"O-oh no." Allune gasped, almost puking as she saw the horror. "Those... that was the armor of the knight I saw in the forest. T-the one that created the... the creature." She stammered as she was at a loss. If she was lucky, she could put down two maybe three knights before they reached her location. But, that meant putting not only her, but also Lukas in danger. "W-what should we do?" She gulped, her grip on her bow tightening.
She jumps out the window, grabbing the rope as she falls, before crying out as Angelo grabs hold of her leg, the priest leaning halfway out the window to stop her flight. "Let go, you bastard!" She flails helplessly for a moment, before a lucky foot kicks the monk in the face. She yelps in satisfaction as he reels back, a sharp pain around his eye, but gets a panicked look on her face as she spots the hook beginning to dislodge. it falls, and gravity pulls her down towards the ground below. Dazed from the kick, Angelo doesn't notice until far too late that he's being pulled down too, and he sees the ground approaching rapidly. The ground, when Angelo falls onto it, is surprisingly softer than expected. He sinks into it gently, with a notable absence of pain. With a start, he recovers from his daze, and realises that it's not earth that he's buried in. He digs his way out of the pile of manure he landed in, wiping it away from his eyes to see the intruder already sprinting into the treeline on the horizon, disappearing into the darkness.
The belligerent woman woman seethes when Larisa ignores her. "Don't you walk away from me you-" She gasps as the large man grabs hold of her wrist. He looks to Larisa. "I apologise. We will leave." Not asking for the woman's opinion, he pulls her away, out of the kitchen, heading into the courtyard. As they reach the door, the woman looks back at Larisa and pats the handle of her warhammer.
Marguerite gives a small laugh, before responding to the inquiry. "It is hard to say, my lady. Not too many villages have been attacked, as of yet, but the frequency is increasing. I fear that we may be witnessing the beginning of something deeply unsettling, if not nipped in the bud. Especially if the revelations of the "individual" you met in the forest turn out to be true. Luckily, we're here to deal with the problem before it grows any larger."
Lukas stares at the carnage. "I-I don't know, I've never seen a fight like this!" The horsemen ready their weapons, as the bald man drags a woman away from her daughter, her legs kicking as he pulls her towards the pile.
"Ugh... j-just stay close to be, and try to stop them when they get close." Allune said as she draws her arrow, aiming for the bald man as he dragged a woman away from her child. She takes a deep breath, taking in to account the wind, and distance before letting her arrow loose. However she doesn't stop there as she quickly tries to shoot at the black horsemen with more armor piercing arrows.
Angelo cursed like a sailor, as he dug his way out of the pile of manure. There was no point chasing her. Stinking like a pig, he went to the nearest guard, 'There was a thief or an assassin here, she disappeared in the woods. She claimed the Lady's time had come. Go and inform the Lady, please. I stink like a pig pen, I'll be in the bath if the Lady wants more details.' Angelo headed to the bath again, not wanting to confront Lady Miroslava in his state.
Ophelia frowned as she listed to Marguerite. “These are troubling news indeed. I pray that you will be able to nip the problem in the bud before it has a chance to grow – and that it has not grown already, before anyone realized the danger.” The noblewoman replied before deciding to change the subject. “But let us leave this sort of talk for later. Tell me, sister, have you ever been in these lands before?” She asked as wondered where the lady Miroslava was.
Her first arrow hits the bald man in the neck, and he falls forwards onto his front, the woman running off to grab her child. He lifts himself up, looking up at Allune, and she sees that he's entirely without a face, a mask of ominous white staring up at her. The faceless creature points at her, and three black armoured horsemen charge up the hill, crosses glowing as they brandish spears and a mace. She manages to hit the first in the neck, and her second arrow sails through the knight's mail. Both men fall off their horses and tumble down the hill, and unlike the faceless man, they stay still. Lukas charges the remaining one with a couched lance, the downwards momentum of the hill powering his strike, his weapon impaling the dark knight and sending him falling down to lie with his friends. The shield wall of guardsmen move towards the black knights, and the faceless man orders them to retreat, heading towards the pile of corpses to touch them.
The guardsman stops Angelo, demanding that he wipe his face more, before he recognises the monk from earlier, allowing him inside. A significantly less attractive maid pours and heats a bath, slowed down by the fact that she's holding a piece of cloth to her nose to muffle the stench. After several minutes in the heat of the bath, the maid reluctantly scrubbing the crap from his skin. The lady walks into the baths, gesturing for the maid to leave, the woman curtsying gratefully and walking out. Miroslava's gorgeous face is a mask of mixed irritation, and amusement. "I hear that you had an encounter, young man?"
Marguerite nods. "I hope so too. No, I've never been East of the Holy Roman Empire. Most of my life was spent in France." Benacio walks in, a look of pure satisfaction on his face as he sits and begins to eat. Marguerite asks "Your brother? I see the resemblance. Good looks run in the family, it seems." She smiles innocently.
Allune felt a cold sweat run down her face, as she saw that faceless man. That unnerving feeling of horror, and the fact that despite his neck being pierced, he seemed to have just shrugged it off. When Lukas charged at the approaching knight, she was prepared to support him. But with the up hill advantage, her gaze returned to the retreating enemies. Yet, instead of leaving, they seemed to approach the corpses... "Corpses!" Allune yelled as she realized it, recalling the abomination that was the gamekeeper and his wife. She draws one of her headless arrows, channeling the powers of the nearby spirits. "Please, I ask of you spirits. Lend me your strength to destroy that... thing!" She chanted, and once her arrow was ready. She lets it loose, aiming at the faceless man.
Glad to finally be rid of the manure, Angelo greeted the noblewoman, 'Lady Miroslava, well met again, I wish it was under better circumstances. A thief climbed up to the room next to ours. I nearly got her, but she managed to escape and we both fell down into the manure pile. There was some lockbox in the room but I'm not sure what if anything she stole. She ominously said that your time had come, I'm not sure what she meant by that. Do you have enemies who would try to assassinate you around here?'
“Yes, that is my brother Benacio.” Ophelia confirmed with a nod as she watched her brother and noticed the satisfied smile on his face. “And thank you for the compliment. Though we are not the only ones here blessed with good looks.” She returned Marguerite's smile.
Allune lets the string loose, and feels the power of the surrounding forests become imbued into the arrow. Before this, the faceless creature reaches its hands deep into the pile of corpses, the flesh offering no resistance, and pulls out strands of something white. As Allune looks, she sees that the creature has pulled out the bones of many of its victims, the material bonding and hardening, until it's a solid shield of human bone. Allune's arrow smashes through the shield, and knocks a large hold into the creature's side, the force sending it once again to the ground, but it stands, and reaches once again into the mound of corpses. As the faceless grabs the reins of a horse and pulls itself into the saddle, riding away, guardsmen hot on his heels, Allune sees the mound beginning to move.
Miroslava is silent, and when she speaks, Angelo notes that she entirely dodges the question. "You put yourself in harm's way? Rather brave, aren't you? You've saved me a great deal of trouble, so I suppose I owe you. Ask me for a boon, young man, and I shall grant it, within reason, of course."
'Brave? Maybe, foolhardy seems more like it, I just fell out of a window and was saved by a pile of manure,' Angelo chuckled, thanking his guardian angel for putting that pile of shit there, 'A boon? I-uhm-I'm not sure what to ask for. I have no real need for money or riches.'
The two women's eyes meet, a cheeky glint in Marguerite's, though her face projects cherubic innocence. "I'm a mere humble sister of the Church, but I do attempt to not look too ragged." Benacio addresses the table. "Ophelia, Inquisitors, Lady Miroslava regrets to say that an unforseen development has taken her attention. She conveys that she means no offence by her absence." Marguerite smiles "Of course, we take no offence whatsoever, and are grateful for the meal. You were with the Lady when this development occured?" Benacio grins confidently, though he goes a little red, Ophelia notices. "I was...detailing to her ladyship an encounter my sister and I had earlier with some bandits." "I see." Marguerite smiles, before another inquisitor takes her attention. Benacio leans in. "Making friends, sis? Apparently that Angelo fellow fell out of a window." He grins. "He's fine, fell in some manure."
She smiles politely. "Indeed. Well, there's no need to hurry. If you think of some way that I can help you, don't hesitate to ask, young man. In Tarsovie we take debts quite seriously, and rescued me from quite the possible headache."
"Oh no, it's... STAY BACK!" Allune yelled at the guardsmen who chased the faceless man. As she saw the mound of corpses move. She readies another headless arrow, "Please, I ask of you again for aid. Cleanse that creature from this world!" She chanted once more, hoping the spirits would answer as she fires her arrow at the reanimating creature.
