As they continued down this path, a large, wooden wall that likely belonged to the business end of a small fort jutted out from the brush. There was no movement however.
They then came upon what appeared to be a fort. Rue placed one hand on her bow, ready to draw it should an enemy show themself. As silently as she could, she approached the fort and looked around it to check for ambushers. She then turned back to Alec.
"What do you think, go in and check it out, ignore it, or wait for them to show themselves?"
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
"Welp. This is either an abandoned fort, or their hideout. Possibly both." Walking up to the fort, looking for a handhold to start climbing, he shrugs. "Either way, seems prudent to check it out. If it's not what we're looking for, then there are bound to be some goodies in there." Though, the last time I was looking for stuff, I got shot by an arrow. Best pay attention this time. "Even if we don't see anyone right away, keep your eyes out for anything. Anything at all."
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
All seemed quiet so Rue walked around the perimeter of the fort, looking for an entrance. It seemed abandoned to her, but she figured they might as well scour the place for anything valuable.
The wall of the fort was rather consistent and indeed seemed all too quiet. There was no other way in though other than the main gate. The woods were rather quiet too, something that Rue noticed as unusual and rarely a good sign.
Rue was uneasy with the silence in the woods. She slung her bow off her shoulder and loaded it, holding it at her side.
"Come on," she called quietly to Alec. "We're going inside. I'll take the lead, you make sure no one sneaks up behind us." She walked back to the front of the fort and, as quietly as she could, entered the fort.
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
Shrugging, Alec follows her into the fort, checking his back constantly. "Is it just me, or is something off about the forest? I can't put my finger on it, but something doesn't feel right," he say, hushed.
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
They had to put their shoulders into it, but the large wooden door slowly budged and opened inward. The first thing that struck them as out of place was the flies. The sound in here was constant, flies everywhere.
Due to the bodies of course. Bloodied, torn and ragged corpses that were strewn about the place. A limb here. A head there. A pile of guts and whatever else the human body contained there. A disheveled dog growled at them as they entered, guarding it's meal of carrion viciously. It then went back to tugging the stomach from a felled combatant.
Weapons laying about. Arrows. Burn marks. There had been a battle here, and this group lost. The smell was enough to cause sickness.
Rue raised a hand to her face and covered her mouth in horror. She then lifted her hand to her nose, for the smell was unbearable.
"Wh-what happened? Who are these people?"
She began to take a step towards the bodies to see if they had identification of any sort on them, but she couldn't bring herself to walk further into the gore. Even though she was a healer, there was too many mangled bodies for her to tolerate. She instead turned away from them and tried to ignore the smell and the flies.
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
Sighing, Alec walks further into the fort, wading through the gore until he finds a mostly intact body. Turning to Rue, he calls "Make sure I don't get killed. Or maimed.....uh, just keep a look out, will you?" He searches the mangled corpse for any form of identification, looking around himself every once in a while.
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
"Okay, I'll stay by the door. Tell me if you find anything."
Glad for an excuse to stay away from the carnage, Rue stood in the shadow in the doorway, keeping an eye on the all-too-quiet woods for any signs of movement.
Alec unfortunately finds nothing on the corpse. No sigil, marking or badge... but he does find a tattoo on the man's neck that indicates that he was once a convicted criminal. Considering the location, the look of the men that aren't hamburger and their gear... this appears to be the bandits that likely lived in this fort.
The silence in the woods remains. Rue is the first to notice though as her shadow shifts. She turns with a jump to see the door to the fort close with a thud behind her. They were both inside, the door now closed.
Alec [M:118:6:][D3v:http://rpgmenagerie.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=cs&thread=412&page=1#1242]"I see," said the blind man to the deaf lady.[0:Wandering the stacks.][1:Present and accounted for.]
Whipping around as the door slams shut, Alec nearly trips and falls in the gore. "Oh. Fantastic. Great, really." He hold a hand out to the corpses. "These, I think, are probably the bandits we're searching for. Well search no longer. However, now it would seem we're searching for whatever did this." Turning back to the body, he looks at the wounds. "What in the name of sanity did this to you...." he trails off, thinking of wounds he's seen before.
Come in under the shadow of this red rock, and I will show you something different from either your shadow at morning, striding behind you, or your shadow at evening, rising to meet you. I shall show you fear in a handful of dust.
Rue jumped at the sound of the door closing and immediatley drew her bow, glancing around the fort for any signs of movement besides Alec.
"Did you see anyone in here? Or did someone close it from the outside?"
She turned to the door and tugged on the handle, not expecting it to open but still hoping it would. She didn't know how long she could stay in here with the sight and the smell of bodies around them.
As if in response to their questions, several of the more complete bodies jerked to life and staggered to their feet, dragging their weapons from the ground with hollow, soulless eyes.
"I wouldn't suggest you move. They will cut you down."
Their ears drew their eyes to the only door in this fortress as a figure emerged, clutching a weapon that glowed with a black, insidious energy. He held it high and the undead ceased their movement immediately.