'I will think on it,' Angelo said, 'Thank you for the gesture. I better not keep you any longer, they are probably waiting for you in the dining hall. Just... be careful, never know when shadowy people like that will strike.'
“I try, brother.” Ophelia smiled at Benacio, then chuckled as she heard what happened to Angelo. “Oh, my, how unfortunate. And at the same time how lucky that he's unhurt.” She commented as she started slowly eating her food. “How was your... conversation with the lady? Satisfactory? She wasn't too... demanding?” She smirked at her brother.
Already jumpy, the guardsmen heed the warning, managing to get their shields up to block a blocky length of molded flesh and bone that swings at them. The men back away, terrified, as the creature reveals its true nature, flesh and clothing peeling out from the mound, an amorphous blob of humans mixed together into one form, faces and body parts jutting out of it. The creature is clearly unfinished, with no clearly defined legs, moving slowly across the mud like a snail, though it does have one large trunk of flesh and bone, with which it attacked the guards. Allune realises that it isn't altogether much of a threat. It has great power in its strikes, but can't move fast enough to catch a human. The distraction, though, has allowed the faceless man to escape, and it now blocks the road forwards.
"I thank you for your concern. Remember, if you have need of anything, simply ask." She turns and walks out, leaving him alone in the bath.
Ophelia notices that the meal isn't up to the same standard as last night. Benacio grins and speaks softly. "Let us simply say that our gracious hostess, and her lovely niece, are outstanding conversationalists. They wanted to know every last detail." He bites into a piece of chicken. "If all our vassals are such outstanding orators, than I'd say that we have the best province in Christendom." Miroslava enters the room, smiling graciously as she apologises for her tardiness, though she seems less sincere when addressing the inquisitors. Marguerite, done with her comrades, turns back to Ophelia, and now her brother, inquiring about their homeland.
As the faceless man escaped, Allune only hoped he'd die of bloodloss. Yet, she also thought how he wasn't normal, maybe not even human. So that was only wishful thinking on her part. She was glad however that the guardsmen managed to block the creature's attack. Now, Allune only hoped the spirits would answer her request, as she fires another headless arrow.
Angelo finished his bath. He didn't have anything to wear, though, as his robe was ruined and probably would take while to clean and dry. He called out, 'Hello? Anybody there? Do you have some spare clothes somewhere?'
“Yes, I'm sure they are...” Ophelia gave her brother a knowing smirk as she ate. Even if the food wasn't quite as good as last night's, I was still very tasty and enjoyable. When Marguerite started asking about their homeland Ophelia was happy to answer, though she let Benacio do most of the talking.
She feels the spirits of the land imbuing her arrow with power, before it smashes into the blob, tearing through the mass of bodies and leaving it curled up and motionless. A man pokes at it with his spear, and the blob bursts, viscera flying everywhere, a rib bone hitting one of the men in the thigh. His comrades drag him inside to be seen to by one of the survivors, walking back out to look at Allune. All at once, they cheer.
The filth cleared off of his body in the first tub, Angelo enters a second tub prepared for him, cleaning his body properly in the unpolluted water. When he's finished, he hears no response, left stranded naked in the room for several minutes, until Marguerite walks into the room, bursting into laughter when she sees the colour of the water in the first tub. When she recovers, she holds up a tunic and breeches. "Congratulations, you get to dress like a normal person for a little while."
"Haa... is... is it over?" Allune let out a relieved sigh, thankful that the spirits answer her request for two consecutive attacks. "Should we go to them? We may be able to rest, even if it's just for a little while." She looked at Lukas, waiting to hear his thoughts.
After a few minutes, Marguerite stands. "I hope that we can speak again, my lord and lady. For now, I think I shall retire and find my companion. I heard he had some kind of accident."
Lukas nods. "I don't like spending time in a village with this much death, but the horsemen and that faceless...thing might be waiting up on the road ahead of us, and personally, I'm perfectly happy with taking them by surprise. I don't feel much desire to see what it's like in reverse."
Allune nods, "Alright. We should rest up a bit then... also. Is there any other paths we can take toward Trakai? Just in case they are indeed setting a trap for us." She asked as she spurs her steed to head to the village.
Angelo looked relieved as Marguerite walked in, the young monk rose from the tub. He went to dry himself off, not bothering to cover anything, she had seen his cock countless times by now, 'Thanks for the clothes. Today really isn't my day it seems. Succubi, bandits, thieves, falling out of windows into shit.'
“Yes, I hope we will speak again. And hopefully your companion is alright. Good night, sister Marguerite.” After saying goodbye to the inquisitor Ophelia chatted with her brother about random things as she ate her food. When she was finished she said goodbye to the other people still at the table and made her way back to her room.
Lukas rides ahead, asking a guard, who points towards a side road. "It will make your journey take longer, but it diverges quite far from the main road. If those fiends and monsters hope to waylay you, they'd have to go through miles of swampland. Please, when you reach Trakai, tell the king of what happened here." Lukas assures the man that they will. "Oh, and if a knight should ride here, asking for where we went, tell him that we took the main road. He intends the lady harm." The guard nods. "Of course." Some of the townspeople have come out, and there's a loud sound of wailing as the people find their dead. "Please, the inn is just a little ways down there. I don't think the horsemen reached it. You've earned a break from what happened here. A thousand thanks, lass."
Benacio walks with her to her room, and then heads off. "I think I'm going to go find the master bedroom. I'm not done conversing with the lady." He gives a crooked smirk, before growing serious. "Hey, sis, I know that I can be something of a fool when we're together, but I want you to know that I'm glad you're okay, after what happened this afternoon." He embraces her for a moment. "Anyway, I'll leave you to whatever sweetheart you have secreted behind that door." He turns and ascends the stairs. Inside the room, it turns out that Benacio's prediction was correct. Felina kneels on Ophelia's bed, naked. "You wanted some desert, my lady." She grins.
'I'm doing well, all things considered. My eye hurts a bit from getting a boot to the face,' Angelo started his tale, stepping into the breeches, 'After you left, I heard a crash in the room next to us. A thief had scaled the wall with a hook, though she wasn't the quietest thief. I went over to check, thinking somebody had broken something by accident. I found the thief in the pitch-black room. She said, something ominous about the Lady's time having come and then darted out the window. I managed to grab her but she kicked me in the face and I lost my balance, falling down into the manure pile.'
