With his left hand casually resting on his sword, Varon takes a good look at Leonidas and the people he brought.
They look competent atleast. Good.
"My name's Varon. I got two swords, neither for show. We were going to find us some food today. Unless you have other plans, I think we should still do that."
Turning to the cat man, Marcus says, "We came here to investigate the bridge east. We want to make sure that it is safe and usable so we can plan missions past it for the future." He pauses as Varon speaks then nods to the man in response. It is good they all seem competent, though we will see how they hold up when face to face with these creatures. We don't need any dead weight.
"There is no harm in checking some of these buildings for supplies on the way back to the tavern, aye. Do know we have a decent store built up for the time being, though, so if you have some food on you at the moment then it shouldn't be a priority."
Aurelius gives a salute to Marcus. "Any plan is better than no plan, we can check the bridge and then gather supplies on the way back, that way we're not encumbered at the bridge." He nods quickly.
"Food has been somewhat of a limited resource for us as of late," Leonidas remarks, patting his own hungering stomach. "That's why I went to investigate when we saw your group. More friendlies means food is easier to come by." Though also more mouths to feed, I suppose.
Eager to leave their cramped safe house for good, he adds, "If it's no extra trouble, then searching these buildings might be a good idea. Better to find the goods before someone else does."
"So I think we'll go then, yes?" He says happily.
"If everyone else is in agreement then aye, we should head out. No use wasting more time here. The faster we get this over with the faster we can get back to the safety of the Mare," Marcus replies. A first test of skill. Hopefully we all make it back in one piece. If not, at least we will know who could hold their own and who couldn't.
The eight of you step freely out of the alley, into the edge of a plaza. Across it, you can easily see the lowered bridge off of the small island that makes up the Calepha district, which hasn't been drawn up yet.
The plaza itself that you are in appears larger than the one the Gilded Mare is part of, with three other streets branching off to the north, northwest, south, as well as bridge itself. Several storefronts line the wide open space, with a small garden plot bearing a tall statue of Aurelia marking the center of the intersection.
Aside from the pack of shamblers that moved toward the south, there don't seem to be any of the undead creatures in the plaza or upon the bridge itself.
With the coast apparently clear, Marcus motions for the others to follow as he leads the way close to the bridge.
As you reach the mouth of the bridge itself, you realize it is quite the gristly scene. A few bodies lay across its length, unmoving and stinking. Blood, debris, and remnants of flesh scattered all around seem to have come from a larger group.
Redros kneels, eyeing the bridge's contents. "Many must have been in a rush to get away," he suggests. "It would have been like hunting boars in a fenced yard."
"What about them?" Weasel asks, pointing toward the few bodies still remaining.
Guthrik's face sours. "Poor souls died from trampling, I'd imagine. Though perhaps that's the most humane thing to come of it."
Aurelius walks over to the bodies and kneels down. "Aurelia, let your radiance guide these weary souls to their final rest and let them be at peace." He says in prayer. After a moment he stands again, and sighs. "These... monsters need to be stopped." He says, a hint of anger pushing to the surface.
Leonidas shakes his head at the sight of the trampled corpses. Wrinkling his nose as their stench wafts his way, he utters, "Better than being torn limb from limb, that's for sure." Just like beautiful Abinessa... Probably not so beautiful now, though. No amount of makeup can fix what happened to her. He shrugs at his own thoughts before looking around the bridge and remarking, "The bridge seems to be sturdy enough. What else is there to investigate?"
Marcus cringes at the sights and smells, but otherwise remains calm at the contents of the bridge. More bodies, as always. Nowhere seems to be safe from these things.
At the cat-man's question, he turns and says, "We came both to see if the bridge is crossable and if the area past it seems safe enough to scout out later on. If not, then blocking off the bridge would become a new priority." He continues to walk down it towards the opposite end, frowning as they draw closer to the bodies littering the path. "Might be a good idea to toss these over the side as well," he remarks. "The sight and smells will do little for the morale of anyone who comes by here later."
"Aye," Guthrik agrees, prodding one of the bodies with his walking stick. "Help me, will you?" he asks, nodding toward Einkill or Varon.
Aurelius takes a moment to compose himself before solemnly assisting in dumping the bodies over the side of the bridge.
Varon assists Guthrik and Aurelius without speaking a word. While assisting in moving te bodies, Varon makes sure to check bodies pockets. This part of the job never gets easy. The boy is doing better than most would at his age.
With the bridge's surface now free of slain bodies or general debris other than blood and dirt, you continue forward.
Ahead, the road past the bridge continues eastward onto the mainland-side of the city, an area some of you recognize as the Mardova district. This single, large avenue is flanked by long, squat buildings, a few of them likely industry-based workshops and storage. A smattering of drinking halls, administrative buildings, and a smithy form the rest that you can see.
Along the east bank, a tiny boardwalk continues along the north and the south, just a few feet off the water itself. It seems less a public walkway and more a means of passage to reach the heavy doors that line the riverwalk's brick walls, which you assume lead to the basement levels of the buildings along it.
There are a handful of shambling creatures ahead by about 50 meters, with a couple dozen more further down the avenue, before it curves toward the north.
"Seems no different from the rest of the city," Marcus says quietly to the others. Not sure I expected anything different. Seems these things have spread to all corners of Vizidel by now. "We can start preparing further scouting parties to come clear out these buildings soon, though it may be worth checking that smithy now." Don't want those other assholes getting their hands on weapons that could be ours.
Aurelius seemed out of it. After a moment he jolts to attention, looking back at Marcus. "The... Smithy? Yes. Yes, to the smithy. That is a good idea." He nodded quickly, agreeing with him.
"Sounds like a good plan," Leonidas replies, nodding in agreement to Marcus' suggestion. "If you need me to scout ahead, just say the word." Besides, then I'd get first dibs on all the loot.
Redros nods toward Leonidas. "You certainly seem fit for it," he says. "Better you than one of us."
The orc frowns in thought. "Say, do those things take much notice of you when you do that trick?" he asks quietly.
Leonidas shrugs at the man's question, replying, "They seem more attracted to people, but that hasn't stopped them from lunging at me. They have a harder time keeping up, though." Flashing a smirk, he transforms into his bestial form and dashes toward the smithy. He keeps to the shadows and keeps his eyes peeled for any signs of danger.
Leonidas shrinks into the shadows, and you lose sight of him quickly.
As he enters the smithy, Leo keeps a watchful eye on his surroundings, both to check for danger and find anything worthwhile. He treks along anxiously, the eerieness of the building nearly getting to him. The uneasiness fades, however, as he spots the contents of the smithy. Tools? A sword? The gods really must still be out there. Internally smiling at his find, he makes his way towards the building's front door, looking for a way he might unlock it.
"Good to know," Marcus responds to the man, as he quickly scurries off in his feline form. What a strange - and incredibly useful - man. Turning to the others, he says, "we need to stay on our guard while he is gone. Hopefully not for too long. No telling how long before this route is unsafe again."
Seeing the smithy's door merely barred across, he reassumes his human form and unlatches it. Beginning to open the door, he peeks out into the morning sunlight. Seeing a shambler too close for comfort, he reels back in and shutters the door behind him. Damn it all. Nothing can ever be easy. With his exit, and his companions' entrance, inaccessible, he searches the smithy for an alternate route outside.
Leo's eyes light up as he spots the rear door: a way out. He hurries over to it and disengages its lock and peers into the alley. With no immediate signs of danger, he sneaks through. Reassuming his feline form, he saunters back towards where his companions wait, keeping to the shadows the buildings provide.
Once back, he shifts to his humanoid self once more, quickly glancing behind to make sure he wasn't followed. Once certain, he begins. "Well I've good and bad news. The good is it's not looted yet. Tools, nails, metal bars. And a sword too." He glances back toward the building before adding, "But we've got a couple of walking corpses by the front door. There's a rear entrance too, but it might still be hard to reach without attracting attention."
Aurelius took a deep breath. "It may be worth our time to sneak up to the back door." He says.
Einkill thinks for a moment. "How many of them are there? It's possible we can take them out relatively quickly."
"Handful near the smithy," Guthrik says, pointing down the avenue. "With... eight of us, it'd work, but all those creatures even further will be on us pretty quickly."
Einkill sighs. "I suppose that's true. I guess our best option is to try the back door and hope we can avoid their attention. Although, if it did come down to a fight, I think we're more than capable of handling it."
Aurelius nods. "I trust our fighting skills, I think we can take a few of them." He says honestly, his cheerful and upbeat nature shining through once more.
"Pride often comes before a great fall," Marcus responds to the newcomer - Aurelius, was it? - after his words about their chances. "These things are not to be taken lightly, and combat should be avoided where necessary."
Turning to Leonidas, he continues, asking, "tell me, does your ability to shift forms allow you to bring along carried goods as well? Could you not simply loot the most valuable items, and we return at a safer time for the rest?" This is meant to be a reconnaissance mission, not a raid. No use stretching ourselves too thin too soon.
"We can take a few, but not all we attract with the sounds of a fight," Leonidas retorts, shaking his head as he crosses him arms. "I'm looking to live awhile. Got a lot I want to do, excitement to be had, a world to see. And I can't do that while I'm dead."
At Marcus' own comments, Leo nods along. "Aye, whatever I can fit in my pack or on my person, but I can't grab everything. And that's if those creatures didn't hear me and wander inside after I left."
"You're right. I need to not be so hasty. Avoid combat, good call." He says quietly and nods after hearing the two of them speak.
"Then I'd say you should try to grab what you can while it is safe, and we can make it a priority to return to this smithy soon, once you are all more rested and we have more to help fend off those creatures," Marcus responds. These folk were just complaining about being hungry, and yet the two want to immediately jump into a fight as well. They better not always be this reckless.
"Good plan," Weasel says with a toothy smile. "Nick what you can. Remember, expensive junk's not worth the hassle if it's too heavy. Me n' Smock've learned that real well."
Aurelius chews on his lip as he looks at the door. After a moment he takes a deep breath and goes for it, trying to stealthily move from shadow to shadow to get to the safe-ish door of the Smithy.
Leonidas watches in confusion as the novice watchman, apparently ignoring their decided plan, begins slinking in the shadows towards the smithy. Shrugging, he assumes his feline form and scurries back to the smithy as fast as he can. If he wants to be live bait, who am I to stop him? Makes my job easier. Slipping back through his window, he looks around the interior to see if any shamblers had shuffled in since he made his original retreat.
Redros clamps a hand on Aurelius' shoulder, pulling him back with a silent jolt. "No. Look," he whispers, pointing toward one of the shamblers who had wandered over to the door of the smithy due to Leonidas' initial investigation. "Wait for the cat boy."
With no creatures in sight within the smithy, Leonidas breathes a sigh of relief. Taking his normal form again, he walks back toward the center of the structure, taking inventory of his findings once more. I'm not thinking those bars will fit. I can only hope other looters are too stupid to see their value til we return. Shaking his head, he looks towards the bags of nails and sheet of ringmail. He fits what he can into his pack, assuring he's still capable of lifting it, and turns towards the blade. Not much for swords but no sense letting someone else get this beauty.
Grabbing the blade, he stows it upon his hip, patting its resting place for good measure. Satisfied, he crouches back down into felid-form and scampers back toward the group.
Marcus rolls his eye as one of the newcomers initially begins to creep forward, before being stopped by Redros. He is bad at sticking to the plan. This could bode poorly for the future. May have to get rid of him if he causes too many issues.
After several moments, a small, scampering figure of a cat patters toward you, apparently successful.
