Necropolis of the Lanruls

[Altario Shialt-eck-Gorrin]

Brem let the rag-tag procession through the streets of Remusiat; up from the harbour area and past the city's council hall.  For the most part, the streets were deserted except for soldiers occasionally marching to new destinations within the city.  For the most part, none of them paid any attention to the group.

They slowed down when Brem recognized that they were nearing their destination.  A small building stood alone in a small vacant lot.  Nondescript, it was quite ordinary in every way; except one.  This small building, perhaps 4 peds on each side, with no windows of course, and only one wooden doorway, had an armed guard standing beside it.  The guard stoically stared straight ahead, completely immune to the distractions of calls in the distance from the battles that were raging at the walls and gates of the city.

Motioning to the people behind him, Brem took a position around the corner of a nearby building, where he could look out over the small building.  They needed access to that small building.  He had hoped that the battles would have removed the obstacle of the guard.  In fact, it did half the threat, as usually two guards were stationed here.  The gods be praised for that small bit of fortune.  But now what?

He turned to the elf.  "We need to get into that building.  Any ideas?"

[Vallari O'Neil]

Making their way through the streets, Val absentmindedly followed the man and the elf through the city at a pretty good pace. It wasn't hard to keep up with them at all, despite being so short, as she was used to walking at a much more brisk speed with people much taller than herself. She kept her head down, watching her new companions' feet move across the ground as she tagged along behind them, and trying to ignore the cold that was chilling her. They were going to the temple after a quick pit-stop, and that was fine by her. She didn't have any pressing matters to attend to and Denrykmar had assured her that she'd be safe with this man, and she trusted him on that.

It wasn't too long before they seemed to be getting close to wherever it was that they were going, and the little artist looked up when their pace noticeably slowed. The first thing she noticed was a little nondescript building standing alone with a man, a guard by the looks of it, standing along beside it. And the first thing to wander carelessly through her mind was, `He's not nearly as handsome as Denrykmar.` The thought troubled her, but she let it go as she followed them around the corner of a nearby building to find that they were stopping.

It was then that Brem propositioned the elf for ideas on how to get inside. Not feeling like she was even part of the conversation, the young artist glanced out at the small building with the guard next to it. An obvious suggestion occurred to her and she looked back over at the portly man, blurting it out before she could stop herself.

"Why don't you just walk up there like someone important sent you and insist that said important person has urgently ordered him to be elsewhere? I mean,"   she paused and made vague motions with her hands, as if she were trying to display the bigger picture to him,   "you're in the middle of a war here, so it can't possibly be so far-fetched that he wouldn't believe it."   Honestly, Val wasn't sure if that was a good idea or if it was helpful. She licked her lips and decidedly looked anywhere but at Brem or the elf, finding herself uncertain whether or not it was out of line for her to even speak up at all.

[Ori Amnan]

Ori followed the priest at the end of the group. It might tick of the men but she preferred not having some strangers with tools on her back.  She wondered a bit what this with the woman was all about and why the priest who seemed in such a hurry would drag her along. Still, if her job was driving humans through the city like cattle, it had not started to badly though she stayed alert where things would go downhill. They always did. Otherwise this man wouldn't need an outsider to do the dirty work. Stoicly following the group they finally arrived their first destination.

From the looks of it a graveyard. The priest waved them to take some cover in the shades and Ori dutifully complied and then snoke up to the priest to seee what his next steps would be. Ori saw some building a human guarding before it. A soldier from the looks of it. `So that's from where it will go downhill`, she thought cynical.

She was not disappointed by the priest's next words indicating that he had to get into this house. Now, why a priest would want into a house on a graveyard these humans thought necessary to guard with a soldier while orcs were attacking seemed the big question. Ori frowned as she was thinking of the best way to go about it without forfeiting the job and her life if this place proved to be something taboo.

Her thinking was unduly interrupted when the petite woman made a suggestion. `None asked you, Brr't kha. Humans love to speak out of line...` she thought and gave her precisely that glare. Instead of responding to her suggestion Ori concentrated on other things. If this old man wouldn't be so secretive this simple situation would be far simpler to judge! But as he had given her less then bread crumbs to understand the goal, she decided to bluntly give him the obvious problems.

Nodding to the building she noted
"T'is graveyard. Nothing to guard. Not by soldiers. Still a guard. Your city under attack... Still a guard."  She turnt to the priest "What to guard?" She fixated his eyes seemingly looking for an answer but not waiting for one she pointed to the tools the men were carrying.

"We need time, yes? How much? And what they..." she pointed to the guard again, meaning his superiors, "... do if guard tell he to leave by command? We in trouble, ... or we dead?" In other words: In how much trouble would they be? Sending off the guard would be no good if he'd find his leader and return quickly with enough people to investigate what was going on or even more men if there was something worth protecting in there. Ori guessed she was expected to take the fall if either were to happen. The priest better come clean on wether the job involved a visit to the gallows.

[Altario Shialt-eck-Gorrin]

Brem listened to the young woman, Val, as she made her suggestions about the guard.  As he listened, he resisted the urge to interupt her and explain how she obviously did not understand Remusian guards.  That man would never fall for anything so obvious.  He found he didn't have to, as the elf broke in, with a look of disgust on her face that made secretly glad.  He needed her to be a bit ruthless.

Hearing the elf's concerns, Brem weighed the different ways of answering, before deciding that the truth was best.  "It's not simply any graveyard.  And yes, if we get caught, I should think we will be in very big trouble."  He glanced back to the guard.  They had to get in there, and soon.  Zundefor had been specific in his instructions.

The holy man turned back towards the group.  "So we must not get caught.  We have to get in there, and I don't care how.  But once there, you will be rich beyond your wildest dreams."  He faced each of the men in the party.  "All of you will be rich.  And more important, we will be saving Remusiat.  We will be saving all of Remusia."

Now he looked at the elf.  "We need in there."

[Ori Amnan]

The man's answer was as expected. And pushy.

He spouted some partiotic nonsense which she cared even less than anyone else in the city. She slightly squinted her eyes at the guard. Killing him was still a bad idea. Humans were touchy about this thing and she had no quarrel with him and wanted no quarrel with unknown friends. She assessed the graveyard once more with a quick glance with an eye on how to get close to the building unseen by the guard. It shouldn't be impossible, but take quite a detour given they were close enough to see the guard themselves as well. It might work.

Ignoring the inquiring looks of her contractor she looked to the ground and began shoving away the snow with her boot till she found one suitable for the task. She bend down and removes a loose cobblestone from the road. 'This might work just fine' she thought as she weighed the rock critically in her hand. Now she could only hope for a perfectly balanced thickness of the guard's helmet that he wouldn't be able to simply suck it up or get his skull cracked. Still, they probably were in a hurry. Ori gave the next man the rock and ignored any of the looks the group might give her, instead she started removing her travelling gear hidden under her wild fur coat to lighten the load. Getting rid of her backpack, bags with supplies she traded it resolutedlly for the rock. The man only looked baffled not sure what to make of all this.

She hesitated with the bow and quiverslung over her left shoulder. She could hardly give that to any of those men. She instead opted to hand it over to the priest with a very serious look on her face.

"Take care. Most important. Me kill for it."

Handing it over to the priest she fixed her clothes and pulled the coat tighter. The fur would probably hide her better. Taking the stone once again in her right hand she weighed her plan for a last time. She had a rock, a head and a plan. That was good. But she could do with some more to make sure she could get the guard without any hassle. She bit her lower lip fixating the young woman which had suggested her timid plan to deal with the guard. A decoy would work wonders.

Ori stepped forward and gave the girl a forceful pad on her shoulder. Then with the rock still in hand she pointed to her petiite face.

"We go with you plan. Go ... talk ... keep him busy. Me go there, come when good" she pointed unspecifically into the shadows. Then she looks back to the priest. "You stay in shades. Come when finished." Ori gave him an affirming nod. This was no time to bug out after his talk.

"Good plan?" she adds looking for a flicker of doubt in his eyes.

[Altario Shialt-eck-Gorrin]

Brem was a bit surprised when the elf began handing him her belongings, and did not appreciate the implied threat that came with it.  Typical example of the haughty nature of other races.  Still, he took the belongings and nodded solemnly to her.  "Your stuff will be safe."  He then watched as the elf began talking to the girl.  A look of knowing crossed the holy man's face as he comprehended what the elf was trying to explain.  He nodded as a sly grin crossed his face.  "Yes, good plan." 

He turned to face the girl, Val.  She just might come in handy afterall.  "Go on, girl.  If you can convince the guard to leave, it will make things easier."  He saw the apprehension in her eyes, and this only served to annoy him.  He reached out and thick fingers firmly gripped her by the shoulders.  "Look, we need to get in there.  The fate of the city hangs in the balance.  Now, if you want to save that guards life, you'll go."  He forcibly moved her forward.

Val took a few tentative steps forward, then looked back once more.  Brem waved her on.  As she crossed the snow toward the guard, he heard whispering from behind him and swivelled his head about to face the other men.  "What is it?"

"Hey, I never agreed to no killin' of guards." One man complained.

Brem reached out and took hold of the man's collar.  "You agreed to whatever it is I think is necessary to accomplish the gods' will.  Do you understand?  No one backs out now!"

The man visibly shrank from Brem's attack.  Satisfied, Brem turned back toward Val and was satisfied at her progress.  She had made it to the guard and was talking to him, though Brem was too far away to hear what was being said.  He watched as she pointed down the road in the direction of the western gate area.  He nodded.  "Good girl," he whispered to himself.

The rest now lay with the elf.

[Ori Amnan]

As the old man send the girl off to distract the guard Ori looked around to choose her own approach. She quickly disappear into the shadows. She would have to take quite a detour to reach the building from another direction so she ran swiftly through the dark street taking a few corners.

Luckily the buildings were clustered in comparatively small blocks so it was no problem circling around a few buildings before she had the building in her sights again. From the corner of another building she could easily see a portion of the guard around the corner and the girl talking to him. She seemed quite desperate as the guard seemed unimpressed by her attempts to make him leave.

Ori had expected as much and sneaked towards the pair keeping silent and as far in the shadows as possible. As she was nearly there she slowly weighed the rock in her hand. Hopefully the girl wouldn't reveal her, otherwise things would get hairy. Putting her index finger to her lips she gave the human woman a stern warning to keep silent.

The guard seemed quite annoyed by her already so Ori would have to be fast.

Slowly she took a few steps out of the shadow. Just a few more and the guard would have a seirous case of sleepiness.

Ori prepared to give him a forceful blow to his head. The helmet would take the brunt of the blow so she was not all too worried she might hurt him tooi much, moreso that it might be too little.

[Altario Shialt-eck-Gorrin]

Brem watched as events unfolded.  As Val approached the guard and engaged him in conversation, Brem felt a fluttering in his belly.  How would this work out?  Did she have it in her, or would she betray them all, if only unwittingly?  Time slowed, so that every blink that passed seemed an eternity.  With each breath, he half expected the guard to arrest her and call for help.

But, it did not happen.  Instead, as the guard conversed with Val, a shadow circled them both, and approached them from behind the small building.  Though Brem knew it was the elf, it was hard to distinguish her from the shadows.  She was good at this, and that settled his nerves somewhat.

He glanced up and down the street.  The gods were looking out for them, as the street was empty.  That was good.  He then returned his attention back to the guard.  The elf was close now, and Brem found himself holding his breath as he waited for whatever was to come.

Suddenly the guard pitched forward and fell to the ground, motionless.  Brem turned to face the men behind him.  "Hurry!" he whispered loudly.  He then hurried across the street to where the guard lay.  He knelt down and checked for signs of life.  The guard still breathed, so murder had not been committed.  He then searched the guard, and retrieved a set of keys.  Another progressive slap in the face from the south.  As if Remusians needed to lock up their belongings from other!

He stood and went to the door of the small building.  Within a moment, the door opened and he turned to face the small group.  "Grab him and bring him inside."  he nodded toward the guard.  Some of the men obeyed immediately.  He then looked at the man with the sack of supplies.  "There are some torches in there, get them out and light them."

He then stepped toward the elf, handing her back her bow and quiver, he smiled at her.  "Good work."

[Altario Shialt-eck-Gorrin]

Brem waited outside as everyone entered the small building.  In truth, it was not a building at all, but an entranceway.  Stairs were the only thing in the room, lined with stone, disappearing into the dark under the ground.  A musty, stale air filtered up from the hidden depths.

Once everyone had entered, following the man with the lit torches, which produced an eerie light along the stone walls, Brem entered the building  as well, taking one more glance up and down the street.  To his relief, it was empty, and it appeared they had still not garnered any unwanted attention.  He pulled the door door closed, drenching him in darkness.  Carefully, he made his way down the stone stairs, running his hand along the cold stone walls to keep his balance.  Near the bottom of the stairs, the walls changed from stone to rough cut from the ground itself.

He reached the bottom, where the stairs leveled out into a small anteroom carved from the soil, with one other exit that led into the darkness.  The men had set the guard onto the ground in a corner, where his unconscious form lay motionless.  Above him, a torch set in wall sconce was lit, casting a flickering light through the room.  Brem motioned to the exit, and the darkness beyond.  "Ok, let us keep a move on.  Follow along the corridor, and I will be along in a blink."  When a few others hesitated, he waved them on.  "Go, I'll be right there."

When he was alone, Brem knelt next to the guard and once again checked for life.  The guard was still alive.  Quickly, Brem retrieved a small blade from the folds of his robe and ran it across the guards throat.  A moment later, and with some gurgling sounds, the guard stopped breathing.  Brem stood up and took a step back from the body that now lay in a pool of blood.  He outstretched an open hand toward the body.  "May Necteref guide you on your journey to the next life." he prayed.

Turning, Brem stepped into the corridor and hurried forward along the uneven floor to where the group had stopped.  They were staring at a niche carved in the wall, nearly waist height.  As he got close enough and pushed his way through the gathered men, he saw what had garnered their attention.  Laying in the niche was the partially decomposed body of what had once been a well respected leader of their people.  The body was dressed in rotting furs that had once been quite exquisite, and held a spear in its skeletal fingers.  The cold in the tunnel, and the lack of scavengers had preserved the body quite well, and it was mummified, skin stretched tightly over its skeletal frame in a grotesque macabre parody of life.  It was fascinating to gaze upon, yet brought a shiver down his spine.  He could imagine the mummified remains to stir if disturbed.

But it did not stir, even as it was disturbed by the greedy hands on one of the men, who had spotted a golden necklace around the neck of the remains.  The man tugged at the fine gold chain until it broke and slipped free of its breathless owner.  The man held up the trophy proudly to the other men, smiling with yellowed teeth in the light of the torches.  "'e's right, men.  There be gold 'ere."

Brem stared apathetically at the man, then pushed himself further forward until he was leading the group.  "We must hurry.  There are many of these lanruls here, and I promised you can take what fortune you may find."  He reached out and too a torch from one of the man, and hurried forward, leading the way further into the tunnel.  Behind him, he could hear the excited murmuring of the men.  Yes, it was a good idea he brough t the elf.  She would be needed to keep the men's minds on the task at hand.

[Ori Amnan]

She heard with some delight that her new boss was satisfied with her getting the guard out of the way and indeed she was somewhat proud that she found a middle road between her instincts to get it over with an human taboos hating killing. The priest hushed them into the building which turnt out to be some kind of entrance to some subterran tunnels. The old man broke out in busy occupation casually commanding his helpers around, preparing some torches and spurring the men on.

Before long he ordered them to move on and Ori decided to go first. Maybe it was a bit more dangerous but she wouldn't hold a torch and blind herself from the danger. Her eyes were bettersuited for the night anyway. A few steps in she picked up the dusty smell and uneven shapes of something long gone. This place was not only a cemtary above ground but obviously below as well and some human had been laid to rest as if he were sleeping in one of the niches. By the looks of it he had been dead for a long time so she walked on the flickering torch light to her back giving enough glimpses of the path ahead to move on safely.

The uneven group of men first started following her but before the first corner they stopped gasping and murmuring. Ori looked back a bit baffled. What was up with them? They obviously were very impressed with the corpse, then they started bickering. Ori took a quick look ahead for some movements but this noisy bunch did not seem to raise some unwelcomed attention. The priest finally appeared from whatever he was doing and Ori expected him to break them up. A priest was wellversed in showing respect for the living and dead. Instead she realized baffled that he offered them to rob the grave! What kind of holy man was he? Startled her gaze followed his shape as he brazenly pushed on into the darkness, torch in hand. This holy man certainly needed to be watched.

She wanted to follow but realized that some of the men still argued over the spoils. She silently drew her hunting knife and hit lightly against the wall. The men turnt around and she gave them a - not very assuring - smirk, her pale figure in wild clothing, piercing eyes and shining metal in hand gave them a very hurried idea to catch up and Ori took the rear.

Hopefully this job would remain such a easy romp!

[Altario Shialt-eck-Gorrin]

Brem continued on through the winding darkness.  Each time he reached a junction where the tunnel split into two or more new tunnels, he would stop, close his eyes, and wait for a feeling to come to him.  He knew instinctively this feeling was the gods telling him the correct direction to take.  His faith in them would lead him to glory.  Of that, he had no doubt.

As he travelled, the group following him, he passed several more niches, like the one that produced the golden chain.  In each one a body was laid out in reverence, in many states of decay, from ones that looked as though they had only been laid to rest mere months ago, to others that were nothing left but mere bones; a grotesque skeleton.

The inky blackness fought against the flickering yellow light of the torch, giving up no more than it needed to, and not one ped more.  The walls themselves seemed affronted to the intrusion of those who did not belong here, and seemed to draw closer together, squeezing them.  There was rustling on the floor, as snow rats scurried to and fro.

Through all of this Brem carried on.  Then the tunnel stopped.  He stepped near the wall of the tunnel, running his fingers over the rough features of the wall.  Was this it?  Was this where the gods had wanted him.  He turned his head to face the group behind him.  "We're here.  Get out the shovels and start digging.  What we are looking for is behind this wall.  Soon, we shall become heroes."

There were some glances exchanged between the men, but they grudgingly opened the sack and pulled out a pick and some shovels.  The tools were handed out and they took positions near and around the end of the tunnel.  Soon the sound of digging filled the tomb.

Brem stepped closer to the elf.  "It won't take too long before the liqour wears off these men and we start hearing some whining.  That is when I will need you most."

[Altario Shialt-eck-Gorrin]

Brem watched as the men dug.  He was pleased at the progress they were making.  The ground was fairly soft, even though it was frozen.  He had feared that it would be rocky, much like the tunnels and niches were up to this point.  At this rate, it would not take long to dig a great distance.  As they dug, Brem closed his eyes and began praying, giving thanks to Ertemmir for providing them with favourable conditions.  He then became aware of someone standing before him, and Brem opened his eyes to see one of the men standing close by.  "Yes, what is it?"

The man appeared a bit uncomfortable.  "I'm a little worried.  The ground here is soft."

Brem nodded and gave the man a disapproving look.  "Yes it is, and I give thanks to the gods for it.  It makes our work here all the more easy."

The man coughed a bit before continuing. "Yes, cleric, I understand.  But... I wonder if it is safe?  Could it not collapse?"

Brem scoffed.  "These tunnels have been here for hundreds of years.  None of them have caved in."

The man looked embarrassed to continue, never the less, he persevered.  "I understand, cleric.  But the men who built these tunnels stayed to where the ground was rock.  I think this was why they abandoned this direction.  It is not safe."

Brem could feel heat begin to flush his face as the anger built within him.  "The gods have told me this is where we are to dig, and I am not about to defy the gods.  Would you dare to?"

The man looked uncomfortable until he could no longer meet Brem's gaze, then turned his eyes to the floor.  "Yes. cleric."  He turned and went back to his position in the digging. 

Brem watched the man for a few moments, as the man began talking to the next man to him.  The cleric stepped closer to the elf.  "That one there.  He is going to be trouble for us.  He has a big mouth.  If only the gods would close it for him.  But if not the gods....". The cleric raised an eyebrow.  How far was the elf willing to go?

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