"What in the hell?" the tavern-owner shouts, as he slowly makes his way up the stairs behind the two, his limp taking him a while to climb the stairs to the corridor. "Those goddamned things better not be inside my tavern!" he calls up ahead.
Cassia and Marcus make their way hastily through the corridor, not stopping for man, coming to the open hatch. Cassia is about to begin the ascent to the roof when the two of them hear Redros shouting up the staircase and a frantic Elene. They quickly climb the stairs, seeing Elene and Redros as they struggle with the attic door. "What the hell is in there?" the woman asks, worried.
Try as you may, your frantic efforts are unable to get the pins in the lock reset to lock the door. You flinch as you hear a noise of shearing metal, realizing that your dagger has developed a medium-sized crack that goes from the point half-way to the hilt.
Jarred back to reality by her rapidly deteriorating dagger, Elene quickly tries to think up a likely story. The words come fast as her adrenaline and still panicked mind work to spin the tale. "I heard a noise from the roof and came down to find out what it were, and I hear scratching on this door so I knock at it and then I don't know what happened the lock is unlocked and there's some kind of creature in there with glowy eyes and it looks like one of the things outside!" she sobs, by now mostly crocodile tears. "Why'd the innkeep hole something like that up in here with us?"
Cassia frowns, knowing the girl isn't telling the truth. "You got a bit curious, like the man warned against," she says, giving the young girl a hard look. "We need to bar that door shut somehow and keep whatever the hell that is in there!"
Liviana smiles widely upon hearing both Cassia and Athena speak Imardanian. Well, I suppose we girls will have to stick together then. As with Athena, he stands and watches Marcus carry up the wood from the cellar, uncertain on what he intends to do with it. With his comment at the woman, she scoffs. Manual labor for a delicate lady? That's not going to happen.
With the innkeeper's shouts, she too goes to see what the commotion is about. She rolls her eyes at the dirty girl's story, seeing through the obvious lies. "Likely story that the door just happened to be unlocked. Like Cassia said, you probably got curious. You've got some real nerve trying to pin the blame on the man who is allowing us to stay in his inn, though. You should be ashamed."
"Ok, now is not really time to scold her if there is really one of those creatures behind the door. She looks scared enough that at least that part seems true. Looks like we will have to use some of those boards to block this room off before we get the windows, unless the old man decides to be nice and lock that door up for us."
"No!" you hear from the tavern-owner as he rounds the corner, his slow pace quickening as he realizes the sounds are coming from the attic, and not the roof. "Don't let her out!" he cries, visibly shaken, standing behind the rest of the survivors who have crowded near the door, some of you holding it closed.
In a look of fear, anger, and sadness, he lowers his head for a moment, having trouble restraining his emotions. Bringing it up again, his eyes red with growing tears, he starts in again. "Who did this? I gave one condition -- don't touch the attic. I've let all of you in my tavern and somebody goes and does a thing like this."
"Better question," Elene retorts, still pumped with adrenaline from her near miss with the creature behind the door. "Why hide that you're hidin' one of those things in the building!" Having abandoned attempting to re-lock the door, she is standing with Geral and holding the door closed.
Build a man a fire and he will be warm for a day.
Set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life.
The tavern-owner's eyes narrow, angry of being accused after feeling so slighted from one of the survivor's betraying his trust. "I'm not hiding her, you little rat! And it's my building! You've no place to question what I do with it. I bet you're the one who did this! You or him," he says, pointing to Redros, tears of anger slowly sliding from the outer corners of his glossy eyes.
"Move!" he shouts as he shoves his way to the door, removing his necklace and jamming his heavy key into the slot, locking it tightly. He snatches it back and replaces it around his neck. "Now speak up, you two! I won't ask again."
Redros looks at the man as he sees the tears and nods. He grabs the girl and pulls her away from the door as he approaches, letting him lock it, understanding the situation now. He looks at the man and thinks for a second, wondering what he should say... "I did sir. We have an injured man downstairs, and I was hoping the attic held medicine to help heal him. If he dies we do not know what will happen to the body. He may become one of the beasts outside if we do not help him. But I see now that the attic is pointless to try given the situation. Trying to kill whatever is in there would be a waste of time and resources, so I vote we barricade the door better than a simple lock and key."
"You... you lowlife!" tavern-owner shouts. "You think I'd withhold medicine from somebody who desperately needs it? I've already housed and fed you freeloaders, something I'm coming to possibly regret." He shakes his head and sighs, a long pause before he figures out what exactly to say next. "I... The one in the attic is--or was--my wife. She was attacked by those things, an' she..." He turns away, his eyes still wet.
"She passed. Or so I thought. I was taking care of her in the attic where I thought it'd be safe. Suddenly, she stood up, n' here I was thinkin' she was gone, but she tried to slash at me. Locked her up in there tight and that's when most of the others were startin' to slip into the tavern." He sighs again. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you what was up there, but I didn't want anybody goin' up there and seekin' trouble. Maybe we can fix things, y'know. She can't be dead, can she?! She's walkin' round an' such!" His temper seems to have faded to a somber, depressed tone, but as he looks up again at those in front of him, he locks eyes with Redros and narrows them.
"But you - if you go behind my back again, or steal, or do any other kind of nobhead move, you're gone. Y'hear me? It's a privilege to stay at my tavern, even at a time like this. Don't make me boot yer ass out onto the street. I don't need that on my conscience. Not now."
Marcus watches the situation unfold, and enjoys it inwardly. Looks like one wrong move for that man and things are over for him. That will probably prove useful eventually. I have a hard time believing he broke into there, but you never know with a man like that.
"Right, so now that things are settled, anyone opposed to me boarding up this door? There is a pile of wood on the first floor now, we need to get to work securing this place. You," he says, facing Redros, "should start down there, since the highborn women don't seem too keen on getting their hands dirty."We will see how that works out for them. "I will seal this door, then come and help."
As Redros takes on her blame, Elene looks at the man with a mixture of thankfulness and suspicion. On the streets, nothing ever came without strings, and she was willing to bet he'd be asking for the favor back at some point. What's he plottin' at now, then?
"I guess I'd better get back up to the roof. Can't see much, but it's good to have eyes in the sky," she says, moving back towards the ladder to the roof. As she passes by Liviana, she whispers to her. "Cagna muto."
Redros watches the girl leave before he nods at the Tavern Keeper. Hopefully this will keep him safe from any attempts at thievery from the girl. And she's indebted to him, meaning she might be inclined to help him gather any extra resources when the time is right. "It's unfortunate," He thinks, "Soon everyone will be fighting amongst themselves for resources, weapons, armor. If a leader does not stand out with the ability to keep order, then someone must work from within to prevent conflict. Holding all the cards in this game will come in handy. Fighting amongst ourselves will not be beneficial to anyone's continued survival."
He walks past the Tavern Keeper, looking at Marcus. "Gladly. Anything to be away from the monster in the attic."
He leaves before the Tavern Keeper can respond. He must keep up appearances. As he approaches the women downstairs he rolls up his sleeves and grabs some of the wood. "Alright. I was asked to help you, so here I am. Where should I start?"
"Hey now, that's not a very nice thing to say about your princess," Marcus responds to Elene's insult, as she heads back towards the roof. With that, he heads back downstairs to gather a few planks and some nails to board up the attic.
Liviana scoffs at the street urchin's comment, which is clearly an insult given Marcus' response. Worthless little uncultured street rat.
Descending down the stairs, she catches sight again of the man who took the fall for Elene. Walking over to him, she states, "You didn't have to take the blame. That brat deserves some sort of punishment. She only seems to care about herself." With this, she walks over to Marcus, asking, "So, what'd that little gremlin say about me anyhow?"
It's only his wife, I don't see why we can't kill it, we'd be a lot safer, Athena can't help but think as the situation in the inn plays out. She smiles when Marcus assumes she is highborn, something she has wished to be many a time. "She should definitely be punished," Athena says, siding with Liviana, who she still sees as a possible route to royalty of some form.
Redros looks at the two women and smiles. He should be able to speak the truth as Elene isn't there at the moment. "She is a street urchin, yes. Yet she was able to unlock the door with a dagger alone. She is also obviously easily frightened and will have a tendency to run off. Now we have something that she can't escape from. Guilt. She will aid us, whether she wants to or not, or face being thrown out on the street by the Tavern Keeper."
With that he goes back to work, placing wood against the window and gingerly hammering the nails into place, not wanting to make too much noise that would draw attention.
Last edited by kalis5 on Sun Sep 28, 2014 5:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"She didn't really say anything about you, just slinging insults," Marcus replies, before quickly adding, "and punishment can come later, once this blows over. For now we should at least try to be civil, we are stuck together for better or worse. You two at each other's throats will only make staying safe more difficult. Set it aside for now, hm?"
He gathers up some boards and tools as he talks, and once finished he walks back upstairs to board up the attic, uninterested in hearing a response either positive or negative. It is amazing how petty the people with everything in the world can be.
Cassia stays upstairs to help board up the attic, helping the Tavern Keeper back down the stairs after she and Marcus finish their task. "I need a drink," the old man says, pouring himself a glass of whiskey and sitting down on one of the stools, his mind wandering and his eyes focused far off in another world.
Cassia leans against a pillar. "We're not boarding up the front door, are we? We'll probably need to head out tomorrow morning or whenever we deem... safe... to do so. I need to see if any of the other Watchmen are alive. There may be other survivors, too -- people that need help and can offer something to us in return." She cracks her neck, casually. "And, it'd be nice to have something bigger and heavier to protect ourselves against these damned things. Perhaps we'll find others to trade with."
Climbing onto the roof again, Elene turns to the hatch and attempts to jam part of her flint and steel into the mechanism to keep the lock in the open position. Having grown up in a dangerous environment, she quickly learned to never trust anyone. No one will be shutting me up here. I'll make sure of that.
"No, only the windows," Marcus replies to Cassia as he re-enters the tavern. "There may be other survivors, but we shouldn't leave until we make sure the ones in here are safe first. It would be foolish to rush out at the first sign of safety, there could always be an ambush waiting. These things took the city quickly, we shouldn't underestimate them."
With this, Marcus walks towards the tavern owner to fetch himself a drink as well. This will be interesting to say the least. Hopefully this lot is brave enough to head out there when the time comes."It would certainly be nice to find some real armor and weapons, though."
Redros has a nail in between his teeth as he sets another board against the window, starting to hammer the nail in after putting another in between his teeth. "Bes' case scenaria, we shoul' bring as maneh survivors as we ca'"
He pauses to pull the nail out of his mouth and starts hammering the other end. "But of course, that will come with it's own problems. I would suggest that, before we start putting everyone in the basement for days on end, we find a larger, more defensible location. This tavern is fine. However, there are too many entrances and openings to be exploited. Even with these defenses, we will still be vulnerable should someone attack, monster or human. Mark my words, this attack will bring the worst in people. They will not care for others. Delude yourselves all you like into thinking the people in this place care for one another. Given the choice, they would not sacrifice themselves for you or any other. Save for family perhaps."
He sighs and backs away, going for more wood to barricade the windows. "If we want them to stay with us, we will need to show we can be strong. Once we gather weapons, we should demonstrate our strength, destroy some of the monsters outside. It would both make them feel safe, and show we are strong enough to handle this terrible situation. Not only that, but we may be able to learn more about the monsters only through combat. either way, we cannot leave them outside. They are too much a threat."
"Well yes, our goal obviously isn't to just hole up in this tavern forever," Marcus replies. "But its best to exercise caution. What use is a more defensible position if we can't even get to it alive, hm? Until we know exactly what we're up against, how best to combat it, and were they are coming from we can do little more than what we are doing now - brace ourselves and hope for the best." He takes a large swig of his drink and turns to the tavern owner.
"You know anyone around here that has some armor or weapons lying around? Some place close enough to get to via rooftop?"
The grizzled tavern-owner stays silent, slowly sipping his drink while Marcus speaks. "Maybe not from the rooftop, but there is a workshop not far from here. Next street over," he replies, sitting in a defeated posture. "Good luck getting through those... things... though."
The boy, Isdren, steps up from the basement, his face awash with worry. "That man's getting worse," he warns. "His bleeding has started up again..."
Cassia's posture straightens, stepping away from the pillar she stood against. "We're running out of time. I'm not sure he'll make it through the night."
Well, that's almost no use at all, Elene scowls. Pocketing the flint and steel again, she moves to a point of the roof where she can peer down at the courtyard below. Carefully watching the movements of the creatures below, she plots to get away from these goody-goody people she's run in with.
"Right, about that," Marcus says, turning to Isdren and Cassia. "The old man said his wife was killed by those things, yet now she is one of them. How do we know the same won't happen to the guy in the basement? We can't really do anything for him without medicine, and I'd rather not have to deal with him turning and attacking us as well."
With this he downs the rest of his drink and moves more towards the center of the room. "I say we find a room to lock him in as well until this tides over, else we lose some more to whatever plague is taking over our city."Or just put him out of his misery, but I doubt this lot would be so inclined.
You open the hatch and step up onto the roof, moving slowly to avoid slipping on the slick shingles. Keeping it open and scoping around, you see not much in the plaza has changed. A few of the strange creatures have shambled around, but there doesn't seem to be any more or less of them. From the wet cobblestone, your eyes catch the glimmer of a reflection of some flame's passing flicker -- maybe a survivor on the move, or maybe a burning building getting dowsed by the rain.
The rain hasn't picked up intensity, but it is still falling with medium strength. Stormclouds block a bit of the moon.
Cassia scowls at Marcus' words. "The man's dying... How can you act so cowardly as to quarantine him from the rest of us? He needs medical attention, not to be shut up so he can bleed out alone." she says, her tone bothered. "Do you really think he could turn into one of those things, sir?" Isdren asks, his face pale.
"Well if what the old man says is true about his wife then it is definitely possible," Marcus replies to Isdren, before turning to Cassia. "And I never said we should abandon helping him, merely that we keep him isolated until we can find medical supplies,"or until he dies and tries to kill us."As is, there isn't really anything we can do for him, but if he can become one of those things then there is plenty he can do to us, not to mention the woman and child looking over him."
"Well I for one don't want to be attacked from inside the inn," Athena says, growing tired of the group's bickering. "We should just lock him up and plan our next move."
"I have to side with Athena and Marcus on this one," Liviana chimes in, having remained silent for long enough. "That man is a potential hazard to our safety. What's the use of trying to stay in a safe place like this when we could be in danger inside anyways?
"It is true..." the older man mutters, his eyes on his drink, swirling it defeatedly.
Isdren looks down for a moment, his brow furrowed in uncertainty. "I don't mean that man any disrespect, but my mum and sis are down, too... Along with the others. If he's not safe, I don't want them there with him," he says, his face pale.
Cassia sighs before sharing her words. "Your words have logic, Marcus, but I'll not have any mistreatment of this man. He's already wounded and bleeding. If we're going to quarantine him, he needs to understand. Let's keep this civil."
"Right," Marcus says to Cassia. Always the good one, it seems. That will probably prove useful at some point."We need not even move him, really. We could, but it might just be easier to have the others come up." Turning to the tavern owner, he asks, "are there any rooms upstairs where the others can hide while that man stays in the basement?"
The reflection must have been from a light source passing through the alleys to the south, because it was very brief and after several seconds, you do not notice anything more.
"Aye. The beds on the second floor all of you can use, as long as you're careful with 'em. Not like I can really charge you for them anyhow," the older man says to Marcus.
The other man from the basement -- the drunk, you remember -- steps into the tavern, his eyes wide. "Looks safe to me," he says, before stepping over to the bar. "Hey old man, you mind sharin'?" he asks. The tavern-owner simply narrows his eyes, returning the question with a scowl.
Wonder what that was? Elene thinks as she realizes that the light originated somewhere south of her. She moves to that side of the building, examining the roofs nearby. Maybe I should go lookin'? May find someone useful, if they managed to stay alive so far.
Redros watches the drunk and shakes his head as he attempts to gather more alcohol. Of course. "Even in times like these, some people cling to their vices... It would be best if I were not the one to talk to the people below. I doubt they will take my manners well. Someone with a more, perhaps, feminine touch should ask him, and moving the people upstairs will indeed be a better option tactically, as they will have more time to react to trouble down here, even with the..."
He pauses and looks at the bartender, he was about to say monster, but he managed to catch himself in time. "... The situation upstairs. I would also recommend we keep that from most of the people here, for the time being. Once it quiets down we should move everyone we can upstairs, save for the wounded man. We can tell him it is for his safety as much as our own, as we do not want the wound growing worse due to proximity to so many people that have been out in the rain."
He ponders the subject for a moment, wondering how to prolong the mans life... "Once the man is alone, we may be able to take some procedures to improve his chances, even given our current situation. Tell me, barkeep, do you happen to have a sewing needle and some thread? I may be able to suture and sterilize the wound."
At the word sterilize, something occurs to him. "And keep that man away from the alcohol! We may be able to use it to help the mans wounds. I don't know if anyone here knows this, but alcohol on wounds seems to help keep them from becoming infected. It will also help keep him inebriated while I operate, and keep him from dying from the pain. If anyone else should have better medical training than I, do speak up, as I mostly have experience in dealing with minor wounds, nothing the likes of what this man has."
The building closest, on the east side, is across an alley. You estimate the overhangs to be at least 5 or 6 feet apart from each other. The shingles look slick with rain, however.
"What do I look like to you, a tailor?" the tavern-owner angrily replies to Redros. It is clear that he does not appreciate the hunter's presence, not after the supposed break-in. "Even if I did, I'd not lend it to you. I probably wouldn't see it again."
"Hm, well no stitching isn't really a surprise. This is a tavern, not much need for sewing materials." Marcus stands and moves towards the door to the basement. "At any rate, we should get these people upstairs. What happens to that injured man is a separate matter." And with this he opens the door and descends to the basement.
Marcus heads down the thick, wooden stairs that creak under his feet to the basement. The mother and child, the injured man, and two other women are below, silent. Matilda looks up at Marcus, her eyes a sad tone. "We're trapped in the Mare, aren't we?" she asks. "The boy told me so."
"It seems that way, but only for now," Marcus replies to the woman. "I am sure this will all blow over eventually, so we just need to stay safe until then. On that note, it is probably best if the lot of you head upstairs. The rooms on the second floor are a much more defensible position than the basement, and we have already made sure that everything is safe up above."
Matilda stands up, holding a piece of the broken-down spit in her hands. "You know I can take care of myself, Marcus," she says with a wan smile. "Don't worry about me." She steps over to the stairs, the other, younger woman following suit. "I was getting tired of this damned basement. You sure it's clear up there? I don't want to end up like that guy," she says, insensitively, swinging a thumb in the direction of the corner where the injured man lays dying. They head up into the tavern, surveying the scene where the drunk, the tavern-owner, Isdren and the rest of you are.
"I can't stand, and I don't think carrying me is a good idea," the man manages to sputter. The mother looks on worriedly, staying silent, but the young girl makes a fuss. "I wanna stay down here with Burtin and help him feel better!" she cries. "We've got big strong walls to protect us in here, too!"
Sighing, Elene backs up slightly. Might as well go look. Nothin' useful up here.
Two steps, and she flings herself out into space. The space below her is dizzying, partly from the height, partly from the knowledge that to fall means to be killed by one of those creatures below. The other roof rapidly approaches, and she lands hard on the slick shingles, rolling to slow herself. She scrambles for purchase as the wet roof starts to let her slip back, luckily managing to stop herself before getting any momentum. Whew. Not fun in the rain.
Climbing to the peak of this roof, Elene looks around again, surveying the roofscape around her.
The rush from the risky jump gives you a brief lightheadedness, and your visibility seems limited as you look about the roof and the surrounding alleys. The roof of the building you are on, just east of the Gilded Mare, looks to be empty. Looking around at the street, you scan southwards to see any more of the strange light flickering you saw earlier, to no avail.
Marcus smiles at Matilda's words, and watches as she ascends the stairs. When the girl pipes up, though, he turns to face her. "Aye, big strong walls to keep you trapped down here if anything decides to come after you," he says, attempting to scare the girl straight a little bit.
"There is only the one exit, and it is high up. If anything gets in here, you would not have a chance. Upstairs has windows, at least. And Burtin will not be alone, we will keep tabs on him and make him as comfortable as possible, don't you worry about that."
"Don't scare me like that, you mean man!" she says, her eyes welling up again. "Fine, we'll head upstairs. Now, now, sweet dear. It's okay." The mother comforts her child and glares at Marcus. "Ahh... don't let me die alone," Burtin says, his voice depressed.
With a sad look on her face, the daughter holds her mother's hand as they slowly walk up the steps, leaving Marcus and Burtin alone in the basement.
"Look who decided to saunter on up!" the drunk man says, cheering loudly. Cassia snaps her fingers at him, her voice harsh: "Keep it down, fool! You'll give away our presence!"
Athena can't help but smile at the drunk's remark, he reminds her of her time working in a tavern. She had seen many men like him. As disgusting as it was, this current situation is quickly becoming worse. "You should also try to sober up," she says as a thought comes to her. "If they do manage to get in here then you'll want to have your wits and about you. Well we'll want you to have them at least." She remembers the knife she took from the bar earlier and turns to the rest of the group, deliberately not directing her words at the drunk. "There should still be another knife by the bar, if any of you need a weapon. There were some heavy tankards, which could cause some damage, too."
Seems clear up here. Wonder where that light got to? Elene thinks, stepping carefully to the south edge of this new roof. She peers down into the street below her, checking for more of the creatures.
The street beneath you looks dim, but you notice a creature or two up the road a bit, possibly 10 yards or more in either direction. The next rooftop southwards looks to be at least 8 feet away, seeing as how this is a street and not an alley.
"Thank you. A knife'd work better than this hunk of iron," the woman says before setting it against the bar and grabbing one of the knives from the kitchen area.
The drunk man wrinkles his nose at Athena's suggestion. "I suppose I'll have to soon, since now I don't have an endless supply of the stuff," he says, sounding worried. "I'll get the cold fever again, I know it..."
