Hazardous Times

[mistral4543]

Gavrouche

As he had suspected, not only was this boy unskilled in the art of stealth, he even lacked the wits to do something else other than huddle against the wall. Shaking his head, he now stalks forward, a glint in his eyes...

Watching the ghoul reach out to touch Raymond, he darts to its back and jams the dagger firmly between what appear to be its shoulder-blades. The dimly-lit corridor echoes with a long, anguished scream... he staggers backwards as the resounding cacophony beat against his eardrums relentlessly.

Before he knows it, the ghoul has turned around, the dagger still jammed firmly in its back ~ Shit! ~ He curses, sidestepping just in time to avoid its deathly touch.

[Larry_OHF]

Jaime
(for Legolas and Sorsha)

Hearing the men brag about their evil deed gave Jaime an idea. If he could hurry over to the house and loot the place of any valuables...
Was it too easy? Would somebody catch him and think that he was the murderer?
He had to try. Quickly, he sneaked into the house by the window that faced the empty sideway. Running through the house, he nearly tripped over the bodies. Quickly heading to the bedrooms that he could find would prove most fruitful. The best stuff are always in the bedrooms. Then, a door opened in the other room. The front door, possibly. Jaime stayed still. His arms and pockets full of items. Then, a woman cried out. Jaime hid under the bed. It was all he could think of to do to save his hide. He hoped that they would go away to look for the authorities...which would buy him time to escape. What a spot he had gotten into. He couldn't be caught here! His parents would kill him!

[mistral4543]

Damien

What the heck is she doing, playing music at this of all times?! ~ As he silently swears, he senses the renewed advance of the ghoul. His eyes begin to grow accustomed to the dark and he now notes the outline of the hideous creature.

With a cry of newfound courage, he lifts his blade and strikes out ferociously at the creature again... the blow glances off the ghoul, to his annoyance, and it creeps forward, its arms once again extending forward.

Just as a hand reaches out for his wrist, he hurls himself onto the icy floor, rolling himself away as fast as he can.

[mistral4543]

Eliza

She nearly trips as some massive object knocks against her feet ~ "Whoa...." ~ Her hands flail around trying to grip anything for balance. The harp falls onto the ground, snapping into two. She begins to experience real fear, for the first time in her life...

Glancing up, she sees the ghoul reaching out to touch Raymond and Gavrouche with each hand. She mentally runs through the spells in her mind ~ Let's hope this works...

Chanting, she conjures some magic missiles and they fly towards the ghoul, striking it. The ghoul wails again, now focusing on herself in its attack. He steps forward, slowly, but surely...

What have I done?!...

[mistral4543]

OOC>>> Lunchtime Be back in 1 hour.

Sorsha

After a moment, she regains some measure of composure. ~ "I think we should look around the house... for some clues." ~ Without waiting for Legolas' reply, she begins to examine the room and cross over to the next one...

[Larry_OHF]

Raymond

Seeing the ghoul turn it's attention to Eliza really bothered Raymond. She had been attempting to save his pathetic life, and no...the thing was going to kill her! reaching down and finding the sword, Raymond brought it out and looked at it for the first time. It was seemingly normal in appearance. A normal longsword. It had been well kept, and was in excellant condition. Looking up at the Ghould heading toward Eliza gave him some ability to move. He had to do something! He couldn't let her get hurt! Running foward, Raymond drew back the sword and let fly. The sword bit into the creature's neck and kept going. Raymond's momentum caused him to stumble and trip right into the ghoul, but now...the thing had no head. He had killed it! Fumbling around on the ground on top of the unanimated corpse, Raymond finally was able to get up. He was wet, smelly, and happy. He had killed something! Well, he had put something back to where it should have been. That sounded more appropriate. Just then, he remembered that there had been two of these...

[mistral4543]

Gavrouche

His eyes widen in disbelief as he watches Raymond send the ghoul back to the abysss where it belongs ~ There's some hope for him, after all! ~ Remembering Damien, he whips his head around, but all he sees are a remaining ghoul and the shaken Eliza. ~ What the...

Peering down, he now sees Damien scrambling to his feet, trying to reposition himself as the remaining ghoul walks towards the party...

[mistral4543]

Damien

He crouches momentarily, his eyes glittering ~ I must fight back! I'll not be outdone by a village boy! ~ Realising the enormity of the situation, he hurriedly pushes himself off the ground, wincing slightly as he feels the slight cut he had given himself while rolling away ~ I'll need to practise more on this technique...

Now on his feet, he steps forth, his blade pointed towards the ghoul's upper torso. Grunting, he makes a quick movement and attempts to slice off its head, just as Raymond had done...

[mistral4543]

Eliza

Shocked into silence, she falters backward and lands on the ground. Eyes widening as she witnesses the others fighting their way out of this mess.

Why did I even agree to join them?... This is far too exciting for me... ~ She crawls towards the broken harp, reaching for it.

[Legolas]

Legolas

He lets Sorsha examine the house by herself. She would not need him, and he doubts he can help anyway. Where the girl seems familiar with the house, Legolas cannot tell if anything is missing. He examines te corpses instead.

The man she identified as Philip did not seem to be wounded. Legolas searched his body for any clues, but discovered nothing other than a small hole in the neck and slighty yellowish eyes. Probably a poison dart, which was later removed by the killer. Philip wore a pouch around his waist, still containing money. The ranger had already guessed this was not a simple robbery, but now he was sure.

Philip's wife was in much the same condition. Pale face, a hole in the neck and a yellow in the eyes. She did not have anything other than her clothes and a simple brass bracelet on her.

As Legolas examines Justin, he stops when he sees the face. This man looked a lot like himself. Sure, his nose was a little smaller and his eyebrows more angular. He had a darker tone of hair and his eyes were set higher in his face. But this man showed many similarities to Legolas himself.

He realises now why Sorsha had stepped up to him, why she had seemed so unsure around him. He looked like her late friend, and she knew it. She must be afraid of seeing Justin in him whenever she looks. The elf feels sorry for her.

But there are more pressing matters, he reminds himself. Justin, much like the other two corpses, was poisoned. Legolas notices two rings onhis finger and removes them.

The corpses are fresh, no more than a day old. There are no signs of a struggle, so someone must have dragged them here. Why, he does not know.

Legolas leaves the house to look for any suspicious tracks, though it seems the killer hid them well.