Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

"Hummm?" Aya looked up at Sara for a moment and just for an intant she thought she saw coins gleam in them. "Yeah sure lead on I can get back to this stuff later." Heading to the other door Sara opened it up. The smell of iron hung heavy in the air and from what little light made it from the main room showed empty racks for weapons and armor with what looked like a forge of sorts at the back of the room. Unless she wanted to dig around the long dead forge Sara moved on. The two rooms left on the ground floor opened into a kitchen and barracks respectively. Neither one had much of value though with enough effort someone could get the place livable again especially with what the bandits had stolen. This left only the stairs and as she climbed them Thelia called out. "I would avoid the center room... I left a mess." Climbing the stairs proved a little treacherous due to their poor state but the duo managed and found a wide balcony that circled the room. In the middle above the kitchen and barracks was a single door. To the left where the ruined stair went was weathered door where bits of sunlight could be seen. To her right yet another door sat over the armory and forge.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Sara took Thelia's advice and decided to avoid the center room. The first room she wanted to check was the one with sunlight coming through, she would check the other one if there didn't appear to be anything interesting in there.

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Opening the door which promptly fell with a loud bang kicking up torrents of dust and snow. Waving her hand to clear the air a little Sara looked and had to gasp. It was a library or rather what was left of one. The room itself was in terrible shape with half the ceiling having caved it. Mounds of snow had drifted in places and any of the books near the exposed area's had long rotted and molded to nothing. However in the far corner sat a reseed door leading to another room.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Sara jumped back in surprise as the door fell in. However after she judged that the rest of the place wasn't about to collapse, she decided that she simply had to press forward. She looked at Aya and shrugged. "Guess we keep going. Can't turn back without seeing what's there." She led the way to the door further in.

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Heading for the recessed door she found it locked. Thankfully however Aya proved useful once more and after a few moments she grinned when a very distinct click was heard. Opening it up Sara could see more books as the sunlight spilled into the room. None of them looked damaged or weathered and all looked very old. "Oh wow this must be records of the fort and the area around it. I had always heard this is one of the first fortifications built in these lands." Stepping in Aya coughed at the kicked up dust. Hey look Sara there is one on this desk though Im not sure but the writing looks like old crolian. Im a little rusty says something about a murder of a local mage."

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

It took a moment for Sara to realize why what Aya was telling her sounded familiar. "The Ice Witch..." Sara mumbled, almost to herself. She quickly picked up the book and looked through it to see if she could make heads or tails of it. "The Ice witch is said to be the vengeful spirit of a mage that was killed a long time ago. Maybe this will help shed some more light on her."

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Looking over the book a moment it seemed that this was an on going log of sorts. This entry even had a few notes scribbled in its margins. These where written in a more modern type of crolian but still not the same as she had seen at Tanya's. In fact this writing seemed more familiar to her it was very similar to the writing of her home. One of the notes read... The Ice's spirits home must be nearby. Looking at the writing she followed a line that lead to an underlined passage. "10th May 620 P.I. Sent some scouts north threw the pass in response to a few local claiming a witch was terrorizing their farms. Im worried that the witch they mention is the spirit of Lumi. I know such things are not possible, but from the description I received.... Well lets just hope we find her body to put an end to this madness. Sadly the bandit we captured was all to proud to tell us what he and his cronies did to her though we didn't find a body at the lake of which he spoke. To die in such a lonely place.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Sara wasn't quite sure what to make of the passage at first. The Ice Witch's name was apparently Lumi, that was a start though. Then she had to wonder about trying to find her body. "Huh so her name is Lumi... What would finding her body do? How would that help put an end to her if she's already dead, I thought that was her body going around anyway?" Sara wasn't very familiar with ghosts or spirits and didn't know any special trick for killing them. Still, whoever wrote this passage seemed like they knew a little, or at least thought they did. "Whoever wrote this thought they could stop her somehow if they found her body. It seems like they think the body is separate from the witch herself...weird...At any rate it says the bandits dumped the body in a lake. Is there one nearby? Let's check the map."

Rummaging through her gear, Sara pulled out the map she had bought at the last town and looked to see if there was a lake near the fort. If she couldn't find anything there, she would check around the room to see if there was anything she could find that might point her in the lake's direction.

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Aya stood for a moment silent. "Maybe they think giving her an actual burial would put her to rest. Though look at the date there is no way it can be the same person that was hundreds of years ago." Looking at the date proved Aya right but then again Asha had spoke of the story but never mentioned it being a ghost or spirit or did it... Still she could reflect later on it. Pulling out her map she indeed found a lake. Looking it over she could see that it was about two maybe three days travel from the fort.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

"Hmm...you're right, I really don't know what to make of this. Though I am quite sure that we should take care of this Lumi, Ice Witch, or whatever we call her while we're here. It's clear that she terrorizes these woods, and I don't much care for the prospect of traveling through them knowing she could come try to kill us at any night. I say we head out to investigate the lake tomorrow, it will take a few days, but I think we need to do it in order to make our journey safer." Sara scanned the book for anything else that would help her before giving the rest of the room a once over, looking for anything of interest before doing the same in the room they had just come through. Once she finished searching both rooms it would be time to check the room over the forge.

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

"But what about Asha's child... Naomi wasn't it and I doubt we can convince Thelia to come with us especially sense we can't pay her." Aya had good points but for the moment Sara was focused on the book. It seemed that who had ever written in the margins was investigating the witch as well. Looking over the book in detail Sara found the passage dated for the first of January of that year reporting that Lumi had been killed or at lest that is what several of the bandits had claimed. It also detailed the outcry of the surrounding farms and small villages that Lumi had offered her services for which had prompted the commander to set out and wipe out the bandit nest that was responsible. His success was confirmed May first saying all the bandits had been killed almost to a man and the one survivor that surrendered would be executed for Lumi's murder. After that it was mostly day to day stuff of the fort nothing too interesting until a passage dated.

16th May 620 P.I.

None of my scouts have returned and a freakishly late blizzard has ravaged the fort. We are snowed in and the pass blocked. Thankfully we have plenty of food and firewood. Still the men on the walls keep feeling as if they are being watched by something.

Another note in the margin seems to think that the fort had been targeted by the witch to fuel her unnatural hunger. The next passage was dated

7th June 620 P.I.

We found the garrison of Fort Droth in an .. embarrassing state. It seems that most of the men had succumb to isolation sickness and died to the elements Perhapse it was hypothermia but all of them where found naked around the fort having gone mad it seems. Several of the men we found clustered around the fire pit having killed themselves. I do not understand why this happened the food stores where still in good shape and there was plenty of firewood to last them the few weeks they where out of contact. Freak blizzard or not. Still I will bury the dead and re garrison the fort.

Another note in the margins noted that this happened several more times before the fort was abandoned for good.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

"That's a good point, I'm definitely not about to go back on my word to Asha, I will rescue Naomi. However...I don't want to be frozen to death by the ice witch, Lumi, before I can do that." Sara looked over the map to see if the lake was on her way towards Endus. "Let's see if it's at least on the way..."

Sara continued to read through the journal. The more she read, the more she began to think it might not be a good idea to stay in the fort. It seemed like the witch particularly targeted it for her feeding. "Hmm...this isn't good, it looks like Lumi prefers to come here to find her victims... What do you think, Aya?"

Once her search of the room was completed, Sara would check the previous room before going to check the room over the forge.

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Looking over the map caused her to sigh. It seems the lake was back the way they came the river her and Asha had crossed was its tributary. "I don't know if we have to worry about this Sara after all I heard the witch only feeds a few times before leaving an area. She might not bother us again." Pocketing the book for now Sara and Aya moved over to the room above the forge and found a set of smaller rooms. This seemed to be the officers quarters and all where completely trashed.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

"Blast it all..." Sara shook her head in frustration. The damn lake was several days back the way they'd come. They would lose a week if they went after it, a week they couldn't afford. "Yes, well I hope you're right. Looks like we'll be heading straight to Endus."

Sara decided to search through the officers' quarters to see if there was anything worth taking before heading back down stairs to see how Thelia was doing. She explained the book they found to the half-elf and told her that they intended to continue on towards Endus in the morning.

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Sara's search didn't turn up much other than several sets of cloths still in good condition if a little dated style wise. The beds where in great shape and while all the room where trashed she could gather enough blankets to set three beds in good order. At lest they could have a decent place to sleep if they wanted. The other bonus being that each room had a small fireplace of their own that seemed to be in working order.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Sara shrugged, it was probably too much to hope that a fort left abandoned for so long would have some really cool treasure in it, especially after the bandits had ransacked it. Still she gathered the sheets onto two beds, counting on sleeping with Aya again that night, and headed downstairs. As she passed the room with the forge, she stopped for a moment, considering just going past, however she couldn't help herself and poked back into the room to look around the forge itself. It was silly and she doubted anyone had tucked anything away in there, however it would bother her all night if she didn't at least look.

Her curiosity sated, she returned to the main room where Thelia was and told her what they had learned about Lumi the Ice Witch and how she did seem to frequent the fort as a feeding ground, though Aya thought she would likely move on after this. "I'm not sure if she did or not, but we do know where her body is rumored to be, whatever good that does. I'm still not clear on if she's actually some sort of ghost or something else, though the soldiers at the time thought her a spirit. Anyway, when I encountered her, she said she prefers to feed off males anyway and left us alone. So as long as you don't ermm...you know..." Sara struggled with polite phrasing for a moment before giving up, continuing "as long as you don't have a penis, I don't think she will bother us. Though it may not hurt to keep watch while we're here."

Sara listened to the feedback Thelia had before adding, "Oh and there's officers' quarters upstairs, they have decent beds and bedsheets as well as personal fireplaces. It's pretty awesome." Afterwards, she would talk with Aya about the bandits' loot and see what they would come away with there.

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

The armory/forge was cold and dark. The hint of iron and coal still hung in the air after all these years even though the forge was long dead. Though given how sturdy everything was built there was no doubt that someone with a little dedication and hard work could get it running again. Passing the racks of long rusted weapons she was about to give up on finding anything worth value till a slight gleam caught her eye. Moving to investigate Sara found a shattered blade with runic writing on covering what remained of the blade. It was an older style of weapon from the look of it but what caught her attention was the lack of rust. Still what ever had happened to it left it broken and currently useless. Doing what she would with that she soon joined up with Aya and Thelia.

Relating her story to the half elf the woman nodded thoughtfully. "She is probably right about her not coming back at lest for a little while. Also if what you say is true it is probably best that we stay here maybe a day or two even. If this witch has been around this long she probably knows her food will have run. As for watches... I don't think we will need to bother the door is sturdy and I doubt anyone will be traveling the roads at the moment." Meanwhile Aya was drinking from a clay jug her face flush. "Ohh I always wondered what happened to the mountain man's wine. It seems like the bandits stole it all." Handing the jug over to Sara Aya smiled.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Far from an expert in runes or blades, Sara wasn't sure what to make of the broken weapon. Still, it seemed like it might be valuable so she decided to hang on to it. She was glad, for the moment that her search had paid off, feeling marginally less foolish.

Rejoining the others, Sara was disappointed to hear that Thelia thought they should stay an extra night, though perhaps she was right. "Well...I suppose that is one way of looking at it. Yes I guess we should stay the night."

Seeing the flush on Aya's face, she wasn't completely sure there wasn't an aphrodisiac in the wine she was drinking. Nonetheless, Sara grinned accepted the jug, taking a small drink, coughing a little as it went down, just in case it was laced with aphrodisiac before passing it off to Thelia. "An interesting taste to be sure."

As they sat around the table drinking, Sara pulled out the broken blade and showed it to Aya and Thelia. "I found this in the armory, what do you two make of it? I'm not sure what the runes mean, but it's weird that it hasn't rusted away like everything else in there..."

 

[ranger]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

Taking a sip from the jug Sara found it potent but not tainted. It was little wonder that Aya was already smashed. You would think someone who spent their formative years at Tanya's would have a better tolerance. Passing it on to Thelia the halfelf woman sniffed the jug before lifting it to her lips and wincing. "Damn that strong." Looking over the blade as the jug was passed around Thelia didn't have any answers. "I prefer guns myself but this weapon must have been enchanted at some point. As to what I couldn't say I don't regonize the runes." Aya didn't even bother and kept counting some loot she had dragged from the storage room. "Though from the heft of the grip and pommel it used to be a long blade. Not a two hander but one of those that you see knights use.

 

[sturm]

Re: Soul Searching (sturm) Gmed by ranger

"Hmmm...very interesting." Sara stood up and told her companions she was going outside to practice some more. She took the sword hilt outside with her, leaving the other two to the wine. Taking a moment, Sara focused on the blade and then attempted to scry it. She hoped that she would be able to see the part of the blade that was missing, rather than just the piece in her hands.

Afterwards, she took a moment to focus her powers on the third from last power in the new branch she had opened up. After a few moments, her feet began to rise off the ground. Surprised, she flailed her arms around and ended up losing control of the power and flopping down into the snow. Her second attempt was more successful and after some time balancing herself out and getting used to the sensation of flying without conjured wings she was able to float around the courtyard fairly easily. "Hmm...neat" Done with flying for now, Sara would try to find the other part of the blade. If her scrying had shown her anything, she would try to find the location shown to her. Otherwise, she would check out the first tower she had been in when she was trying to find Thelia and the bandit leader. She remembered there had been some boxes in there, and perhaps there were other things she had missed there in her haste.