COURTYARD SEARCH
Loten Marks moved away from the crumbling walls of the fortress after a momentary assessment and explained that these barriers were strangely smitten by a higher force, but he could not tap into any evil precense.
The elven mage thanked his partner for the recommendation " My experience is
limited in magic and I would not be much help compared to what
may have been left behind by the former mage that created this."
Aramil eyed the building with worry as Moran circled
overhead in lazy passes. " But I shall take this duty and enter the unknown den and expect the worst."
Teflar and Loten assured the magician that they would be directly at his side as they climbed over the debris that would impede their progress inside.
Nanith accepted the group's decision and bounded after the fellowship with resigned vigor.
MIDNIGHT: Against the better judgement of the waiting cavalry, the fellowship crawled their away over sharp rocks and protruding sticks as the moon waxed high. Once over the dangerous barrier, a steady decline of dirt brought the team into a broken courtyard. Neglect had cracked the concrete beneath their boots and a feature of despair was strangely present. Erelis remarked in a soft whisper " We may not face belligerant orcs, but I fear we haven't seen the worst of it yet." Away from the blazing bonfires of the army outside, darkness flooded every crevasse of the arena and a heady degree of eerieness remained. Nanith took his last careful steps down the dirt-packed slope in hunched fashion and he halted in the western block of the plaza.
The rest of the fellowship did agree to explore the perimeter of the hidden plaza, but each decided to set out carefully in their own directions in loose pairs.
Aramil called out to his bird and it swooped down from the nightsky. The hawk sailed along the sky and settled upon a pinnacle of a north building and screeched a call to its master. A tower was found! Just as tiny parts of the exploration were formulating, a small tragedy happened. Dirt, weakened from the team's trampling descent, avalanched down upon the dwarf and hobbit as they stood there at the base. It was hard injury if they were caught underneath!!
Nanith led his pony around a broken rock and stood before the group.
" I know my word doesn't count for much at this stage, but I feel the way lies westward. Think on it for a moment." He paused an instant to scratch his ankle " We already know the fortress housed the orcs. Surely they would not have left anything behind. I'm sure our search would be fruitless. I would not want to set off any nasty traps that might kill us all if we enter."
Gailwind studied the blackened keep with an overwhelming dread, but remained silent on the issue.
Frustrated at the dismissed notions of an acting general, Teflar moved back to his team and listened to the the rogue's arguement. He knelt upon the ground and pulled at the bits of burned wood that marked watchfires of weeks passed. He countered the hobbit's agenda.
" There are always clues left behind. I say we examine the keep more closely, but I'll not do it without our wizard's blessing.
If this truly was the keep of a powerful mage, then I say Aramil should
be the leader in this if we decide to enter it." The ranger smelled the ash of the wood after first snapping a cinder in half.
" Aramil, I'll bow to your judgement on this. I told you before that I wished to head to the site of the last battle of the WitchKing, but we are here now and this may need our attentions first."
" Are we sure about this?" He gazed over the area attentively.
" Something is amiss here." He squinted into the darkness. " Call me a coward if you want, but I'm going to stay here and keep watch as you all examine the courtyard. Hopefully, I'll detect any traps before you stumble haphazardly into them."
Teflar looked at the halfling and smiled
" I'll not call you a coward, Nanith. A rear guard is not a bad idea."
Oktavianus gave a low grunt " I will stay back with the halffoot for two main reasons. I don't trust him
to be alone and because I feel that a bigger group will only cause more
noise and disturbance in this stealthy task."
Nanith lifted his eyebrow, took a deep breath and turned on the dwarf
" I would actually much appreciate your company, Oktavianus. If something should befall me, I'm sure your stout hammer would be helpful support. Maybe we could clear up the unnecessary confusion. It's obvious that you doubt my intentions."
Teflar nodded at the rear guard, drew out his longsword in preparation, and turned slowly as if in survey.
" Why don't we start out slow and explore the perimeter of the walls before
we venture to the middle of the courtyard. If we are attacked, it will cut
down on the amount of avenues our foes have. A wall at your back is never a bad thing."
" Keep a sharp eye out, Moran. It is pitch dark and we need the extra eyes. Keep low if you need too....go ahead!" Aramil outstretched his arm allowing the falcon back into the air in a flapping of wings.
The wizard turned to his companions " Shall we get this over with?"
Loten followed the mage over to an eastern wall and found it dilapidated and half-desecrated. The ranger moved south finding the exact same obstruction. At the northwest sector, Erelis seemed agitated " I'll be damned!!!" He picked something off the ground and examined it. " It's the blast canisters I got in Airrdale!!" In the darkness, the psionic quickly moved to find the others and met up with an interested Loten in the northeast portion. Alas, something else was found! It seemed there was an opening to a second inner courtyard here.