RRPG: Chapter 5 - Memories In The Trees

CHAPTER 5 MAIN QUEST: I speak for the trees! OBJECTIVE: find the missing village girl, preferably alive. SIDE QUEST: What happens in the forest stays in the forest! OBJECTIVE: Investigate extraordinary occurences in Brightwood Forest. Renate wakes up. There are voices behind the walls of the hut. Rudy’s, Georg’s, the old couple, and many others. She dresses up quickly and walks out of the house. Outside, people are arguing. The girl can see they are tired. Sleepless, exhausted, angry. -Georg, what is happening?- Renate walks up to the young soldier. -They want us to leave- he answers. -Sorry, Renate. We hoped you could stay here, but it might no be safe. There were strange things happening in the village in the night. We stood on guard with Rudy for half a night each. Voices, there were… Songs and wails. From the forest. And shadows, ghosts, nightmares, you name it. People are going mad, and I really understand them… -You! Girl! Tell those two to go back to hell!- someone screams at Renate. Georg shields her with his own body, but luckily, the man screaming does not follow with throwing muck or stones. -Georg… Oh, and Renate- Rudy looks back at them and smiles. The dark shadows under his eyes speak of his tiredness. -We’re going. There is no point in waiting there any longer. Whatever devils hide in the forests, they know we are here and mean business. Let’s bring war to them. -Let’s go!- Georg smiles. Renate is still shaken by the local people’s reaction, but their desperation is palpable. What is happening drives them to madness and their exhaustion makes them lash out at any perceived threat. Something must be done, or those villagers would have to leave their own homes. The very thought of all those people becoming vagabonds and beggars makes Renate sick. -Everyone!- Rudy raises his voice. -We will find the source of your woes and make you feel safe in your own homes again. Please, don’t enter the forest until we are done. The screams abate until they become nothing more than muttered grumbling. Locals look at the knight with distrustful looks, though someone here and there throws a word of encouragement. Georg pats the head of a little girl standing by her mother’s side when he passes by. Renate does the same. She would never call herself brave, but for the little ones, she, too, can do it. The sun rises higher and higher as the Protectors enter the forest along with the girl’s parents, who point them to a part of forest which seems to be no longer safe. The trio notices that many villagers are eyeing them with distrust or even contempt. It makes Renate and Georg uneasy; Rudy, however, is used to be treated this way and, as he voices it, he does deserve all the bad reputation he has. Renate looks at Georg, but he just whispers something by the lines of “old man’s blah blah, you know”. The girl nods, but is by no means less unsure about whether this whole endeavour was a good idea. Yes, she also wants to help the elderly couple and their daughter, but now she understands just how much safer she would feel with the Hero’s Party. Some of them were really nice to her, and at the very least she never had to fear about enemies when with the Hero. Seeing her unease, Rudy stops and unfastens a sheathed misericorde, then gives it to Renate. -I’ll do my best so you won’t have to use it, Renate. But it might make you feel safer. The girl nods and thanks the knight. She does not feel safer, though. Not at all. The forest is green and beautiful, yet eerily silent. The villagers have returned to their home; all the voices of nature, safe for the sound of wind in the branches, are gone. There is something wrong here. Even though physically the walk is not that demanding, Renate feels mental exhaustion slowly creeping in. Rudy is walking first, sword and shield in his hand, a waterskin full of holy water by his belt and a large, two-handed lumberjack’s axe strapped to his back. Georg is a few steps behind him, his gun ready to fire, a shortsword dangling from his belt. Renate walks behind them, one hand grasping the hilt of a dagger. Suddenly, a voice speaks from the trees. Melodic, beautiful and enchanting, yet full of anger. -Flee, intruders. Run away from here, from where you don’t belong! -All right. Give us back the girl we’re looking for and we’ll be away in no time- Rudy grunts, then raises his sword and shield, bracing for attack and looking slowly around himself. Georg says nothing, taking a few steps back until he is by Renate’s side. The only answer is a melodic, girlish laughter. The knight mutters a curse under his mustache. -It seems we’re going the right way. Georg, you’re the rearguard. Renate, please follow me closely. -Roger- Georg slips by Renate and walks behind her from now on. The girl feels somewhat safer now, but still not safe at all. It starts to be misty and, though it’s a warm spring day, uncharacteristically cold. -Dryads can use nature magic as well as illusions and mental attacks- Rudy repeats what he already told Georg and Renate yesterday. -Be on guard and watch your step, the very forest is our enemy now, and our minds may fail us faster than our bodies. And have courage! Someone’s life hangs on it! He yells into the thick mist, hoping that if the girl is there, she could hear him, but no one answers. Slowly, carefully, they resume their walk. The mist grows ever thicker and the trio soon can’t see farther than a dozen metres. Renate has been in various places with the Hero’s Party: caves, crypts, dungeons, lairs – and she knows the mist is not natural. Rudy and Georg seem to know it, too. -Georg, stay by my side. Renate, please, get between us- the knight commands. Both the boy and the girl comply. There’s just enough space between the trees; the forest is not dense here. It’s ancient, with tree trunks as wide as a man is tall. -Rudy, how do we know we’re not lost?- asks Georg. -Good question, and I have an idea- the knight unsheathes his sword. -Be on guard, you two. I’m going to mark our way on the trees we pass by- he raises his voice with a vile smile and points his sword at the nearest oak. The gunshots come from every side. From behind every tree. The roar and whistle of bullets overtook them. Rudy covers himself with his shield and gets in front of Renate, who throws herself to the ground with a shriek, closing her eyes. There are wails and screams of wounded and dying everywhere around them, most of their voices youthful and filled with inhuman dread. Georg just stands, his eyes wide open. Then, he starts to scream. He fires blindly into the mist, then falls to his knees, throwing his gun on the ground and pressing his hands to his ears. Rudy looks frantically to each side. He sees shadows and wights, and ghosts, and silhouettes, and hears maddening whistle of bullets… Bullets that, he suddenly understands, are flying right through him. He clenches his teeth. Wherever he looks, shadows appear and disappear in the mist, pointing guns at him, taking shots… And yet he is standing. -Magic- he spits out. -I don’t fear you, dryads! Come and fight us like men!- he barks, then looks back at Georg and Renate. No. He needs to raise them up first. He kneels on the ground between the two, placing one hand on Renate’s shoulder. She looks at him and sees him smiling reassuringly. -Mind tricks. Smokes and mirrors, trickery and boogeymen- Rudy looks her in the eyes. -Please, be brave, Renate. Georg needs us. The girl nods and instinctively hunches once more as a bullet whistles past her, yet she understands too. This is not a real ambush. She has seen fear magic before and this is very much not the worst it can do! -Georg, look at me!- Rudy kneels before him and shakes him, trying to force him to listen. -They are playing tricks on us, don’t you see! The boy does not stop screaming. Tears are rolling down his face. Suddenly, he jumps to his feet, trying to run away, but Rudy catches his arm firmly. -Georg, your eyes lie to you!- he screams in his face. -You see the past! -No… No… I cannot!- the young soldier’s face is pale. -I’ll die! Let me go! -Wake up, young one!- Rudy yells in his face. -You’ve got Renate to protect! -Re… nate?- boy’s teeth are chattering. -I… can’t… I’m… a coward… Leave me… -You’re not a coward- Rudy pulls him closer. -Mirrianham saved your life so you could fight another day. So you could save people. So you could protect people. Protect Renate. Georg, we need you! -Georg… You are not a coward- the boy suddenly feels two soft, warm hands enveloping his arm. Renate holds his hand with her own. She smiles at him, even though she’s shaking, just as he does. The boy takes a deep breath. And another one. And another one. -Sorry, miss Renate. Sorry, old man- he manages to flash his teeth in an almost smile. -I’m pathetic, huh, old man, miss Renate? Sorry- he bashfully pulls his hand away from her, just now understanding that they were holding hands a moment ago. Holding hands! Him, with Renate! -You were very brave, Georg- Renate shakes her head. Bullets no longer fly around. It’s silent once more. The young soldier shakes his head and looks around, then picks up his gun. -Reload- Rudy orders him. -And be ready to put a bullet between the eyes of any forest witch you see. -I’ll kill them dead for making her see me like this- Georg’s silent voice is still trembling. He looks at Renate, wanting to thank her, and suddenly sees her face go pale. She sees herself in the mist. Younger. Smaller. Weaker. Painstakingly carrying a huge wooden bucket full of water through a snow-covered yard of the orphanage. Renate shrieks and hunches when a snowball hits little Renate’s face. She hears “herself” squeal. And she hears them laugh. No. No. No… The orphanage walls are around her once more. They are standing right next to her. -Hey, maybe if you hit her with it, she’ll look better?- a younger, rounder of three shadows standing next to her hands a stone to another, taller one. The second boy throws it at the girl, hitting her in the temple. The little girl screams and falls to the ground, all the water from the bucket drenching her to the bone as the boys laugh their heads off. -Watch your step, eyesore, or you’d trip on your own feet again! Renate can’t stop trembling. She is lying cold and drenched in the snow, the walls closing on her. [RENATE’S RESOLVE: -5] -Renate! Renate, please, listen to me!- a faint voice reaches her. Someone – a man - takes her hand, but she recoils from him with fear. She can’t speak, nor can she stop tears from flowing down her cheeks. Suddenly, the world goes dark – and soft. The voices are still there, but she can’t see that dreadful view anymore. She doesn’t understand it’s Rudy’s cloak. Panicked, the girl takes it off her head and lets out a scream. No, no… There it is, the orphanage, again, and the voices… -Here you are, Metczak! You will never escape us… -She already has. Suddenly, Renate hears another voice and feels firm, protective arms close around her as Georg pulls her to his own chest and hugs her tightly. She realizes that she doesn’t fear this touch. It’s warm. And safe. -Renate, oh, Renate… I won’t let anyone bully you anymore. Over my dead body- Georg’s voice is trembling. -I will protect you from them, and from everything else. Please, Renate… She realizes she does not feel fear anymore. -Thank… You… Georg- she looks up at him and, still shaking, slowly wipes tears from her eyes. Suddenly, they both realize that he is hugging her and they’re looking each other in the eyes. Both Renate and Georg look away blushing and let go of each other. What were they even doing? -Sorry, Rudy- the young soldier stands up and looks at the knight. -Rudy? Hey, Rudy! The knight does not answer. He is staring into the mist, as if he could see through it. He is listening to the whispers, whispers that Georg and Renate just begin to hear. First, there is just a murmur. A number, or numbers; ten thousand, as Georg realizes. Then names. Many names, strange, unknown, names of allies, vassals and mercenaries. Vandali. Gotha. Franc. Brettagni. Polani. Viking. Hunn. Then, just then, both youngsters understand that a thousand voices is describing a horde, or an army. Magnificent and great. Young knights, eager for glory; adult men, strong, firm and brave. Wearing shining armor and wielding razor sharp swords, with banners flapping on the wind. Chanting the name of their lord, Mórr Dreadh. This is not the throng of wights that stands around Rudy. The knight drops his sword and shield. There are people – no, not people, ghosts – around him. Old and crooked, or very young, younger than Georg or even Renate; knights, probably, though their clothes are ragged and iron that girds them is rusted and dirty. One and only banner, with symbols of a serpentine dragon and chi-rho, leads them, carried by a man with a waist-long white beard and a battered crown on his head. There are murmurs. Talks. Shouts. Fights. -Lord Caradoc!- Rudy shouts suddenly, his voice boyish and high-pitched. He looks at two knights shouting Gaelic curses at each other. One of them, tall and proud-faced, punches the other – old, with a prominent mustache – in the face and sends him to the ground. The fallen knight slowly stands up, turns back and rasps through split lips: -My throng, to me. I’ve been slighted by the damned one’s men. We no longer stand with them! Rudy bows his head and presses his hands to his ears. He screams now, so loudly that he hears no words – though he knows them by heart. Georg stands up and walks up to him, then stops. The “throng” of eight men mounts their horses and rides away, straight through Rudy. There are seven men, long-bearded and grey-haired, and one boy, no older than Renate, his face pale and childlike, with waves of blonde hair falling on his cheeks. The boy stands by his horse, hesitant and reluctant, looking around with no hope left in his eyes. -Rudbert Lisworthe!- Lord Caradoc shouts once more. -Move!- The boy nods and jumps into the saddle, covering his face with his own cape, then gallops with his liege back, towards Camlann. -More like least-worthe- the boy hears the last words of those who remain. -Traitor. Georg shakes Rudy’s arm. -Old man, I’m with you- he manages to put up a weak smile. -I… Well, as you said… You are right here, right now, protecting me, Renate and that lost lass. Heavens wanted you alive, I think… -Please, have faith in yourself, sir Rudy. Because… I do?- Renate blushes, taking the man’s hand. It has no glove on; just as the hand that shielded her from her memories a moment before. Georg speaks his own words. Empty. Meaningless. He has no faith in them. Nor in himself. -You… You two don’t believe those muckland devils’ lies, do you?- Rudy makes the best impression of a confident smile he can put on. Renate and Georg take no more than a second to react. -No, sir. -Thank you, kids- Rudy smiles with a genuine relief and unfastens the axe from his back. It’s big, two-handed, and ostensibly meant to chop wood. -Follow me. -Rudy, your shield…- Georg tries to protest. -Right. Take it, and make sure Renate is safe- the knight clenches his teeth, cuts open a waterskin with holy water, drenches his tool with it and takes a chop at the nearest tree. Axe’s blade cuts deep. Somewhere near, a melodic, beautiful voice screams in pain. -Here you are, witch-spawn- Rudy bares his teeth like a father wolf shielding his wounded cubs. -For hurting those little ones, I will make you bleed. As if his words or the chop itself were a spell, the mist thins. Enough to see that there is a glade before them, and a beautiful one; full of , bushes and tall grass. Three young, angry maidens, one bleeding from her side, each covered by a cascade of green hair and leafy vines wrapping around their bodies, look at them, accompanied by a small herd of creaking, moving young treekin, their trunks no wider than a man’s arm. Georg aims at one of them and shoots, then drops his gun and takes up a sword and shields as vines sprout from the ground and catch him. Rudy throws himself forward like a berserker. -Renate, stay behind!- Rudy orders. -We’ll make short work of those witches! CHOOSE YOUR ADVENTURE! A) Rudy charges, Georg right behind him. They fight like a father and son, coordinated despite the knight’s wrath, and the forest dwellers have little time to react. Renate’s voice is too weak to reach them by now, but they seem fine by now. The girl is no warrior, and she will not act like one. {Rudy’s melee fighting check, level: easy; Rudy’s magic resistance check, level: easy; Georg’s melee fighting check, level: normal} B) Renate remembers that she has a bag full of he party’s equipment. In a box, wrapped safely in cloth, is a bottle of holy water. The girl takes it and throws it at a dryad. {Renate’s deftness check, level: normal; Rudy’s melee fighting check, level: easy; Rudy’s magic resistance check, level: easy; Georg’s melee fighting check, level: normal} C) On the ground lies Georg’s gun. Renate does not know at all how to operate it, but fortune favors the brave! She takes it. There are still bullets inside… probably. {Renate’s perception check, level: very hard; Renate’s deftness check, level: very hard; Rudy’s melee fighting check, level: easy; Rudy’s magic resistance check, level: easy; Georg’s melee fighting check, level: normal} D) /HEROIC CHOICE/ Through the high grass, Renate sees something Rudy and Georg don’t. In a thicket of brambles and thorny vines, a girl’s body lies, barely visible. Renate bites her lip. This is why they came here. If the woman is alive, she will bring her back. The girl crouches and starts sneaking around the glade. [RENATE’S RESOLVE: -25](This choice leads to further progress in a side mission)