to swing again but the two knights were too fast and too close. Stroke after stroke they slashed the hulk until it was nearly more gashes than skin. Finally it shook and cried its last before slumping forward into the filth of the cave, dead. Yet somehow a shrill whine still came from it.
The two men rose back up and pulled their swords from the corpse, flinging with a practiced motion to flick as much of the wetness from their blades before scanning the cave again. The commander went away from the mess to search while the other survivor investigated the body. "Here..." He called out after investigating a desiccated corpse chained to the wall. "This was Ser Eirik." "His patrol must have been ambu-"
"Commander!" The other blurted as he rose. Within the bundle the knight found two young children, babies really. Both a gruesome mix of human and savage features, and both screaming at the top of their lungs. The commander looked back and lifted the mask of his helmet up with a shocked look. "By the Triad... What vileness has happened here." He returned to the other warrior's side and gestured for the children to inspect closer. They were handed over without question.
The lesser knight looked away and set his blade down against his greave and drew a long knife from his gauntlet. "Fear not, commander. I will purge these mockeries of their evil." But before he could reach for the again, the commander lifted his blade up in defiance. "Stay your bloodlust, brother." He said. "Your mind is tainted by this place. These two are innocent of the crimes their progenitors have committed."
The warrior paused, taken aback before blurting out. "But commander! Evil today or evil tomorrow, these wretches will cause nothing but sorrow! For the love of our Gods! Let me end this infestation of our wood here and now!" He then leaped forward with dagger in hand, only to double over the flat of the commander's striking blade. "Remember yourself, Ser. Only the guilty deserve punishment. The Vigilant One will protect these innocents as He protects any other." With the full authority of his station the commander spoke, and stepped over the gasping man. "Cut loose Eirik and bring him. His widow deserves closure." Chagrined, the warrior crawled forward to his feet to do as commanded with a quick "Yessir" and then both left the cave, leaving the slain den mother where she fell and taking both the infant half-breeds tucked against the tabard of Helm and the body of their comrade, broken pelvis and all.