Wickersham, Chapter 1

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jcftao
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Re: Wickersham, Chapter 1

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Erlander, the castle wizard, rises from his seat. He leans heavily on his staff, his unseeing eyes looking into the distance.
I hear the voices of two brave men! They claim that they are not citizens of our town, but since God Fall, these two have been here, helping to defend our walls. The young monk, Fredrick has lost much in his short years. His monastery destroyed during God Fall. I know that you wish to find more of your brothers if any are out there...

And our brave young Rana friend, Milton. Your talents are more numerous than you may imagine. We have depended on your skills. You have protected the innocents in this town, even though they are not of your race. We are proud to have you stand with us. Wickersham is stronger because of you!


Sir Miles addresses the group, Well said, Master Erlander, well said! Now, who else will join these two?

Erlene, catches sight of Worley and brings him a mug of hot herbal tea, and one for Fredick the Monk.

Other men add their voices in agreement. The meeting finishes with talk of details and the planning yet to come.

Details will be conveyed in the next few days as Sir Miles makes the arrangements.

You have declared your intent, now your courage will soon be tested....

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jcftao
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Re: Wickersham, Chapter 1

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Image

Wickersham, 15th of February, 2nd year after God Fall

Storm clouds came in late during the night. The morning arrives with the crash of thunder and heavy rain. Streets fill with water and the townsfolk of Wickersham secure themselves in their homes waiting for the rain to pass by.

Your belly grumbles a bit, and you consider walking to the meeting hall to have some hot porridge and a slice of rye bread. No word has come yet from Sir Miles, and you are eager to get your marching orders.

No marching today though. The muddy roads would quickly bog you down into the muck.

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jcftao
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Re: Wickersham, Chapter 1

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Wickersham, 15th of February, 2nd year after God Fall

From outside your second floor apartment, you hear the hurried steps of feet splashing through the muck of the town streets.
Hurrying to the balcony window you see a young lad, no more than ten summers old. He has a frightened look on his face. As he
runs past he looks up and shouts "Shamblers! They've gotten through the wall!"
The boys continues running towards the castle keep.

You look up the street and see three disheveled creatures, slipping and falling in the mud, yet onward they come.
They are dressed in tattered rags and skin has tightened around their skulls and fallen off in other places. A low moan arises from them. None of them are armed and the third one is horribly distended and bloated about the middle.

What shall you do?

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greyarea
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Re: Wickersham, Chapter 1

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Milton pulls out his bow and waits for them to come in range. He will fire on the fat one, aiming for his bloated middle.

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Re: Wickersham, Chapter 1

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The three walking corpses move along the muddy street in a jerking and halting manner. Their white eyes open, searching for flesh, they move down the street in pursuit of the young boy.
Milton stands near his window and quickly nocks an arrow in his shortbow. As the three grotesque mockeries of life move into range, Milton draws his bow and takes a shot at the bloated creature in the middle...

l14] The arrow drives deep into the belly of the creature!

Black bile bubbles around the shaft of the arrow but the creature continues to move forward.

Milton draws another arrow and lets it fly...

[4] The second arrow narrowly misses its target and sticks in the muddy street.

The creatures continue to shamble down the street, passing right under Milton's open window.

Actions?

Son_of_Sod
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Re: Wickersham, Chapter 1

Post by Son_of_Sod »

Fredrick thinks the thief has the right idea
He grabs his longbow and aims at the heads of the vile creatures

Are there any other villagers on their way?

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greyarea
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Re: Wickersham, Chapter 1

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Milton fires again, still at the same shambling thing.

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Re: Wickersham, Chapter 1

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There are no signs of reinforcements yet, but the young boy has only just ran past, yelling the alarm.

Milton draws his shortbow back yet again and fires an arrow [16] A hit! The bloated creature explodes in a cloud of black blood and bile. Luckily for you, some distance separated you. The smell is still unforgettable. With one creature down, Milton turns to fire on another of the zombies. His arrow finds its mark [16]!

The second zombie falls with an arrow through its throat.

From across the street, Milton sees Fredrick, the robed monk taking aim with his longbow.

Fredrick lets loose a volley of two arrows [19 and 16] Both arrows find their mark with deadly accuracy. The final zombie falls into the mud, two arrows impaling it.

The street remains quiet....the far off cry of alarm echoes in the distance.

What do you do?

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greyarea
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Re: Wickersham, Chapter 1

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Milton smiles in satisfaction. I had a feeling he'd explode when he croaked.

He leaves heads out to examine the corpses.

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Re: Wickersham, Chapter 1

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The rana and the monk come into the street. Three badly decomposed corpses lie in the mud, arrows marking their demise.
The zombies wear tattered shreds of clothing. It is plainly evident that they carry no valuables.

The town guard rushes up the street. A man-at-arms wearing ringmail and the blue and yellow surcoat of Castle Wickersham leads four other men in various states of armor. He has a sword drawn and shield at the ready. The other men all carry pole arms.

He orders the four men to move down the street to search for the breach in the wall and to scout for other zombies.

You know this man as Dagmar, Sergeant of the Guards. He doffs his helmet and says, "Only three came through? From the looks of them, they haven't eaten recently. No fresh bloodstains, eh?"

He pulls an arrow from one of the zombies and hands it to Milton. "Well, I gotta check on my men. Good work, both of you."

He moves off to find his unit.

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